Blake Snell and Padres GM A.J. Preller talk about Snell going deeper in games. Snell wants to challenge himself, and the Padres don’t want to put constraints on him. I very much like this description of why the Rays did not allow Snell to go through the order three times very often:

The controversial yanking of Snell with one out in the sixth inning after he had allowed his second hit in Game 6 of the World Series was merely a big-stage exemplification of the Rays’ pitching philosophy. It is too much to say the Rays don’t believe in starting pitching. But they certainly are devout believers in relief pitching.

SanDiegoUnionTribune.com

That may be more true of all teams than the article indicates. No team goes with a five or six man bullpen anymore, with the expectation that a starter finishes the game. There are very few teams that believe starters can go deep today.

I also wonder if twice through the lineup is a better strategy for injury prevention than a 100 pitch limit. I’ve seen the argument made that the total number of pitches matter less than the number of pitches under stress. Pitching in the seventh inning with the game on the line is more stressful than pitching in the fifth inning with a one-run lead. Preventing three times through the lineup limits those stressful situations, since the starter never gets there.

From the pitcher’s point of view, Snell would likely make a lot more money in free agency if he can go deeper in games. The Padres seem to be willing to give Snell the chance to do that, although the article points out it won’t happen right away. He will build up to that length over the first quarter of the season.