When Roberto Osuna burst onto the scene in spring training 2015, he featured a powerful four seam fastball, a fluttering changeup, and a slurvy slider (that some identified as a curveball), with all three offerings having received plus future grades from the scouting community as he ascended the system. Previously a starting pitcher throughout his […]
Tag: PitchFX
Joe Smith is Tunneling His Way to a Home Run Problem
Over the weekend the Toronto Blue Jays came to terms with free agent Joe Smith on a one year, three million dollar contract for the 2017 season. After losing mid-season sensation and setup man extraordinaire Joaquin Benoit to Philadelphia, a right handed void had emerged at the back-end of the bullpen, one which Mark Shapiro […]
Patrick Corbin: Potential Andrew Miller Clone and Blue Jays Target
Ignore the modest save total of twelve: Andrew Miller was one of the best relievers in baseball during the 2016 regular season, and was the best reliever in baseball during the postseason. He was unquestionably the deciding factor in the Blue Jays ALCS defeat at the hands of Cleveland, as favorable scheduling and deft usage […]
Marco Estrada’s Changeup and its Place Among Royalty
The changeup can be a devastating pitch with its doppelganger-like deception; and the Blue Jays’ Marco Estrada just so happens to feature one of the finest in all of baseball. Estrada’s style is the antithesis of baseball’s modern era, where a hurler’s panache is measured by how hard he can throw. When Marco entered the […]
How Aaron Sanchez Found Success vs Left Handed Hitters
Aaron Sanchez can manhandle a right-handed batter with the best of them. For his career, same sided hitters have slashed a less-than-robust .175/.243/.220 in 380 plate appearances. He allowed a home run to Adrian Beltre on May 15th, and that moment is only noteworthy because it represented the first dinger that he had surrendered to a right […]
Pitch Homogenization and Marcus Stroman’s Breaking Balls
Prior to being selected by the Blue Jays as the 22nd overall pick back in the 2012 draft, Marcus Stroman was drawing attention as an amateur prospect primarily for two reasons: a mid-90’s four-seam fastball and an upper 80’s slider, the combination of which guided him to an impressive 136 strikeouts over 98 innings in […]
On Stroman, Sanchez, and the Struggles With Fastball Classification
Neither Aaron Sanchez nor Marcus Stroman relies upon a four seam fastball as their primary hard-type offering. This has led many to envelop the hard-type pitches that they do throw into one single category with an interchangeable name; sinkers and two seam fastballs. While it’s an understandable association to make, given that both have great […]
Brett Cecil’s Second-Half Magic and Baseball’s Best Curveball
Due to a calf injury suffered during an innocent looking run-down between first and second base, Brett Cecil‘s 2015 season ended on October 9th during game 2 of the ALDS. The Toronto Blue Jays’ season ended two weeks later, on October 23rd. Given the transcendent level at which he had been pitching, it doesn’t take […]