Adam Ottavino, ROOGY No Extra

The greatest article I’ve ever examine Adam Ottavino was written on this website. Travis Sawchik wrote it, years in the past, and ever since then I’ve discovered myself following Ottavino’s profession and serious about that article. The season after he revamped his pitching arsenal by throwing by himself in a Manhattan storefront, he had a profession 12 months for the Rockies. The season after that, he returned to New York to pitch for the Yankees, and after a quick detour to Boston in 2021, he’s again in his hometown pitching for the Mets. Now, although, he’s doing it with some new instruments.

That fateful offseason, Ottavino realized to command his slider. But that wasn’t the pitch he was attempting to be taught firstly. Take a take a look at his pitch combine by 12 months, and you’ll see the cutter he deliberate on integrating:

Big sweeping sliders just like the one Ottavino throws pair nicely with sinkers, and he modified his main fastball accordingly. But sweeping sliders and sinkers each show giant platoon splits, so he additionally picked up a cutter to pair together with his two main pitches. That was the concept, no less than. In follow, he didn’t throw his cutter a lot towards lefties, and by 2020 he didn’t throw it a lot in any respect. From 2020 by ’22, he threw that cutter solely 3.7% of the time general.

In a maybe associated growth, Ottavino has gotten shelled by lefties since 2018: from that 12 months by ’22, he allowed a sterling .256 wOBA towards righties and a middle-of-the-road .313 mark towards lefties. That’s hardly stunning; he principally solely threw two pitches, and neither of them are at their greatest towards opposite-handed batters. The Yankees used him kind of as a righty specialist after which traded him to the Red Sox in a wage dump to make their bullpen work extra effectively.

I don’t suppose that commerce ever made a lot sense for the Yankees; Ottavino was quietly efficient in Boston after which signed with the Mets after the 2021 season to change into a part of one other good bullpen. But I can see the place the Yankees have been coming from; they handle their bullpen with a heavy emphasis on sparing pitchers back-to-back days of labor, and that’s more durable to do when you don’t belief one among your relievers towards left-handed batters. Lefty specialists are one factor, however groups already didn’t like right-handed one out guys earlier than the three-batter minimal got here into impact; the function Ottavino appeared greatest fitted to largely didn’t exist.

For some pitchers, that might be the top of the story. His righty-only type may not have been perfect, however it was adequate to benefit a $7 million wage to pitch in his hometown. If Ottavino have been a satisficer, you possibly can think about him stopping proper there and calling it a day. But, nicely, did you learn the half the place he spent all offseason throwing solo bullpens in a Manhattan storefront and acquired costly digital camera gear he didn’t but know learn how to use in order that he may tinker together with his pitches? He doesn’t appear to be the sort of man for whom “good enough” is nice sufficient.

Last 12 months, Ottavino added a wrinkle designed to assault lefties: He threw a changeup 20% of the time towards lefty hitters, after beforehand utilizing it roughly by no means. It labored out acceptably, however solely acceptably; he had big issues throwing it for a strike, which meant it was solely useful as a putaway pitch. That’s not so nice when you can’t get to a putaway depend, although. Ottavino was wretched towards lefties final 12 months regardless of the brand new pitch, surrendering a .354 wOBA towards them. Ah, nicely. Back to the drafting board, then.

In Ottavino’s case, I imply that actually. This previous winter, he went again into the lab and located new methods to pitch to lefties. Oh, the changeup is healthier, as pitches usually are the second 12 months a pitcher throws them. He’s solely thrown six to date, so take this with a grain of salt, however he appears to have higher command and a extra pure velocity hole now. He’s solely thrown six changeups to lefties, although, in order that’s not the change I’m speaking about. No, I’m speaking about that cutter, which he took out of mothballs and now throws as regularly as his vaunted slider.

Here’s Ottavino’s pitch combine towards righties this 12 months:

Sure, nice, superb, enterprise as common. That’s not so totally different than what you’d have seen in any earlier 12 months, except for the truth that he hasn’t thrown a single four-seamer but. He’s pitched all of six innings. Give it a while. Here’s his pitch combine towards lefties:

Whoa, what? Last 12 months, he threw his signature slider 36% of the time to southpaw batters. He threw four-seamers one other 23% of the time. Those two plans are gone, changed utterly by a cutter that he brings out early and sometimes. Unlike the changeup, he can throw it for a strike, which suggests he can get away the cutter in any depend he needs, and he hasn’t been afraid to just do that.

The cause that Ottavino realized a cutter earlier than 2018 is probably going the identical cause that he’s going again to it now: it’s a pure complement to sinker/slider arsenals. I’m not an knowledgeable relating to instructing new pitches, however it comes all the way down to this: the grip is a pure permutation of a sweeping slider grip, so pitchers who aren’t snug commanding changeups usually be taught cutters as an alternative. It’s no coincidence that Ottavino tried so as to add that cutter after coaching at Driveline; they’re the precise sort of pitch-maximizing lab that might take a look at a pitcher together with his abilities and inform him to toss something with lower.

Why a cutter? The most simplistic clarification is that cutters produce tiny, usually impartial, platoon splits. I’m not precisely certain what the whole reasoning is, however lots of it’s simply intuitive. Cutters match within the center between sinkers and sliders, which makes it more durable to learn the break of any of the three. They don’t have the intense motion profile that makes the opposite two pitches straightforward to select up for opposite-handed hitters. “Hitters are better at hitting break that moves toward them” is a helpful truism, however cutter motion usually strikes off the place they suppose a fastball can be going. The mixture of that slight path deviation and excessive velocity is simply more durable to work by for opposite-handed hitters.

How does the pitch look? To be sincere with you, pretty unremarkable, although he appears to have a strong really feel for finding it already. Here’s a cutter that Ottavino threw for a known as strike towards Joey Wendle:

Here’s the second pitch of that at-bat, a cutter to an identical spot that Wendle supplied at:

Finally, if a batter has chased two cutters, why not throw one a bit additional inside:

That’s a pleasant sequence, and you’ll see why I’m enthusiastic about Ottavino’s new plan. He was already nails towards righties; if he begins shutting lefties down too, he could be among the finest relievers in baseball. On the opposite hand:

So, has Ottavino turned a brand new web page with one other impressed offseason of pitch design? I believe so, however I additionally urge warning. His modifications look actually good to me. I believe he’ll draw assignments with much less regard for handedness than he has lately, which is nice information for a Mets group attempting to exchange Edwin Díaz. I’m not able to name the brand new Ottavino a completed product, however don’t take a look at him and suppose “oh this guy only gets righties.” That was final 12 months’s mannequin, and lots has modified below the hood since then.