J.P. France Embraces His Inner Underdog

J.P. France is a late-bloomer proving the skeptics wrong. Selected in the 14th round of the 2018 draft by the Houston Astros, the right-hander not only made his big league debut in April at age 28, he’s performed admirably since doing so. In 22 starts plus one relief appearance, France is 11-5 with a 3.84 ERA over 131-and-a-third innings. Moreover, he’s put up those numbers with a skill set that’s unusual in today’s game. His fastball ranks in the 34th percentile for velocity, his groundball rate is in the 51st percentile, and his 17.% strikeout rate is among the lowest for qualified pitchers.

France, who graduated from Tulane University with a degree in Homeland Security before finishing up his college career at Mississippi State University, sat down to discuss his unique profile, and the underdog attitude that comes with it, when the Astros visited Fenway Park at the end of August.

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David Laurila: You went from a later-round pick to the starting rotation on a contending team. How did that happen?

J.P France: “First, it’s been a grind. I think the COVID year was probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me. It gave my arm basically a full year of rest, and it also gave me time to truly focus on mechanics: how to clean up my motion, how to simplify it. I think that would have happened eventually, but I don’t think it would have happened as quickly. I was able to literally just focus on what was I feeling, and what I was fixing, as opposed to having to go out there and compete and possibly be working on something else at the same time.

“If you were to go look at video from 2019, in High-A, and compare it to video from 2021, in Double-A… I mean, it’s a completely different pitcher. The way I move, just everything.”

Laurila: Can you elaborate on the changes?

France: “Before, I had a lot of moving parts. I started square to the hitter, did your standard windup, and my leg went super high. Then, when I would come down from my leg lift, my hips would kind of point up. Nothing would go straight to the hitter. I was always working up and would have to work back down. It was hard for me to get on time and through the catcher.

“Now I kind of start more front hip, front shoulder, kind of facing the hitter [with] just one little simple step. Then, once I’m at leg lift, it’s probably half the height that it was. I can just focus on getting my weight going to the hitter. That allows my hips to stay flat and everything to stay more linear. I’m staying through that catcher.”

Laurila: That sounds not unlike what Hunter Brown recently told me he’s begun doing.

France: “Yep. He did some tweaks, kind of what I did during COVID. He initially started squared up to the hitter and now he’s kind of the same thing: front hip, front shoulder, one step. Pitching is hard enough as it is, so having more moving parts is only going to make things more difficult; it’s going to make it harder to repeat your motion. Simple is better.”

Laurila: How high was your leg kick before you shortened it up? Are we talking Dontrelle Willis-level high?

France: “No. It wasn’t that high, but it was almost up to my chin. It was up there.”

Laurila: Why was that?

France: “I think it was just my mechanics growing up. It was a rhythm-and-tempo kind of thing, but once I was able to simplify everything, not only was I getting everything going to the catcher instead of up and down, my velo went up a tick. All of my pitches got better. Cleaning up everything also helped my arm. In 2019 and before, the day after I pitched, I was basically out of commission. My arm was sore; it was hurting. Now, with a cleaner arm action, I’m not too sore at all after my starts.”

Laurila: How would you describe your fastball?

France: “Unique. It’s not going to be a heater that’s blows by a hitter. The way it moves is kind of different. With a lot of guys, you’ll see a four-seamer that has seven to 10 arm-side run, whereas I’m like three run to one cut. At the same time, I’m more of a pitcher who works around his offspeed, as opposed to working off of his fastball.”

Laurila: It sounds like you don’t get a lot of movement on your fastball.

France: “Well, even if it has, say, two to three run, I feel like to a hitter that’s going to almost perceive like it cuts. For instance, the ball might stay over the middle of the plate where they thought it might be outer third.

“My biggest pitch is a cutter, and I feel like that plays really well off the heater. But again, I’m more of a pitcher that is going to rely on getting ahead with the heater, and then offspeed. Or maybe I’ll go more offspeed, and when they start sitting offspeed, I’ll squeak a heater by them.”

Laurila: Your fastball is a four-seam, right?

France: “That’s correct. As far as vertical goes, I’ll sit anywhere between 15 to 18. That’s a good bit, but it’s not like Justin Verlander’s 22-24, so I definitely have to rely on location more than anything. If I was able to throw 95-98 [mph], I might be able to get away with some more mis-locations, as opposed to the 92-93 that I do throw. I’ve also been told that I hide the ball pretty well, even with the shorter leg lift, and I’m sure that helps.”

Laurila: Your best pitch is the cutter?

France: “Yes, but it’s also huge for me to have five pitches. I mean, it would be tough for me to pitch with just three. Having five is massive. I mean, last outing my best pitch was probably the curveball — it was really working — but I’d say that nine games out of 10, it’s probably going to be the cutter. I added the cutter in 2021, and along with cleaning up my motion… that’s when everything started to kind of take off for me.”

Laurila: Those things said, you’re a later-round pick who is neither a power pitcher nor a sinker-baller. Your fastball isn’t the only thing that’s unique about you.

France: “Definitely. I’ve always been that guy who was slept on, if you want to put that word on it. Underdog-ish, not really on anybody’s radar. Honestly, I kind of like being that, because you don’t have those expectations. You do well and all of a sudden people are like, ‘Wow, where did he come from?’ So, I’ve come to embrace the whole underdog, not-a-top-prospect guy. It’s been fun to be able to prove people wrong.”