It was only a couple of years ago that Jesse Foppert topped the preseason list of pitching prospects in the MLB. He was said to be armed with a mid-high 90s fastball, a curve, split, and wicked slider. Since very few people have access to AA Shreveport games all us fantasy junkie were left to pore over scouting reports and stats packs in eager anticipation of Foppert’s arrival in SF. And what could you say about 2.79 ERA/1.06 WHIP/61 IP/44 Hits/ 74 Ks? Sounds like an ace in the making to you too? Right?

Well Foppert did get the call-up. It was a cold and rainy night but he was on the hill for his big league debut. The only problem was that fastball wasn’t so fast. What was supposed to be a mid-90s heater had become a high-80s heater. The slider was there. And it was still a strikeout pitch. He just couldn’t command it at all.

Foppert’s rookie season ended in August 2003 with Tommy John surgery. He spent most of 04 recovering before getting back on the mound in September and pitching a scoreless inning of relief for the Giants. He followed that up with a stint in Winterball where he got rocked early and often. After Felipe Alou practically assured Jesse of a roster spot going into ST he somehow managed to pitch his way onto AAA Fresno.

He had a decent couple of months in the minors, going 4.40/1.58/43 IP/42 Hits/41 Ks before getting the call-up on Sunday night. So what can you expect from him?

Well so far tonight against Minny he’s shown a fastball at 89-91, a curve he hasn’t thrown for a strike all night, a nice slider he can’t locate, and what might be a changeup. I haven’t seen his splitter, which I’m assuming means he’s not comfortable throwing it right now. He walked 5 in 5.2 IP before getting the hook with the bases loaded. I’m not sure how he managed to only give up a couple runs, but I wouldn’t expect many more decent starts if he can’t learn to locate his pitches with even a slight degree of accuracy. And I want to emphasize that: I have rarely, if ever, seen a pitcher this effectively wild. He could be nervous making his comeback, but this is a guy with an 89 mph fastball. He can’t afford to be anything but nails out there.

His command of the zone was non-existent: he didn’t know where anything was going once it left his hand. And his mechanics were brutal. This start reminded me a little of Gavin Floyd’s debut against St. Louis this season. Pitching in the majors requires command of your pitches. If Jesse goes out next start and just serves that 89 mph heater it’s going to get killed. And so is your team ERA if you own him.

Foppert’s now a guy who needs to learn a 2-seam and throw it with movement. He’s got to refine his mechanics and command that curve and slider. Right now he can’t do any of that, which doesn’t bode well for the rest of his starts this season. The way his velocity was hyped and exaggerated is almost criminal. But there’s nothing we can do about that now.

Stay away from Jesse until those walk totals come back to earth. This guy has no idea where the ball’s going once it leaves his hand. More often than not that means it’s going to end up in McCovey cove.