Exploring the Arsenal will run prior to each game, providing you with a brief scouting report on the starting pitcher expected to oppose the Pirates. The chart below shows the horizontal and vertical movement of every pitch thrown by that particular pitcher in his career. This chart is from the catcher’s point of view. Click here for a general guide to pitch types and classifications. Graphs are courtesy of Brooks Baseball and The Hardball Times , unless otherwise specified. Statistics are courtesy of FanGraphs .
Saturday, 1:05 PM – Jason Berken
| 2012 (BAL AAA) | |
|---|---|
| IP | 144.0 |
| K/PA | 15.9% |
| BB/PA | 6.3% |
| HR/9 | 0.63 |
| GB% | 41.0% |
| Whiff% | N/A |
| ERA | 3.50 |
| FIP | 3.66 |
The Cubs grabbed the 28-year-old Berken on waivers a week ago after he spent most of the year in the Orioles’ Triple-A rotation. He spent much of 2009 in Baltimore’s major league rotation and logged 109.1 innings out of the bullpen in the 2010-2011 seasons. Berken has a pretty good arm, with a fastball that sits 90-94 MPH with some life. He mostly throws a four-seam fastball, but also mixes in a two-seamer with similar velocity and some arm-side run. His primary breaking ball and best strikeout pitch is an 80-85 MPH slider. He also throws a mediocre 76-81 MPH curveball and a fringy 81-85 MPH changeup. Berken allowed two home runs and seven runs (two earned) in his only inning pitched at the big league level in 2012.
