The Learning and Developing a Pitch series returned in June after being on hiatus last year due to the pandemic. Each week, we’ll hear from three pitchers on a notable weapon in their arsenal. Today’s installment features Keegan Akin, Kolby Allard, and Jharel Cotton on their changeups.

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Keegan Akin, Baltimore Orioles

“It was one of the first pitches I ever learned — I was probably 12 years old — and honestly, it wasn’t a very good pitch for me all the way through high school and college. But then I really worked on it in the offseason going into 2019. That was when I told myself, ‘You know, I need to make this into kind of a go-to pitch for whenever I need it.’ So every day, I played catch with that grip. I was throwing it 90 feet, 120 feet, trying to have it coming out feeling like a fastball. A changeup is a feel pitch, so you need to become comfortable with it.

“The grip has been the same since the offseason of 2018. I tinkered with it and tried different things here and there, found one that worked for me, and I’ve rolled with it ever since. It’s kind of a circle change, I guess is the best way to put it. I learned it as a typical circle, with all five fingers on the ball. I have bigger hands, so I used to cut it a lot — it would turn into a cut changeup — and I didn’t want that, so I started moving it out further and further toward the end of my hand. It’s more based off my ring finger, my pinky finger and my middle finger, and I’m trying to throw as hard as I can. I’m throwing it like a fastball and letting the grip do the work. Read the rest of this entry »

On Sunday afternoon against the Blue Jays, Miguel Cabrera became the newest member of an elite baseball club by hitting his 500th regular-season home run, making him just the 28th player to reach that mark in MLB history; he joins Albert Pujols as the only active players on the list. (He’s also the first-ever Tiger and first ever Venezuelan-born player to get there). Cabrera is also chasing entry into the equally exclusive 3,000 hits club, but he would need roughly a hit per game for the rest of the season to do that, making 2022 more likely, so let’s focus on 500 and his road there.

The 28th player in MLB history to hit 500 home runs.

Congrats, @MiguelCabrera! pic.twitter.com/ajmOAbVeZg

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 22, 2021

It’s yet another milestone achievement in the 38-year-old’s Hall of Fame-worthy career. Signed in 1999 as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela, Cabrera reached Double-A in 2003 and made his major league debut that same year at age 20 in June. It didn’t take him long to hit his first home run, and he did so by announcing his presence to Marlins fans and the entire sport, walloping a walk-off to dead center in his first game and becoming only the third major leaguer ever to do that.

Over 87 games that season, Cabrera hit 12 home runs but also struck out a fair bit, with a 24.3% rate. He was showing signs of the player he would become in terms of power, but he didn’t quite have the discipline at the plate yet. Still, he had a meteoric rise with the Marlins, helping them win the World Series in his rookie year and making four straight All-Star appearances from 2004 to ’07.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s post-concert encounter with a podcast listener, Miguel Cabrera’s 500th home run and the future of the 500-homer club, the latest sighting of Tom’s enigmatic message to Caitlyn at Great American Ball Park, the Rockies possibly promoting a GM from within (again), and a few pennant race updates, then meet major leaguers Packy Naughton and Griffin Jax and share Stat Blasts about whether managers are more likely to make the outgoing pitcher or the incoming pitcher issue an intentional walk, and Yam Yaryan and the players who hit a walk-off for their only career home run.

Audio intro: The Coral, "In the Rain"
Audio outro: Paul Weller, "Moon on Your Pyjamas"

Link to rainy concert video
Link to pajama jeans commercial
Link to video of Cabrera’s 500th homer
Link to fun facts about Cabrera’s 500th
Link to video of Cabrera’s first homer
Link to latest Tom/Caitlyn message
Link to video of Wade homer
Link to video of Cronenworth homer
Link to report about Bill Schmidt
Link to Mike Petriello on the Yankees
Link to Joel Sherman on the Yankees
Link to article about Naughton
Link to article from February about Jax
Link to article about Jax’s call-up
Link to Jax tongue video
Link to Stat Blast data on all IBB
Link to Stat Blast data on pitching-change IBB
Link to PosCast episode about earned runs
Link to article about Yaryan’s nickname
Link to tweet about “the grink”
Link to article on yams vs. sweet potatoes
Link to Criscione’s SABR bio
Link to catcher using mask to touch ball
Link to Stat Blast data about walk-offs

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Shane McClanahan is one of the best young pitchers in the game, and a weapon that wasn’t in his arsenal prior to this season is one of the reasons why. The 24-year-old Tampa Bay Rays southpaw has added a slider, and he’s been featuring it prominently while putting up a 3.63 ERA, a 3.31 FIP, and 113 strikeouts in 94-and-a-third innings. Delivered at an average velocity of 89.5 MPH — fourth highest among hurlers with 60-plus frames — McClanahan is throwing his new pitch a healthy 35.4% of the time.

The seeds of the offering date back to early-January.

“I was throwing a pre-spring-training bullpen at the Trop,” explained McClanahan, whom the Rays drafted 31st overall out of the University of South Florida in 2018. “I told [pitching coach Kyle] Snyder, ‘Hey, I want to try this pitch and see if it does anything.’ He said, ‘OK,’ so I did. Then he was like, ‘Throw it again.’ From there, I just kept throwing it and working on it.”

Snyder echoed that recollection when asked about McClanahan’s new asset, adding that the organization was all-in with the idea of adding a firmer breaking pitch. That was the sole intent. According to McClanahan, the idea was never as specific as “learn a cutter” or “learn a slider,” but rather to introduce a pitch that differentiated both from his curveball and the slurve he threw last October when debuting in the postseason.

I asked Snyder about the addition from a pitching coach’s perspective. Read the rest of this entry »

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley follow up on a conversation about protective headgear for pitchers by discussing softball face masks, then banter about whether MLB necessarily needs a legalized sticky substance or a pre-tacked ball, and attempt to unpack a distressing message from “Tom” to “Caitlyn” on the video board at a Reds game. Then (37:47) they talk to ESPN reporter Dan Hajducky about a shocking week for the booming sports card industry, highlighted by Fanatics securing exclusive card licenses with MLB, the MLBPA, and other major leagues and unions, baseball institution Topps losing its strangehold on MLB cards and scuttling its plans to go public, and a record-breaking sale of a Honus Wagner T206 card.

Audio intro: Sweet, "Tom Tom Turnaround"
Audio interstitial: Lunchbox, "Tom, What’s Wrong?"
Audio outro: Boat, "Topps"

Link to FAQ about softball face masks
Link to list of softball face masks
Link to Columbia Missourian on face masks
Link to the OU Daily on face masks
Link to Columbia Daily Tribune on face masks
Link to The Oklahoman on face masks
Link to Kelly Barnhill tweet about face masks
Link to history of first batting helmets
Link to history of modern batting helmets
Link to video of Lynn ejection
Link to Rob Arthur on sticky stuff effects
Link to the L.A. Times on Olympic baseballs
Link to Reuters on Olympic baseballs
Link to first Caitlyn/Tom message
Link to second Caitlyn/Tom message
Link to Craig Goldstein on Caitlyn/Tom
Link to Ben on the Castellanos meme
Link to Dan’s Topps/Fanatics report
Link to WSJ Topps/Fanatics report
Link to Sportico on the Topps merger
Link to Dan on the T206 sale
Link to Emma Baccellieri on the card boom
Link to earlier EW card-boom interview
Link to Dan’s website

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At the end of every season, MLB writers rehash the same awards debates. Should a pitcher be the MVP if they only play every fifth day? What exactly does MVP mean, anyway? Does it have to be a player on a contending team, or is it enough to be the best player on a team that has no chance of playing in October? Can a reliever win the Cy Young award if they are just so much better than the starting pitchers that their lower volume of work is exceeded by their sheer dominance?

There is one award that is a bit simpler in its execution: Rookie of the Year honors can go to any player as long as they were the most outstanding rookie in the American or National League. Aside from some debates about what qualifies as a rookie — fewer than 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched or fewer than 45 days on the active roster (excluding time on the Injured List and/or roster expansion in September) — that is about as straightforward as it gets for MLB, which brings us to 2021 and an early look at the rookie leaderboards. Those qualifications can result in some familiar names appearing atop these lists, and that’s particularly true this year, since some who played in the shortened 2020 season (or even 2019) have yet to clear those at-bat or innings thresholds. Some names, too, that floated to the top of these conversations shortly after the All Star break have already faded away, and only a handful remain from our preseason staff predictions. Read the rest of this entry »

2:02

Jay Jaffe: Good afternoon, folks, and welcome to another edition of my Friday chat! I’m back from a lovely week in San Diego, where I got to hang out with family for the first time in 18 months, get my feet wet in the ocean and a pool while watching my daughter play with her cousin, catch a game at Petco Park (no Tatis Jr., alas), drink some excellent craft beer, see one of my oldest friends, and much more.

2:04

Jay Jaffe: Anyway, no article from me today, but I’m on this weeks’ FanGraphs Audio podcast, talking to the great Trent Rosecrans about Joey Votto’s rebound and what it’s like to cover him: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/fangraphs-audio-len-kasper-and-lenny-dinar… Yesterday, I wrote about Chris Bassitt’s good luck yesterday (https://blogs.fangraphs.com/chris-bassitt-escaped-a-potential-nightmar…), and on Monday I’ll have a tribute to Bill Freehan, the 11-time All-Star catcher who passed away on Thursday.

2:07

Jay Jaffe: That’s a good question. Not only do I think it’s going to be much harder for voters to overlook yet another transgression, but I wonder if he could face a fate along the lines of his former double play partner, Roberto Alomar. Recall that Alomar was fired by MLB as a consultant and placed  on its ineligible list due to “an allegation of sexual misconduct by a baseball industry employee.” The latest Vizquel allegation of sexual misconduct was also brought an industry employee, which would appear to me to leave him open to discipline by the league, hence my speculation.

2:09

Jay Jaffe: No. Using the worst picks for the Hall as the new bar for entry opens up the field to literally thousands of players — go look up Tommy McCarthy, an even worse choice than Maz from a player perspective, and the Early Baseball Era Committee ballot, which only gets voted on once every 10 years, is even more crowded now that Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues Black baseball candidates are eligible again.

Read the rest of this entry »

There have been very few reasons for joy in Minnesota this year. The Twins entered the season as slight favorites to win their third-straight AL Central division crown, but an early slump in April buried them in the standings and they haven’t sniffed the postseason race since. For a team with no hope of playing October baseball, the dog days of August can feel a bit monotonous — unless a little artificial excitement can be created by winning a bunch of close games. Indeed, the Twins last three wins have all been walk-offs, and to make things even more interesting, Jorge Polanco has driven in the winning run in each of them.

Each of the last 3 @Twins victories has ended with a Jorge Polanco walkoff.

He's the first player with a walkoff RBI in 3 straight team wins since David Ortiz in the 2004 playoffs, and the first in the regular season since Tony Pena in June 1982.

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) August 18, 2021

On Sunday afternoon, the Twins were wrapping up a three-game series against the Rays. They had split the previous two games and had taken two of three from the White Sox before that. After climbing to a 4-0 lead through four innings, Minnesota’s pitching staff allowed four runs to score in the next three frames. The game went into the bottom of the ninth inning tied. Max Kepler led off with a double down the left field line and advanced to third after Austin Meadows misplayed the ball in the corner. Read the rest of this entry »

These are notes on prospects from Brendan Gawlowski. Read previous installments of the Daily Prospect Notes here.

Sem Robberse, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays
Level & Affiliate: High-A Vancouver Age: 19 Org Rank: 29 FV: 35+
Line: 3.2 IP, 5 R, 5 H, 6 SO, 4 BB

The most fun prospects are the ones heading in the right direction, with plenty to do between here and the big leagues. That describes Robberse, who was signed out of the Netherlands during the 2018 international signing period. At the time, it was a bet on athleticism: Robberse is a very agile and fluid athlete but his fastball peaked in the mid-80s as an amateur.

Fast forward a few years, and the Dutchman is now hitting the mid-90s and sitting 91-94 mph. As you’d expect based on the athleticism, he has a clean delivery, and he’s also shown impressive pitchability for a 19-year-old. For those who really like to dive deep, Robberse has made starts in Low-A Southeast, which has Trackman data from some of his outings. You can grind through that here, but the TLDR is that he has above average spin for his velo band and misses bats with both breaking pitches. It’s also worth mentioning that his pedestrian-looking walk rate was actually one of the top marks in his league, where the robots are handing out free passes by the dozen.

Robberse’s outing on Wednesday was a tale of two parts, which is not uncommon for pitchers his age. In the first three innings, he was the best version of himself: he got ahead consistently, moved his fastball to both sides of the plate, back-doored his two-plane slider, elevated for whiffs, and lured hitters out of the zone with his curve. The wheels came off in the fourth, though, as three frustrating errors and a series of hits seemed to put the teenager off of his game. By the end of his outing, he’d lost velocity, he was consistently missing armside with the fastball, and he had to be removed before the end of the frame.

Ultimately, there’s plenty to like here. He’s progressed through the Jays system at a blistering pace and, in bursts, he flashes a lot of starter traits. We’ll see if more consistency, and perhaps a bit more arm strength, comes with age.

Ky Bush, LHP, Los Angeles Angels
Level & Affiliate: High-A Tri-City Age: 21 Org Rank: NR
Line: 2 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 4 SO, 1 BB

Bush is a downhill-throwing southpaw with a three-quarters arm slot. He bounced between schools throughout his college career and wasn’t on anyone’s radar as an early rounder until a spectacular junior season at Saint Mary’s propelled him to the second round. His fastball is 92-95 with sink and tail, and in my viewing, he was prone to leaving the pitch up and to the arm side. His primary weapon is a slider, a hard 2-7 breaker at 82-85 that he likes to bury in the dirt. It’s a good pitch, though he sometimes pulls it and misses uncompetitively. He also has a fading change in the same velo band.

Bush was part of LA’s pitcher-only draft class, and to the extent that the Angels went that direction to augment the big league club quickly, it makes sense for the org to put a few of those hurlers on an accelerated relief track. With a somewhat funky look — he hides the ball well and at 6-foot-6 presents an awkward angle for lefties — tendency to work out of the zone, and below average command, Bush is a logical candidate for that path.

Jeremy Arocho, INF, Los Angeles Angels
Level & Affiliate: High-A Tri-City Age: 22 Org Rank: NR
Line: 3-4

Want a deep cut? Look no further than Arocho, a 22-year-old who was drafted in the 27th round by the Dodgers in 2017 and released less than two years later. He landed with the Angels just in time for a virus of modest renown to ruin his 2020 season, and he didn’t get his first taste of full-season ball until this past May.

He’s made up for lost time. Between two levels, Arocho is hitting .310 with a .421 OBP and 27 steals in 31 tries (it should be 28, but the less said about umpiring here, the better). Speed is the standout tool — he’s a plus runner — but the more you watch him, the more you appreciate the quality of his at-bats. He has a short swing, quick hands, and is efficient to the ball, so when a pitcher tries to get ahead with a fastball over the plate, he’ll punish it early in counts. He has a good feel for the strike zone — he has 48 walks and only 52 strikeouts in 309 plate appearances this year — and has shown he can make adjustments in the middle of at-bats. Last night, he lunged at a curve early in the AB, but worked his way back into the count, got another curve over the plate, made an adjustment, kept his weight back, and smacked it into right field.

Despite these strengths, Arocho’s profile is a tricky one. He has 20 power at present and while he’s playing some short right now, he doesn’t profile as an everyday defender at the six. The speed, approach, and defensive versatility give him a chance to make it all work, likely in a utility role if he makes it to the Show. I’ll be rooting for him: The league needs more hit-and-run type of players.

Hayden Juenger, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays
Level & Affiliate: High-A Vancouver Age: 21 Org Rank: NR
Line: 2 IP, 3 SO, 0 H, 0 BB

Toronto’s sixth-round pick, Juenger is a three-pitch reliever. He works with a low-three quarters arm slot and it seemed like righties in particular were having trouble picking up the ball. In my look earlier this week, he consistently hit 94 mph throughout his two innings of work, and was particularly effective attacking the gloveside corner against righties. Not surprisingly given the slot, his slider is a predominantly horizontal sweeper, and the pitch is murder when he starts it on the plate and runs it away from right-handed hitters with a little late tilt. While he throws strikes, he’s prone to missing badly, and will need to button up that issue as he climbs Toronto’s ladder.