I hate to confess it, however I’m a little bit of a grump today. Specifically, I’m a grump about place gamers pitching. Every time Jay Jaffe chronicles the unfold of the tactic, I get irritated proper alongside him. When some disinterested backup infielder lobs the ball in at 40 mph, I cringe. I used to be a fan of the principles that restricted when groups can ship hitters to the mound; in reality, I bear in mind being dissatisfied that the principles weren’t extra stringent once they first got here out.
With that mentioned, I’ve to take all of it again now. I’m in on place gamers pitching – so long as we’re particularly speaking about Brandon Crawford. He took the mound to shut out a 13-3 Giants victory yesterday and did so in a method that place gamers merely don’t anymore: He tried as arduous as he may.
There have already been a number of glorious breakdowns of how Crawford had at all times wished to pitch and the way he received the chance. I can’t match that form of protection – however I can take a unique angle. He regarded borderline acceptable on the market, one thing you possibly can’t typically say of hitters taking the mound. How acceptable? Let’s do a pitch breakdown.
Fastball
I assume it shouldn’t shock me {that a} good defensive shortstop can throw arduous, however Crawford topped out at 90 mph and even had distinctive four-seam form. In phrases of comparisons to precise pitchers, it regarded quite a bit like Zack Greinke’s four-seamer:
Fastball Characteristics, Selected RHP
Pitcher | Pitches | Velo (mph) | VMov (in) | HMov (in) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Zack Greinke | 235 | 89.5 | 16.6 | -2.6 |
Brandon Crawford | 4 | 88.2 | 16.4 | -4.9 |
Here it’s in motion:
That seems fairly actual. I’ll level out, although, that Crawford additionally threw 5 different pitches that Statcast had hassle classifying, however which might be in all probability greatest described as “slow fastballs.” Some of those have been four-seamers within the low 80s, an inexpensive variation for somebody making an attempt to pitch for the primary time. One was a 72-mph prayer thrown after 5 consecutive balls to start out his outing. As it seems, pitching for the primary time since highschool can create some inconsistency:
I consulted our pitching fashions to get a way for the way good this pitch was. The reply: unhealthy. PitchingBot, which grades on a 20-80 scale, gave the fastball a 24 stuff grade. Stuff+ gave it a 77, the place 100 is common and better is best. I don’t assume pitchers are going to start out duplicating the Crawford fastball anytime quickly.
Changeup
Naturally, Crawford complemented his fastball with a tough changeup. There are extra shades of Greinke right here; his changeup averaged 86 mph, about the identical as his fastball. This wasn’t a classification challenge, although: his 5 changeups had a clearly distinct motion profile. He killed the carry on the pitch surprisingly nicely; it dropped about 10 inches greater than his fastball (excluding that one 72-mph laugher) and had a further six inches or so of arm-side fade. This seems strikingly like one thing a pitcher would possibly throw:
Reasonable observers would possibly quibble with Crawford’s potential to find his changeup. He threw 5 of them and solely hit the strike zone as soon as. But – and I can’t imagine I’m saying this – his misses have been in cheap places, and the pitch actually did have a ton of motion. Blake Sabol even performed alongside by making an attempt to border one into the zone:
No doubt about it: Crawford’s changeup is his greatest pitch. He earned a swinging strike in opposition to a hitter with a 154 wRC+ (and a 31.6% strikeout price, to be truthful). Our pitching fashions… nicely, one agreed with me. PitchingBot gave the changeup a 40 stuff grade, which is about the identical because the grades the fashions give changeups thrown by Alex Cobb, Sean Manaea, Jakob Junis, and Anthony DeSclafani. Stuff+ didn’t purchase it, giving the pitch a 66, worse than his four-seamer.
In this particular occasion, I believe there’s just one conclusion: Stuff+ is flawed and Crawford’s changeup is nice. That pitch form may truly play within the majors; it seems much like changeups thrown by Cal Quantrill, Dane Dunning, and Miles Mikolas. It’s notoriously arduous to outline what makes a changeup good or unhealthy, however c’mon, let’s give Crawford the advantage of the doubt right here. That seems like pitch.
Curveball
Oh, you thought Crawford was going to stay to 2 pitches? Crawford wasn’t simply making an attempt arduous with velocity; he introduced a breaking pitch or two in his bag of tips. Like his changeup, Crawford had hassle finding his curveball, however it was fairly clearly a curveball:
He even had a traditional pitcher mannerism prepared, holding his comply with by means of like he thought he’d thrown a strike. When he received the pitch over the plate, it induced weak groundball contact:
Side word: Want to understand how excited the Giants defenders have been that Crawford was pitching? Watch J.D. Davis’ double play try there — in a 10-run recreation — and also you’ll have your reply.
Regretfully, I’ve to confess that Crawford’s curveball isn’t fairly prepared for the massive leagues. PitchingBot gave it a 24 for stuff. Stuff+ gave it a 71. Actual pitchers with curves that sluggish induce extra drop on the pitch; in the event you’re not throwing a breaking ball arduous, you must get a ton of motion to make up for it. If Crawford have been doing this as his day job, his pitching coach would inform him to ditch the breaker and deal with his fastball and changeup.
Slider
You would possibly assume {that a} lone slider was merely a misclassified curveball. You’d be flawed. Crawford’s slider had a very totally different form:
Breaking Ball Shape, Brandon Crawford
Pitch | Velo (mph) | VMov (in) | HMov (in) |
---|---|---|---|
Curveball | 74.2 | -7.9 | 13.5 |
Slider | 81.3 | 4.1 | 5.6 |
It’s someplace between a gyro slider and a sweeper, however clearly a definite pitch from that curveball. Touching the low 80s with motion isn’t any laughing matter. It’s additionally the perfect pitch in main league baseball historical past in relation to outs per pitch thrown, minimal one pitch thrown:
Was he aiming there? It appears uncertain. Is that the pitch he was making an attempt to throw? Who is aware of! That doesn’t make me get pleasure from it any much less, although. When’s the final time you noticed a place participant with a four-pitch combine?
Depending on which mannequin you like, that is likely to be Crawford’s greatest pitch. Or his worst pitch. PitchingBot gave it a flat 20 on the 20-80 scale, whereas Stuff+ gave it a strong 104. An inexpensive takeaway is that it’s arduous to mannequin stuff with solely a single pitch. An unreasonable takeaway: Crawford’s slider defies categorization and retires main league hitters 100% of the time he throws it.
Should Crawford be a pitcher? I imply, no. There aren’t numerous main league roster spots on the market for pitchers who prime out within the 80s and have below-average breaking pitches. But is he surprisingly playable on the mound? Undoubtedly. His changeup seems like a bona fide main league pitch to me. I’m keen to rethink my stance on place gamers pitching – as long as everybody who is available in seems pretty much as good as Crawford on the market.
Content Source: blogs.fangraphs.com