On Sunday, Neal Huntington was asked a question about high school players and their ability to throw a changeup. He was asked specifically if they threw it enough in high school. He gave a long answer and related the question to Tyler Glasnow, Jameson Taillon and Chad Kuhl, and how they have developed that pitch. I’m just going to include the entire quote here, then talk about it afterwards.
“It’s interesting, it’s around draft time, and when you hear a high school pitcher or you hear a college pitcher that has an above-average changeup, it stands out. Most guys that have velocity and a breaking ball, they’re doing a minor league hitter, they’re doing a college hitter, they’re doing an amateur hitter a favor when they throw it (the changeup). Guys that have the really good changeups don’t have a good breaking ball. That three pitch high school pitcher almost never exists, unless he throws 86-90 because he doesn’t have the dominant velocity.
So there’s always development that goes on, you’ll see three and four-pitch college pitchers, but even then, most of the time they’ll rely on two, and they have a third. And in these cases, these two guys (Glasnow and Taillon), they had two really good pitches for a high schooler and in Chad’s case for college.
So that third pitch, Tyler Glasnow throwing an 87 MPH changeup to a high school hitter is doing him a favor; he might actually be able to hit that one. The 92 MPH fastball he can’t hit, but the 86 MPH changeup he might be able to get the barrel to. And even in the minor leagues, it’s hard. Jameson Taillon goes against a four-hole hitter in A-ball, and he throws him an 86 MPH changeup, the guy squares it up because he’s late on the 96 MPH fastball. It’s hard for Jameson, he wants to get outs.
So we’ve preached continually to these guys the process: don’t get locked up on your numbers, if you take care of business the numbers that you need will be at the major league level because you put yourself in a position to control the emotion and repeat a delivery to be able to throw multiple pitches for strikes and get ahead in the count.”
A big focus this year has been on the changeup. It’s obviously the biggest story right now with Tyler Glasnow, because it’s his biggest weakness. It was also a big story because he wasn’t using the pitch in games. When he went to the Arizona Fall League, they wanted him to throw the changeup more. When he began this year, they wanted him to throw the changeup more. The problem is that he had success without throwing the pitch, so why would you want to go to a third pitch to help the batters out? We all know the answer to that, but why don’t the pitchers seem to realize it? Do they need to experience failure first before they realize most starting pitchers can’t get by in the majors on two pitches?
You can sort of excuse Glasnow early in his career because the Pirates preach fastball command at the lower levels. I’ve seen young pitchers at the lowest levels go through an order an entire time without an off-speed pitch to start a game. With Glasnow though, the changeup has always been an issue and he really hasn’t addressed it until six starts ago, and then that was mandated that he had to throw the pitch more. Since then, we have seen him throw between 8-15 changeups per game. Before that, you may not have seen him throw 15 in an entire month. That doesn’t mean they weren’t working on the pitch though.
Back in 2013, while West Virginia was visiting Lakewood, I got a front row seat for one of Glasnow’s bullpen sessions with pitching coach Jeff Johnson, who is now the pitching coach for Bradenton. The main focus of that bullpen, three full seasons ago, was getting comfortable throwing the changeup. It wasn’t just physically throwing the ball, but a talk about having confidence in the pitch. The first few he threw did nothing, then there were a couple near the end of that session that looked really good.
I can share another story from 2011 pertaining to Jameson Taillon and his changeup. The Pirates had a college pitcher named Kevin Decker, who I will never understand why they got rid of him so soon. Decker would hit 93 with his fastball and as Taillon told me while we were watching him pitch, “He has a changeup that everyone is jealous of.”
We talked a little about the changeup from Decker, and how Taillon said he was working on his change. That was about a month into his time at West Virginia, which was the first stop for Taillon going up to minor league ladder. When you look at where he is now, even with all the missed time, he went from not having a changeup, to using it as a weapon this season. I’ve watched every start of his this year and in all but one game, I noticed how much success he had with the change. He doesn’t throw it often, but it’s there when he needs it.
With Chad Kuhl, the success with the changeup has really come on quickly. He has used the pitch effectively this season to go along with his sinker and slider. Kuhl has a hard slider at times, so sometimes the changeup is even slower than his slider. On Saturday, he hit 87-88 with the slider occasionally and his slowest pitches of the day were 84 MPH changeups. When he’s on his game, you’ll occasionally see the sinker running in to righties, the slider breaking away, and the changeup breaking down. It looks like a sinker until the batter has already committed too early and ends up way out in front of the pitch.
When you look at where Taillon and Kuhl are right now in their development (as Tim Williams did last night with help from more Neal Huntington quotes), it is clear that they can still work around one of their top two pitches being off on certain nights. That’s because their third pitch is a changeup that they can go to when they need it. That’s the difference right now between them and Glasnow. In his case, he is still working on command, walking 22 batters this season. We have watched games this year when he didn’t have his curve, or the fastball wasn’t sharp, but didn’t have a third pitch to go to at the time. He isn’t at the point yet where the changeup can be a weapon. The pitch at times is almost unnoticeable, looking like a fastball. That’s because we have seen it as high as 91, with as little as 2-3 MPH separation from the fastball right before it.
Glasnow could be a case study for future high school pitchers in the system. You might see them go to a changeup more often because they see Glasnow being held back due to working on the pitch at the last possible second. I’ve watched Mitch Keller throw four times and allow a total of three runs. He doesn’t go to his changeup often, though I will say I’ve seen him throw some nice ones. Would he be less of a prospect if he threw 5-6 more changeups per game and ended up giving up more runs because of that? The answer is a resounding no. Anyone with the Pirates, knows that stats only tell a small part of the story. The have starting pitchers in the stands everyday tracking pitches, and coaches are talking to front office members with reports after each game. If Keller gave up damage with the changeup, they would know that.
In any event with Glasnow, I think he will move up once his third pitch becomes a viable option and not something he is forced to use. He used the pitch effectively the first time he was forced to use it more back on April 26th. I’ve seen some nice ones here and there, including an 88 MPH one on Sunday that came after a 77 MPH curve, and before a 93 MPH fastball. The changeup was down and in to a lefty and it got a swinging strike. When he’s able to consistently go to that third pitch, even if it’s just to give the batter something else to think about, then we will see his other two pitches play up even more, turning him into an effective pitcher at the highest level.
PLAYOFF PUSH
Bradenton is 7-3 in their last ten games. They are in second place in their division, trailing first place by one game. The first half of the FSL season ends on June 22nd.
West Virginia is 4-6 in their last ten games. They are in fourth place in their division, trailing first place by 5.5 games. The first half of the SAL season ends on June 19th.
PIRATES GAME GRAPH
The Pirates were rained out yesterday.
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pirates were rained out yesterday. They will make that game up today with Ryan Vogelsong on the mound. Then they will then open a three-game series at home against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday with Francisco Liriano on the mound. Vogelsong made one start this season, allowing one run over five innings back on April 13th. The Rockies will counter with Jordan Lyles, who has a 7.64 ERA and a 1.87 WHIP in four starts.
In the minors, Clay Holmes will start for Altoona. He is coming off a game in which he allowed one run over six innings and didn’t issue a walk for the first time this season. Altoona had a rain out Saturday, then a doubleheader rained out Sunday. Those games will be made up in mid-August.
Bradenton goes with Yeudy Garcia, making his ninth start. He has pitched six innings just once this year due to issues with high pitch counts, though he has managed to allow three earned runs or less in every start. West Virginia will go with J.T. Brubaker, who began the season by giving up two or fewer hits in three of his first four starts. Since then, he has allowed at least six hits in each start. Indianapolis has off today.
MLB: Pittsburgh (23-19) vs Rockies (21-21) 12:35 PM
Probable starter: Ryan Vogelsong (4.12 ERA, 10:14 BB/SO, 19.2 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (21-20) @ Rochester (25-19) 7:05 PM 5/24 (season preview)
Probable starter: Frank Duncan (2.38 ERA, 0:12 BB/SO, 11.1 IP)
AA: Altoona (23-18) vs Akron (31-11) 6:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Clay Holmes (5.22 ERA, 18:25 BB/SO, 39.2 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (22-20) vs Dunedin (18-26) 6:30 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Yeudy Garcia (3.64 ERA, 14:37 BB/SO, 32.1 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (22-20) @ Charleston (27-15) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: JT Brubaker (3.98 ERA, 18:48 BB/SO, 43.0 IP)
HIGHLIGHTS
Here is a double from Barrett Barnes, his fourth of the season. After a very slow start to the season, he is hitting .255/.336/.358 in 106 at-bats.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
5/22: Trevor Williams assigned to Bradenton. Colten Brewer sent to Extended Spring Training.
5/22: Trace Tam Sing added to Bradenton roster.
5/21: West Virginia assigns Ty Moore and Casey Hughston to Extended Spring Training. Logan Ratledge and Sean Keselica added to West Virginia roster.
5/21: Logan Hill demoted from Bradenton to West Virginia.
5/21: Pirates release Eric Karch.
5/21: Juan Diaz assigned to Extended Spring Training
5/20: John Kuchno assigned to Indianapolis. Guido Knudson assigned to Extended Spring Training.
5/19: Starling Marte activated from paternity list. Alen Hanson optioned to Indianapolis.
5/19: Elias Diaz placed on 60-day disabled list.
5/19: Wilfredo Boscan added to 40-man roster and promoted to Pittsburgh. Cory Luebke optioned to Indianapolis.
5/17: John Kuchno assigned to Extended Spring Training.
5/16: Starling Marte placed on paternity list. Alen Hanson recalled.
5/16: Juan Diaz added to Indianapolis roster.
5/15: Pirates activate Cory Luebke from disabled list. A.J. Schugel optioned to Indianapolis.
5/13: Pirates release Daniel Bard.
5/13: Kyle Lobstein optioned to Indianapolis. Pittsburgh Pirates recall Cole Figueroa.
5/12: Cesilio Pimentel activated from West Virginia disabled list. Julio Vivas assigned to Extended Spring Training.
5/9: Mel Rojas Jr. traded to the Atlanta Braves for cash considerations.
5/8: Cole Tucker added to West Virginia Power roster. Logan Ratledge assigned to Extended Spring Training.
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Four former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, including one of the best pitchers in team history. First the other players born on May 23rd, we start with Mike Gonzalez, who was a reliever/closer for the Pirates from 2003 until 2006. Infielder Nelson Norman from the 1982 team and right fielder Bill Miller, who played his only MLB game on August 23,1902. He has a very interesting story, which can be read in the link above.
On to the star player from this date, pitcher Deacon Phillippe. He won 168 games for the Pirates between 1900 and 1911, helping them two four NL titles and two World Series appearances. In 12 Major League seasons, he never had a losing record, finishing 189-109, which makes him a fringe Hall of Fame candidate. During the 1903 season when Pittsburgh played in the first World Series, Phillippe won 25 games and he started five games during the WS, winning three times. You can read a lot more on him here, which is an article that breaks down how he fared against the best/worst teams during his day and the best pitchers of his time.
One trade of note on this date in 1963. The Pirates dealt outfielder Bob Skinner to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for outfielder Jerry Lynch. It seemed like the Pirates were getting slightly worse in the deal, but Lynch ended up being the better player, while Skinner struggled early in 1964 and was dealt away to the St Louis Cardinals.
