Have you ever wondered why certain pitchers struggle to put it all together with their current team and then seemingly figure it out once they’re traded or signed somewhere else? Sometimes, it’s the veteran pitcher who’s looking to reinvent himself and stay in the league for a few more years. Occasionally, it’s the young pitcher who’s looking to untap their true potential. Oftentimes, it’s the below-average-to-average pitcher who’s got an extremely effective pitch but needs a team to help them throw that pitch with added confidence and more conviction. The weeks after the trade deadline present an interesting time to identify the pitchers who are having increased success with their new teams. Altering pitch mixes plays a huge role in taking a middling pitcher to new heights. In this article, I’d like to highlight a few of the players who have done just that.
Jordan Montgomery was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in a questionable last-minute deal that sent Harrison Bader to the New York Yankees. The Yankees were criticized for trading away a starter for a player in a walking boot. The Cardinals received a pitcher who they believed would help lead them to an NL Central Division title. Montgomery made an immediate impact. According to Stats By STATS, Jordan Montgomery became the second MLB pitcher in the modern era to go 4-0 with no more than 1 run allowed over his first 4 starts with a team. The other was Fernando Valenzuela with the Dodgers in 1981. So how did Monty go from a dependable pitcher with the Yankees to a lights out starter for the Cardinals? The answer: he upped his four-seam usage by 23% and dropped his sinker usage by 11%. He’s located 47.4% of his four-seamers in the shadow zone, the fringes of the plate where batters have no good options, an 80th-percentile mark, while leaving the pitch over the heart of the plate only 26.6% of the time (75th percentile). Heightened four-seamer usage demands pristine command of the pitch as sustained success can be hard to maintain. In fact, since his first four starts with the Cardinals, Montgomery has put up more pedestrian numbers: 19 ER in 32 IP (5.34 ERA). In baseball, regression to the mean is a part of the game; however, there’s no denying that Jordan Montgomery has been an impact pitcher since being acquired by the Cardinals.
Chris Martin isn’t a brand name by any means, but he’s flown under the radar as one of the most reliable bullpen pieces in Major League Baseball since being acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers at the deadline. Martin’s four-seamer sits at 94-96 mph, which is pretty standard for relievers. The Dodgers have tweaked his pitch mix by having him throw more four-seamers and less of everything else: -4% sinker, -4% curveball, -4% changeup, and +12% four-seamer. I’ve already touched upon the dangers of relying too much on four-seamers; however, Martin has pinpoint command of the pitch. He doesn’t get a ton of ride on the pitch, doesn’t have an unusual release point, or an extremely shallow vertical approach angle that could make the pitch play up. At the end of the day, it’s location, location, location. Here’s his location against righties:
And now lefties:
Martin limits his opponents from lifting and pulling the ball by keeping his fastball away from everyone. A quarter of the fly balls he’s allowed since arriving with the Dodgers haven’t even left the infield. The command and effective location of his four-seamer has resulted in a .176 BABIP.
The last player I’d like to highlight is personally my favorite selection. Andrew Heaney was not a trade deadline acquisition (like he was in 2021 for the Yankees), but rather signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent in the offseason. During his time with the Yankees in 2021, he sported an ugly 7.32 ERA in 35.2 IP. Of note, the Yankees attempted to have Heaney introduce a slider to his pitch arsenal. Unfortunately for both parties, the pitch never stuck during his time in pinstripes. In the offseason, Heaney got to work on developing this new pitch. The Dodgers saw potential in a pitcher who had compiled a career record of 32-38 with a 4.73 ERA and pounced on the opportunity to help Heaney achieve newfound success. The results are dramatic to say the least:
He’s essentially become a two-pitch pitcher: four-seamer (62.6%) and slider (32.9%):
So why did Heaney completely stop throwing his curveball? Pitch tunneling. In essence, pitch tunneling (or tunneling) is the ability of the pitcher to deceive the batter into thinking a fastball is coming, but, in reality, the pitch breaks out of the zone and the batter chases. Jomboy provides an excellent breakdown of Heaney’s elimination of the curveball and introduction of the slider. In the video, which you can view here, Heaney’s curveball (2021 season) popped out of his hand immediately after releasing the pitch. Batters could easily identify when Heaney was throwing his breaking ball and could sit on certain pitches. However, his slider (2022 season) is so deceptive that it looks like his four-seamer until it’s about halfway to the plate and then just breaks off. Here’s a more in-depth look at his release point (left) and horizontal/vertical break (right) for each of his current pitches:
So, this concludes the baseball article for the week of September 26th. I hope you enjoyed this piece on altering pitch mixes and pitch tunneling as well as learned something new. Remember, we’ll have another article for you next week on a new topic. Also, check out some of the other sports too! You never know what you might come across. Lastly, feel free to reach out if you have any suggestions/comments. Thank you for taking the time to read this article!
References