Marcus Stroman shows us something new
After convincing the Mets to let him make his spring debut on his throw day, Marcus Stroman looked like Inspector Gadget on the mound, using a variety of wind-ups and pitch offerings seemingly pulled from his hat, as he tossed two perfect frames against the Astros on Tuesday.
By the time he hop-skipped off the mound following his final strikeout, he had thrown 10 sinkers, 4 cutters, 2 four-seamers, 2 curveballs, 6 sliders and 6 of these:
If Stroman is going to pitch like this, the Mets might just be the National League East favorites, as the projections keep trying to tell us.
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That new pitch you saw above is a product of Stroman working withRobert Gsellmanin Brooklyn last summer. The right-hander recently explained to Rob Friedman of Pitching Ninja how he learned to grip what he calls a “split-change” by using pressure from his ring finger upon release to create the desired movement.
After opting out of the 2020 season, he continued to try to gain a feel for the pitch, but Tuesday was the first time he got to use it in action.
“You never know until you throw it against hitters,” Stroman told reporters after the game. “It can feel filthy, it can feel nasty, it can feel like the best pitch ever. But until you actually get out there and throw it in a game, and see how hitters react to it, I feel like you can’t actually consider that pitch a weapon. … After throwing it today, I feel like it’s a weapon.”
What makes the split-change so special? It comes down to whiffs. While Stroman has tried to mix in a change-up to offset his 1-2 sinker/slider punch, it’s not a pitch that has developed into a weapon for him. It lacks movement and doesn’t miss bats. By finding a pitch that creates a velocity gap off his sinker, while adding significant drop, Stroman becomes a much more dangerous pitcher.
He would then have the potential to include three plus pitches in his arsenal with a sinker that he can use in all counts and situations, a slider that generates whiffs from righties, and now a split-change as a potential put-away pitch to left-handed hitters. You can get a rough idea of how these different pitches look to a hitter in the overlay video below.
We are still four weeks away from Opening Day, and Stroman will undoubtedly continue to tinker with his approach, as he gets used to pulling a new pitch from his bag of tricks. But from what we saw in his first start, it’s hard not to get excited.