The gem he threw in game 2 of the ALDS (and game 1 of the WC) put the expectations off the charts, simply because twins fans hadn’t seen a postseason performance like that since probably Johan in ‘04. Then of course the marketing wizards jumped on the opportunity to create “Pablo Day”, to help sell tickets and merch. It was almost impossible not to disappoint after that.
Pablo seems like a pretty good starter to me, but is he a true “ace”? Not been ace-like this year. Pretty much all our starters seem to be at the same level of performance. Above average, but none are shut-everything-down dominant.