2022 Diamondbacks: Good luck trying to hit that!
The 3 most unhittable pitches from Arizona pitchers a season ago (minimum 25IP).
1. Kyle Nelson 4-Seam Fastball (.135 BAA)
In 2021, Nelson pitched 9.2 innings for Clevland and gave up 10 earned runs. Yikes! A 9.31 ERA in 10 games is not ideal for anyone! But as all great comeback stories go, the hero usually struggles in the beginning, and triumphs in the end…
In 2022, Nelson pitched 37 innings for the Diamondbacks. Over 37 innings Nelson posted a 2-1 record with a 2.19 ERA, and 10 holds. You think Nelson was motivated to prove people wrong in 2022? I think so. A large portion of the credit for those impressive numbers goes to Nelson’s heater. Nelson threw his 4-seam fastball 215 times in 2022 and despite Nelson’s fastball only averaging 92 MPH, batters couldn’t seem to figure it out. Batters hit a weak .135 against it and slugged an abysmal .162 against it…
2. J.B. Wendelken Slider (.143 BAA)
Before joining the Diamondbacks, J.B. Wendelken had proven to be a reliable and successful relief pitcher in the MLB. From 2019-2021, Wendelken pitched 82.2 innings for the Oakland A’s going 5-3 with a 3.23 ERA. Since joining the D-Backs in the middle of the 2021 season, J.B. has gone 4-3 with a 4.81 ERA over 47.2 innings. Same person, two different pitchers…
One thing has remained, however; the dominance of Wendelken’s slider. In 2022, Wendelken threw his slider 110 times and hitters hit a lowly .143 against it. What is confusing to me is that J.B. is only throwing his slider 22.5% of the time. Don’t get me wrong, every pitcher has to establish their fastball for the offspeed to be successful. But my goodness, if you have a pitch that hitters aren’t even hitting .150 against and you aren’t throwing it at least 30% of the time… I guess I am not an MLB pitching coach or catcher for a reason. They must know something I do not…
3. Madison Bumgarner Changeup (.145 BAA)
2022 wasn’t a fantastic season for the veteran southpaw. Bumgarner finished the year with a 7-15 record, a 4.88 ERA, and a .281 BAA. Let’s hope we see a bounce-back season for Madison…
The pitch that was most effective for Bumgarner a season ago was his changeup; running anywhere from 84-86 MPH batters had trouble with it. Batters were hitting a mere .145 and slugging .246 against this pitch! Surprisingly Bumgarner only threw his changeup 11% of the time. For a guy that had an ERA close to 5 a season ago, Bumgarner and pitching coach Brent Storm need to realize how effective this offspeed pitch is and find a way to put it into the mix more...