FG on Fox: Jesse Hahn is More than Two Pitches
In order to get through the lineup multiple times, a starting pitcher generally needs to have more than two pitches. The list of starters with only one non-fastball is short, at least. So far, new Padres pitching phenom Jesse Hahn belongs on that list, as he’s thrown his fastball or curve almost 94% of the time this year. But there’s also a good chance that Hahn can be more than just the sum of those two pitches, as good as they might be.
For one, the curve ball is a pretty good place to start. Particularly Hahn’s sort of curve ball. “I really try to get on top of it and pull it down, I think it drops a good bit,” Hahn told me before an early July game against the Reds. “I think it has a lot of depth.” Even if he’s modest, he’s right — only seven qualified curve balls in the game drop more than Hahn’s at 8.8 inches. That makes it a ’roundhouse curve,’ which has a reverse platoon split. In other words, he has a weapon against lefties in that breaking pitch.
Hahn pulls those seams down and gets top-ten drop on his curve.
With a phone full of pictures of pitchers' fingers, strange beers, and his two toddler sons, Eno Sarris can be found at the ballpark or a brewery most days. Read him here, writing about the A's or Giants at The Athletic, or about beer at October. Follow him on Twitter @enosarris if you can handle the sandwiches and inanity.
Who you want the rest of the way – Hahn or Gausman?