Official. Reds add Sonny Gray to Roark & Wood Added.

[CJD]

(01-22-2019, 09:10 PM)Yojimbo Wrote: I’m luke warm on Gray. I do like that he is looking forward to eating some Skyline and that his fastball hasn’t really dropped off at all. My biggest concern was an article I was reading on CBS pointing out that Gray changed his pitch selection last year, adding a splitter and reducing his fastball 45% to 25% and change-up from 15% to 5%. I work with a former professional pitcher, just a cup of coffee in The Show, Joe Messman. I asked him about the pitching change and he said pitchers will do that when they start feeling some discomfort in their shoulder or elbow. So, biggest concern is damaged goods/ declining athlete.

I read an article that said the majority of the Yankees pitching staff leans heavily on off speed pitches and that it is a coaching decision to do so.

https://www.si.com/mlb/2017/07/19/new-york-yankees-fastball-rate

Quote:Here’s the cutting edge part: New York's pitchers threw only 40.7% fastballs in the series. (Fastballs here are defined as four-seam and two-seam fastballs, not cut fastballs.)

For the Yankees, this was not an anomaly. They throw the fewest fastballs in baseball, and it’s not even close. They average a fastball rate of just 43.1%. Houston is next lowest at 47.3%.
What makes New York's low fastball usage all the more surprising is that its pitchers have the highest average velocity of any team in baseball (94.3 mph, tied with Pittsburgh).
Time out.
Take a minute to let that sink in: The Yankees have the most velocity in baseball, and yet they throw the fewest fastballs in baseball.