Josh Winckowski has been a useful piece within the Boston bullpen this season. Pitching in a number of aid roles — he’s entered video games within the every of innings 5 by way of 9 — the 24-year-old right-hander has a 1.57 ERA to go together with a 2-0 report and one save. Acquired by the Red Sox from the New York Mets in February 2021 as a part of a three-team, seven-player commerce that featured Andrew Benintendi, Winckowski has tossed 23 frames over a baker’s-dozen outings.
He’d primarily been a starter previous to this season. All however six of Winckowski’s 90 minor-league appearances got here as a starter, as did all however one of many 15 he made final yr in his first style of MLB motion. That he’s thriving as a former Fifteenth-round choose whose repertoire lacks energy can also be a part of his story.
“I went through every level of the minor leagues and had to prove myself at all of them,” stated Winckowski, whom the Toronto Blue Jays drafted out of Estero (FLA) High School in 2016 and subsequently swapped to the Mets within the January 2021 Steven Matz deal. “Somewhere in the middle there was a pitch-to-contact-and-miss-barrels.’ That’s the sweet spot for me. Quick outs — two or three pitches for outs — is definitely my game. It’s where I’m at my best.”
Winckowski does have the power to strike batters out. While his Ok/9 is a modest 7.04 — final yr it was simply 5.6 — he fanned 9.2 batters per 9 in Triple-A. Moreover, he’s not a soft-tosser. But whereas his sinker averages 95.1 mph, reaching again for extra juice isn’t how his punch-outs come about.
“The way I miss bats is through location, execution, and tunneling,” defined Winckowski. “It’s not from trying to puff up, throw harder, and whatnot. That doesn’t do a lot of good for me. The cooler, the more calm and collected I am, the better the ball comes out. When I try to muscle up, it comes out worse.”
A greater understanding of sequencing is enjoying an enormous position within the Toledo-born hurler’s success.
“Cutter glove-side, and then sinker glove-side, is a good tunneling combo that I started figuring out toward the end of the season,” defined Winckowski, whose repertoire includes a starter-esque 5 choices. “One thing I realized is that my pitches, isolated, weren’t performing like I needed them to. I don’t look at [pitch data] too much, but it pops up here and there and you can’t avoid it. I was bottom of the league in pretty much everything.” (Winchowski’s 2022 Savant breakdown will be discovered right here.)
The righty has additionally discovered himself on the underside of quite a lot of breakfast bowls. When I requested for any ultimate ideas, I acquired a solution higher befitting a stereotypically-eccentric left-hander.
“I like cereal a lot,” Winckowski informed me. “I go to cereal a decent bit. I like Frosted Flakes.”
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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS
Alfonso Soriano went 10 for 15 in opposition to Lance Cormier.
Bill Pecota went 5 for 8 in opposition to Rheal Cormier.
Bobby Valentine went 5 for 7 in opposition to Chris Short.
Ralph Houk went 5 for 9 in opposition to Stubby Overmire.
Freddie Patek went 6 for 7 in opposition to Paul Thormodsgard.
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Xzavion Curry was described as a “prospect-on-the-rise” when he led Sunday Notes on September 12, 2021. Pitching at two A-ball ranges, he’d gone 8-1 with a 2.30 ERA after starting the season unranked within the Cleveland system. He’s now understanding of the Guardians bullpen. Over seven outings comprising 19 innings, the 24-year-old right-hander has a 2.37 ERA and a 3.46 FIP.
I not too long ago requested Curry, Cleveland’s seventh-round choose in 2019 out of Georgia Tech, what’s modified since we spoke two years in the past.
“I would say I’m the same pitcher, I’m just better,” responded Curry, who made his first two MLB appearances final yr. “I’m getting more experienced, especially at this level — the major league level — but I’m still the same pitcher who is attacking guys, trying to fill up the strike zone.”
Curry credit improved consistency together with his supply for “better pitch profiles,” together with extra energy and depth to his curveball, which has jumped from 70-71 mph to 75-76 mph. As for his transfer from starter to reliever — no less than for now — he’s principally simply pleased to be within the huge leagues.
“That’s my role with the team right now,” stated Curry. “I’m a starter by nature, but I’m also a baseball player by nature. Whatever I can do to get on the field, whatever I can do to help the team, that’s what I would like to do. To experience this lifestyle every day, to come here with a great group of guys who have the same mindset of winning games, has been nothing short of a blessing. Being here is the most amazing thing ever.”
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A quiz:
“Toothpick” Sam Jones turned the primary African American pitcher to throw an MLB no-hitter when he did so with the National League’s Chicago Cubs on May 12, 1955. Who was the primary African American pitcher to throw a no-hitter within the American League? (A touch: he hit one in all his 35 profession dwelling runs in that recreation.)
The reply will be discovered under.
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NEWS NOTES
The Society for American Baseball Research introduced this week that Mark Armour was re-elected as President, and Dan Levitt as Treasurer. Dan Evans, Tom Shieber, and Kat Williams had been elected as SABR Directors.
Roger Hambright, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 18 video games for the New York Yankees in 1971, died final month at age 74. The Sunnyside, Washington native received three of his 4 choices and logged a pair of saves.
This yr’s Sabermetrics, Scouting, and the Science of Baseball seminar (a.ok.a. Saberseminar) might be held in Chicago on August 12-13. FanGraphs is among the many sponsors, as are a number of MLB groups. Information will be discovered right here.
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The reply to the quiz is Earl Wilson, who threw a no-hitter for the Red Sox on June 26, 1962. The huge right-hander helped his personal trigger with a solo dwelling run in Boston’s 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
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FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Trevor Bauer made his NPB debut on Wednesday and allowed one run over seven innings because the DeNA BayStars beat the Hiroshima Carp 4-1. The controversial former Cy Young Award winner fanned 9 batters and allowed seven hits and one stroll.
Nik Turley is 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA in 14 aid appearances for the Carp. The 33-year-old former Minnesota Twin and Pittsburgh Pirates southpaw is in his second NPB season after 11 skilled seasons stateside.
Hirokazu Sawamura acquired the win when the Chiba Lotte Marines beat the Rakuten Golden Eagles 2-0 in 10 innings earlier this week. The former Boston Red Sox reliever is 3-1 with two saves and a 5.11 ERA in his first yr again in NPB.
Addison Russell is slashing .340/.391/.505 with the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes. The erstwhile Chicago Cubs infielder has three dwelling runs in 105 plate appearances.
Jin-yong Seo has made 15 appearances and is 1-0 with 13 saves for the KBO’s SSG Landers. The 30-year-old right-hander has thrown 15-and-a-third scoreless innings.
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Anthony DeSclafani performed for the Cincinnati Reds earlier than signing as a free agent with the San Francisco Giants previous to the 2021 season. Earlier this spring, I requested the 33-year-old right-hander how the 2 organizations differ when it comes to pitching philosophy and instruction.
“I wouldn’t say there’s much of a difference at all,” replied DeSclafani. “They’re all really smart. We had guys in Cincinnati who knew what they were doing, and here they maybe have a little bit different way of relaying stuff, or some different ideas on how to throw certain pitches.”
One explicit pitch-usage suggestion stands out.
“When I got here, they emphasized throwing my slider more,” defined
DeSclafani. “Trying to get the slider back to the times during my career that it was effective was something they relayed to me, and that helped me be successful in 2021. Now I’m just trying to get that back.”
DeSclafani threw his slider a then-career excessive 35.7% of the time in 2021 whereas going 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA. After being restricted to simply 19 innings final yr as a result of accidents, he’s now throwing his slider 45.2% of the time. Over six begins, DeSclafani is 3-1 with a 2.13 ERA over 38 innings.
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FARM NOTES
Luisangel Acuña is slashing .316/.362/.462 and has 14 stolen bases in as many makes an attempt with the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders. The 21-year-old center infielder — the youthful brother of Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. — was signed by the Texas Rangers out of Venezuela in 2018.
Ryan Bliss is slashing .385/.407/.615 with 4 dwelling runs in 108 plate appearances for the Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles. The 23-year-old center infielder was drafted forty second general by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2021 out of Auburn University.
Shane Drohan is 5-0 with a 0.62 ERA with 30 strikeouts and simply six walks
in 29 innings for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. The 24-year-old left-hander was chosen within the fifth spherical of the 2020 draft out of Florida State University by the Boston Red Sox.
Cristian Mena has a 3.96 ERA to go together with 42 strikeouts and simply six walks in 25 innings for the Double-A Birmingham Barons. The 20-year-old right-hander is No. 8 on our Chicago White Sox Top Prospects listing.
Seth Keller has allowed 9 hits and one run in 15 innings for the Low-A Augusta GreenJackets. The 18-year-old right-hander was drafted within the sixth spherical final yr out of Mechanicsville, Virginia’s Hanover High School by the Atlanta Braves.
The impartial Atlantic League’s Lexington Counter Clocks signed Dakota Mekkes. The 28-year-old Michigan State University product pitched within the Chicago Cubs system from 2016-2022 and spent final yr with Triple-A Iowa.
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Craig Lefferts pitched within the big-leagues from 1983-1994, showing in 696 video games and being credited with 58 wins and 101 saves. Born in Munich, Germany and raised in a number of U.S. locales — his father was a a lieutenant colonel within the Air Force — he had his greatest seasons with the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants, serving each as a southpaw setup man and as a more in-depth.
Were it not for a childhood birthday reward, he might need been making a dwelling together with his different hand. Lefferts — now a pitching coach and rehab coordinator within the Oakland Athletics group — informed me the story previous to an Arizona Fall League recreation final October.
“I was a left-handed pitcher, so my nickname is obviously Lefty,” Lefferts stated. “But the reality is, I’m not left-handed. I’m actually right-handed. When I used to be a teen, I cherished baseball, however I used to be asthmatic and didn’t play any sports. It was my eighth birthday. My grandmother, who lived in San Diego, flew out to Kansas and gave me this outdated Spalding mitt, which she’d purchased for a nickel at a Salvation Army. It was the very best birthday current I might ever ask for.
“I put it on, and heard my dad’s voice: ’Oh, mom. You got him the wrong glove.’ It was for the wrong hand, but I didn’t care. I loved it. I took it to bed with me. I wore it every day, and I learned how to throw left-handed because of that glove.”
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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE
At CBS Sports, R.J. Anderson wrote about how baseball’s subsequent unionization effort might come from MLB entrance places of work.
At The Chicago Tribune, Shakeia Taylor wrote about how White Sox pitcher Keynan Middleton all the time felt ‘different’ in baseball.
Erstwhile MLB pitcher Casey Kelly — now in his fifth season with the KBO’s LG Twins — stays levelheaded with the assistance of his father, former big-league catcher, and present Louisville Bats supervisor, Pat Kelly. Jee-ho Yu has the story at Yonhap News Agency.
At Fish Stripes, Alex Krutchik wrote about how Miami Marlins outfielder Peyton Burdick may be able to make the most of his second yr within the huge leagues.
Xander Bogaerts had his 30-game on-base streak finish earlier this week regardless of hitting a line drive that one-hopped into an outfielder’s glove. Ben Fadden defined how at Gaslamp Ball.
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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS
Xander Bogaerts turned the primary participant in MLB historical past to homer in 4 completely different nations when he went deep in final weekend’s Mexico City Series. The Aruba native homered within the London Series in 2019, and has additionally left the yard in each the united statesand Canada.
Eduardo Rodriguez has allowed two runs in 34-and-two-thirds innings over his final 5 begins. The Detroit Tigers southpaw had allowed seven runs in 10 innings over his first two begins.
Longtime Detroit Tigers left-hander Mickey Lolich batted .110 with no dwelling runs in 1,107 regular-season plate appearances. He went 3-for-12 with a house run within the 1968 World Series versus the St. Louis Cardinals.
Nolan Ryan walked 204 batters in 1977. The second highest whole within the junior circuit that yr was 99, by Jim Palmer.
Babe Ruth had a pair of hits, together with a house run, whereas enjoying first base for the Boston Red Sox on May 6, 1918. The recreation marked the primary time Ruth, then in his fifth big-league season, was within the beginning lineup as a place participant.
On immediately’s date in 1996, Eric Anthony and Eric Davis hit back-to-back dwelling runs within the backside of the twelfth inning to present the Cincinnati Reds a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Todd Worrell surrendered the gophers.
On immediately’s date in 1941, Reds shortstop Eddie Joost dealt with a modern-era report 19 possibilities in Cincinnati’s 1-0 win over the New York Giants. Joost had 10 assists and 9 putouts.
On May 8, 2010, Jody Gerut hit for the cycle because the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 17-3. Eighty years earlier, on May 8, 1930, Freddie Lindstrom hit for the cycle to assist lead the New York Giants to a 13-10, 10-inning win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Players born on immediately’s date embody Claude Raymond, a right-handed reliever who logged 46 wins and 82 saves whereas showing in 449 video games for 4 completely different groups from 1959-1971. The first Québec native to play for the Montreal Expos — he was born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu — Raymond later served as a French-language analyst on Expos broadcasts from 1972 to 2001.
Also born on immediately’s date was Art Doll, whose big-league profession comprised seven video games — 4 as a catcher and three as a pitcher — with the Boston Braves/Bees from 1935-1938. Doll went 2 for 13 on the dish, and 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA over 12 innings on the mound.
Content Source: blogs.fangraphs.com