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(Video) Tim Alderson’s Jerky Delivery

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For about the first half of the 2011 season it looked like Tim Alderson was getting back on track to eventually having a Major League career. His fastball was in the upper 80s, which was up from the mid-80s in 2010. His curveball was looking good, which combined with the improved fastball allowed him to dominate the Eastern League. Unfortunately Alderson struggled in the second half, seeing his velocity drop back down to the mid-80s.

Alderson was one of the top pitching prospects in the game prior to the 2009 season. Prior to trading for him, the Pirates looked at video and noticed that he lost something in his delivery between high school and the 2009 season. They traded for him, hoping to revert him back to his high school delivery. The change didn’t happen overnight, so reversing the change isn’t expected to happen overnight.

Alderson turned 23 in November, and is running short on time. He will probably stick in the system this year, but he’s going to need to get some velocity back in order to return to top prospect status. His jerky delivery adds some deception, and his fastball looks faster than it is on most occasions. If he gets back to the upper 80s, he could have a shot at the majors. If he could get back to the low 90s that would be even better.

Below is a video of Alderson from today at Pirate City, pitching to Quincy Latimore and Andrew Lambo. The curve looked good, and Alderson was using a cutter as a changeup.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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