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One-game wonder or future mainstay in the Blue Jays rotation?
Not even Gustavo Chacin (pronounced Cha-seen) can say for sure.
In a Blue Jays season short of feel-good stories, his arrival has managed to somewhat even the scales.
Chacin hasn't exactly taken the traditional route to the big leagues.
Two years ago, the Jays took him off the 40-man roster and exposed him to any of the 29 other clubs that cared to take a shot.
None did and Chacin, who will make his second major-league start here today in Baltimore in the back end of a double-header, was returned to double-A New Haven, which became New Hampshire this year.
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It was also two years ago that Chacin, after working with a cutter that was ineffective, adjusted the grip at the request of Jays pitching co-ordinator Dane Johnson.
The new grip was more comfortable for Chacin and allowed him to repeat it consistently.
Armed with that cutter, a pitch a left-hander can use with great effect on right-handed hitters as it comes in looking like a fastball and then dives in at the hitter with a late break, Chacin was a completely different pitcher in 2004.
He returned to the starting rotation after pitching mostly in relief in 2003 and went 16-2 for the Jays' double-A affiliate New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
He also made two starts at triple-A Syracuse, where Chacin went 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA before returning to New Hampshire to help lead them to an Eastern League championship.
Last Monday, he made his major-league debut in Yankee Stadium and held New York's powerful lineup to three earned runs on four hits over seven innings for his first major-league win.
Jays catcher Guillermo Quiroz, who grew up in Venezuela playing little league games against Chacin and later as teammates at the national level, says the cutter has made a huge difference.
"Last year he used to face right-handed hitters and all he had was the sinker and change-up,'' Quiroz said. "Now he has that (cutter) breaking in on them and that's a tough pitch to hit.
"You can get a ground ball with that, you can strike a guy out with that. It's an awesome pitch."
Jays pitching coach Gil Patterson has not been around Chacin long enough to know that mastering the cutter was the final hurdle, but from what Johnson has told him that is precisely the case.
"(Johnson) says that is the pitch that got him to where he is right now," Patterson said.
Patterson doesn't want to jump the gun on the 23-year-old or put any unnecessary pressure on Chacin but he sees a lot to get excited about.
"It's one outing but he showed poise and when you watch him throw on the side he has sink on his pitches,'' Patterson said.
"He has some deception in his delivery, he throws strikes. He can change speeds, he has got that cutter with a pretty good looking change-up. So he brings some stuff to the table other than just being left-handed."