Shelby Miller’s pitch usage changed last year. Per PITCHf/x, his cutter percentage jumped from 5.8% to 20.7% while his curveball percentage fell from 19.5% to 9.7%. He also employed his fastball differently. His four-seam — a pitch known for its explosiveness — was thrown just 32.7% of the time, down from 61.6%. Conversely, his two-seam percentage climbed from 10.3% to 33.8% (and his ground-ball rate rose from 39.9% to 47.7%).

The hard-throwing right-hander’s changeup usage remained relatively static, inching down from 2.4% to 2.2%.

Miller had success with his new approach. In his first-and-only season with the Braves, the former Cardinal established a new career high in innings pitched, and his 3.02 ERA, 3.45 FIP and 0.57 HR/9 were career lows.

Earlier this week, I asked the 25-year-old Arizona Diamondback about the thought-process behind his changes, and whether we might see anything different this season.

———

Miller on throwing more two-seamers: “I knew it could help me get deeper into games and be a more efficient pitcher. In 2013 and 2014, in St. Louis, I relied on my four-seamer a lot. I’d go five innings, five-plus, six once in awhile. I wasn’t getting deep; I wasn’t getting into to the seventh and eighth like I wanted to.

“I throw a lot of fastballs. When you throw four-seams the whole time, guys foul them off. And it’s flat, so they see it better. I know that mine [has good carry], so I do use it a lot up in the zone. It’s still one of my favorite pitches. It’s what I control the best and I rely on it a lot.

“When you’re only throwing a four-seamer, guys see it and see it and see it. I think you have to mix it up. A sinker is a great pitch. It looks like a four-seam fastball and at the last second it moves. It has a couple inches of sink, which can be the difference between a fly ball and a ground ball.

“The sinker allows me to give a hitter a different look. Everybody is different. Some hitters are better than others, and some people hit sinkers better than others. It’s really more about going in with a game plan. You’re not trying to overpower guys with sinkers. It’s more a pitch for double-play situations and early in the count when you’re trying to get ground balls. You have longer at bats and you have shorter at-bats, and my motto is, ‘Try to get guys out with three pitches or less.’”

Read the rest of this entry »

Dick Egan has had a long and successful career. Currently a special assistant to the general manager in Detroit, the 78-year-old Egan has been in the game for over five decades. A few months ago he received a Legends in Scouting award.

His coaching and scouting acumen have exceeded his ability to retire big-league hitters. Pitching out of the bullpen for the Tigers, Angels and Dodgers from 1963-1967, Egan put up a 5.15 ERA.

The first of his 74 career appearances came on opening day, at Tiger Stadium. Egan recalls it being cold — “I think it was about 20 degrees when we arrived in Detroit” — but he got off to a hot start. The left-hander replaced Jim Bunning in the eighth inning and fanned the only batter he faced.

“They got me up, brought me in, and I struck out Nellie Fox with three straight sliders,” said Egan. “Bob Scheffing, our manager, told me he’s never seen Fox look that bad. Unfortunately, it didn’t carry over to the rest of my career.”

The following year, Egan threw a pitch that carried a long way. Read the rest of this entry »

Torii Hunter is a bit of an enigma when it comes to discussing defense. The now-retired outfielder isn’t a big believer in shifts — or data in general — yet he understands the importance of positioning. A nine-time Gold Glove winner, Hunter had a way of being in the right place at the right time when he patrolled center (and sometimes right) for the Twins, Angels and Tigers.

Hunter was at Twins training camp earlier this spring, working with the club’s young fly-chaser mix. His tutorials were called for. Minnesota’s starting outfield projects to be still-wet-behind-the-ears Byron Buxton, flanked by former infielders Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano. Compounding the trio’s inexperience are a large Target Field outfield and a pitching staff that induces a lot of balls in play.

Talking to Hunter a few weeks ago, I was struck by his paradoxical approach to positioning. Yes, you need to know where a batter is likely to hit the ball. No, data isn’t particularly helpful. Shifting is overdone, if not unnecessary.

When Hunter and I parted ways — our conversation continued beyond what was captured here — he smiled and said, “That was a good argument.” Regardless of how you define it, our back-and-forth elicited some interesting commentary. Read the rest of this entry »

Kyle Schwarber is a student of hitting. Even so, there are limits to how much he wants to learn. The Chicago Cubs slugger crunches video, but he draws the line at spin rates.

Schwarber understands the concept. He knows that four-seam fastballs with a high spin rate have carry as opposed to sink. He knows they are an invitation to pop up when located up and over the zone. Well and fine. An individual pitcher’s ability to defy gravitational pull isn’t something he wants to delve into from a StatCast perspective. Once he’s in the batter’s box, it’s all about seeing the ball and reacting accordingly.

On a recent visit to the Cubs spring training facility, I asked Schwarber the following question: As a hitter, how aware are you of an opposing pitcher’s spin rate?

———

Schwarber on spin rate and high fastballs: “Hitting-wise, knowing a guy’s spin rate would just be adding extra information to what I already have. It would probably be kind of a mind-crunch for me.

“When you’re in the box, you only have a split second. You don’t have time to think, ‘This guy’s ball is going to move four inches, because his average spin rate is this.’ There might be hitters who would disagree, but my personal philosophy is to crunch video and go from there. Read the rest of this entry »

In my January 31 column, I noted that Rick Porcello has one of the highest four-seam spin rates in the game. Given his increased usage over the past two years, I theorized that he began throwing the pitch more often for that very reason.

It turns out I was wrong.

“When I started using my four-seam more in Detroit (in 2014), it was just a different fastball to give them a different look,” Porcello said in Fort Myers. “I didn’t know anything about spin rate until I was told about it last year.”

Regardless of the reason, the pitch wasn’t a panacea. A plethora of mis-located fours helped contribute to a tumultuous 2015. In his first season with the Red Sox, Porcello allowed 196 hits in 172 innings, and his ERA was an unsightly 4.92.

His signature pitch was equally to blame.

Read the rest of this entry »

Trevor May is a thinking man’s pitcher. He’s also a strikeout pitcher, which is something Minnesota has lacked for several seasons. Where he will deploy those traits — the rotation or the bullpen — is one of the biggest questions in Twins camp.

A starter by trade, May moved into a relief role last July. It was a switch dictated more by circumstance than performance, and the 26-year-old right-hander is hoping to once again assume an every-five-days work schedule. Based on his thought-process and his repertoire, it’s where he feels he’s best suited.

Originally drafted by Philadelphia, May came to Minnesota in December 2012, along with Vance Worley, in exchange for Ben Revere. His 2014 10-game cameo was rocky, but he was solid last year in his dual-role. In 48 appearances — 16 starts and 32 relief appearances — he logged a 3.25 FIP and a 8.93 K/9.

May talked about his continued development, and the cerebral approach he brings to the mound, last week in Fort Myers.

———

Trevor May on his pitching philosophy: “I have a specific philosophy. I try to make it a step-by-step process with every pitch. There are three things you do every time you throw the ball. Read the rest of this entry »

Ruben Amaro had a reputation in Philadelphia. To many, the only evaluation tools he trusted were his scouts’ eyes. Basically, he was an old-fashioned — if not backwards-thinking — general manager.

The extent to which that’s accurate is debatable. Amaro wasn’t necessarily cutting edge — Matt Klentak, who replaced him as Phillies general manager, is clearly more analytical — but the perception was skewed. Amaro attended Stanford and learned from Pat Gillick, so his intelligence and knowledge base are anything but slight.

That’s not to say he didn’t make errors in judgement over his tenure. He made several, which is part of the reason he was relieved of his duties last September. Amaro is now with the Red Sox, having made an atypical move from high-ranking front-office executive to first-base coach.

On Sunday, Amaro took a few minutes to shed some light on his days as a decision-maker. The role of analytics in the evaluation process formed the crux of our conversation.

———

Amaro on analytics: “You can’t ever deny the numbers. That’s true for every GM and every baseball person, regardless of whether you’re ‘old school’ or ‘new school.’ When a scout walks in, the first thing he does is pick up a stat sheet and look at what the player does and what he’s been doing. The numbers don’t lie.

Read the rest of this entry »

As a FanGraphs reader, you’re probably familiar with Brian Bannister. The former big-league right-hander — and current director of pitching analysis and development for the Boston Red Sox — has been featured here numerous times. Bannister has previously expounded on back-up sliders, spin rate, spin axis and more. Today, the subject is changeups.

———

Bannister on changeups: “The term changeup is actually somewhat deceiving. It’s traditionally been taught to be a pitch that is simply slower than your fastball. If you look at the pitchers who have the best changeups, and who have had the most success at the big-league level — the Felix Hernandezes and Zack Greinkes of the world — one, they’re hard, and two, they have a lot of movement. Pitchers who simply try to take speed off the changeup ultimtely fail with the pitch. That helps make the name a contradiction.

Read the rest of this entry »

Matt Murton had a lot of success in NPB after fading out in MLB. In six seasons with the Hanshin Tigers, he slashed .310/.352/.437. Now, at age 34, he’s back stateside, trying to win a job with the Chicago Cubs.

Murton’s path to Japan and back is a curious one. A first-round pick by the Red Sox Sox in 2003, he went to the Cubs a year later in the Nomar Garciaparra deal. From 2005-2007, he hit a solid .303/.370/.462. From 2008-2009, he appeared in a grand total of 57 games with three organizations. In 2010, he changed continents.

“It was either fight for a spot in a situation where I was out of options, or take something that was more of a guarantee,” Murton said of his decision. “I was 28 years old, and as crazy as this might sound, I came to the realization that this is what I do for a living. I have a family to provide for, and it was a good opportunity to do that.”

Murton has mixed feelings on his initial big-league tenure. He did his best and feels he was reasonably successful. He also feels he could have done a better job. He has a lone regret. Read the rest of this entry »

Cam Bedrosian features a fastball with velocity and jump. The 24-year-old right-hander’s four-seamer averaged 94.4 mph last year. What he lacks is consistency and command. He fanned more a batter per inning in 34 appearances out of the Angels bullpen, but his ERA was an unseemly 5.40.

The son of former All-Star closer Steve Bedrosian, and the 29th-overall pick in the 2010 draft, Bedrosian augments his heater with sliders and a modicum of changeups. The former flashes plus, but doesn’t always break as planned. The latter — a pitch he’s considered scrapping — has been a minus.

Bedrosian discussed his repertoire, and where he needs to locate in order to be effective, at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

———

Bedrosian on having a high four-seam spin rate: “The first time I heard that was last year. I’d heard about spin rate, but didn’t really know much about it. A couple guys on our team were talking about it, and I guess I was one of the leaders. I knew what my ball did, but I never put the two together and assumed I had a high spin rate. I know there are team that look at that.

Read the rest of this entry »