Actually McLellan had a pretty darned good start a couple weeks ago against ... was it Bird? So, they've been bringing him along pretty well. He wasn't terrible, he just got off on the wrong foot, and Butts held JR down so that rough first inning never got overcome. If Caples' ball had gone out, we'd be having a different discussion.
In any event, the team will need him to take these steps going forward, so he's not going to learn any younger. If they have any hopes for a playoff run, they'll need him and Justin White and Austin Arnold to perform, because as has been detailed elsewhere, the days when you could ride one horse to the finish are gone.
It's not unusual for a team to hit a rough stretch at some point. The question is whether they get their act together in time to make a playoff run. If they want to do that, then Thursday is critical because if they lose their bye for the district tournament they may never see the regionals. One issue is that while the top 4 in the lineup continue to produce, the bottom 5 have kind of disappeared after being a big part of the early success. Time for them to reappear ... or else.