Astros fans are growing frustrated as familiar foible haunts reliever Tayler Scott

Tayler Scott is being relied upon by the Houston Astros to be a solid arm out of their bullpen this season. Yet Scott, who had stops with the Dodgers and Orioles, is finding himself getting lost in a sea of walks right now. If he wants to stick around in the bullpen, he needs to get this fixed now before the season gets too far down the road.

Let's look at the numbers. Scott pitched 2/3 of an inning in Tuesday night's 2-1, 12-inning Astros win. He gave up two hits and one earned run but didn't walk anyone. On Monday night, though, Scott walked two and gave up two earned runs in a 4-3 Mariners come-from-behind victory. Scott got pegged with the loss in relief.

These walks are happening at key points in games. Scott cannot keep doing this if he's going to remain in his spot in the Astros' bullpen. Last season, Scott walked 35 batters in 68 2/3 innings of work. That almost averages out to one walk per every two innings. He finished with a 7-3 record and a 2.23 ERA.

Tayler Scott needs to starting finding the strike zone a lot more if he wants to stick with the Astros

It does not inspire confidence right now when manager Joe Espada calls Scott in from the bullpen to take over at challenging moments in games. Scott cannot give up walks like candy canes. Putting runners on base with a free pass is asking for trouble and Scott simply does so too often.

Unfortunately, this may just be who Scott is at this point. He has over 100 appearances in the big leagues both in the AL and NL and his issues with walks have been a constant. We see pitchers deal with minor control issues successfully, but Scott's command issues go beyond what is sustainable.

In his pitching arsenal, Scott throws a four-seam fastball, a split-finger fastball, and a slider. Making effective pitches in and around the plate are necessities for Scott to nail down. Catcher Yainer Diaz may even need to emphasize with Scott what pitches are working against certain hitters assuming those talks aren't happening already.

Scott has a career filled with key pitching moments in games. As a reliever, having an awareness of hitters and their own strengths and weaknesses will help, but only if he can actually hit his spots. The bottom line is that Scott has to attack the strike zone effectively and with authority. Cutting down on those free passes needs to happen right now. If it doesn't get better, then it's possible that Scott might lose his spot in the Astros' reliever corps.

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