He. If we cut our changeup, how does it vary from a slider? Dan, I was a Baseball Ops consultant for the Red Sox and did an analysis of changeup effectiveness. So it's not a coincidence that the pitch was at the root of shutting down the San Diego Padres on Tuesday. Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks talks about when in his career he developed what he calls his most important pitch: the changeup. If we compromise on a goal of 10% speed reduction, which will be ideal for the majority of pitchers, we need to understand how we obtain that reduction. We maximize lateral spin application by forcing the ball to roll up the fingers before finally releasing off the fingertip. Hendricks grip is one of the factors that allows him to kill as much spin as possible and achieve this above-average sink. Forcing the fingers down the sides of the baseball are one of a few culprits that cause undue hand tension. Its a little slower than your traditional slider, without as much vertical break as most sliders, but it looks a bit like a slider. The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only. One of the biggest frustrations for pitchers new to the changeup is that they bounce it too much. You try to tell the difference when he tunnels those two pitches.". Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes! We need to think of paintbrushing the hand over the changeup. This is likely the only thing changeup throwers all agree on. Required fields are marked *. His repertoire made him more of a pitcher than a thrower, making Wright wary whether pro scouts eventually would. "Hendricks sits at 86.7 mph with his two-seamer (slower than some of the other changeups picked here). The odd thing about Hendricks is that his changeup actually spins more than his fastball, roughly 300 rpm more on average in 2020. And technology like Edgertronic cameras can help us appreciate his success more than ever. At the 50-second mark in the video above, theres an example of this grip from an Edgertronic camera. We need 90mph arm speed with a 79-83mph output. Kyle Hendricks purposefully cuts his changeup sometimes. The hand pronates inward, slightly, before release. Upon release, the fingers are lifted off the ball, the ball rolls up the fingers. Because he's both upped his usage and . Though this works quite well for him, it's not the standard version for most pitchers, for one main reason: pitchers need a pitch that breaks away from opposite-handed hitters. First, definitely check out this video below, as it delves deep into the philosophy of throwing a changeup behind in the count. Oct. 22, 2016; In 2008, my freshman year at Dartmouth, I lived on the third floor of Fahey . And, what grip will get him there? A changeup needs to be thrown with as much intensity as possible. For his career, Verlander's changeup has posted a 16% SwStr% and 46% GB%. The grip helps us remove speed from a changeup while simultaneously applying spin to it. This is because, when on the bottom, it can hold the ball firmly in place against the bottom bridge of the fingers. I dont use a radar gun most of the time, and they wont have access to one either. very good and useful article I thank you. Make sure youre throwing a repertoire that fits your body, your arm slot, your pitching style and age level. The table below shows the qualified pitchers with the 10 highest pitch values for changeups, in terms of FanGraphs Pitch Values metric. This sinking, running action is critical in giving the hitter not only a speed change to try to figure out, but also a moving pitch to content with. Hes done all this despite lacking the overpowering velocity that most teams aces boast. He thanks Murphy apparently quite the chef for that gain. Hendricks earned the moniker because of his artful pitching and uncanny resemblance to Maddux. We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. This is basic, but needs to be addressed in any good changeup article. Hendricks achieved a season high in curveball usage (25%) and whiffs (5), finishing off two hitters with the pitch. Check to enable permanent hiding of message bar and refuse all cookies if you do not opt in. If you work hard practicing it and improving over time, yours will have similar movement to the changeups thrown by Kyle Hendricks and Johnny Cueto. My pitchers dont spike changeups very much. The incredible thing about Hendricks is that in his Game 1 quality start in Mondays doubleheader, neither his sinker or changeup were his best pitch. Condition 1: Pressure must be at the junction of the palm and fingers, not on the fingertips. At least, thats what Chicago is hoping as theyve got Hendricks locked up through 2023 with a vesting option for 2024, his age 34 season. At the 50-second mark in the video above, theres an example of this grip from an Edgertronic camera. How can you get the same movement/action using two different grips? There. We reduce speed because less force is applied to the center of the ball; we are converting speed into spin just like a breaking pitch. If you called his Cut Change a slutter, you might best get across what hes doing with the pitch. I was too busy trying to find the fastball, he said with a smile. Years from now, when we look back on this era of Chicago Cubs baseball, maybe then well realize just how reliable Kyle Hendricks has been. Odds & lines subject to change. Mine would sink so much that from the dugout (side view) it was often mistaken for a slider or curveball by teammates (atta boy, nice curveball!). Its time we all start learning this same type of pitch. This article from Forbes details whiff rate for 2019 MLB pitchers, so check it out to learn about some of the best MLB changeups from last year. Hes looking for closer to a 10 mph difference. Read him here, writing about the A's or Giants at The Athletic, or about beer at October. Play-by-play data prior to 2002 was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted How much should I be concerned. In this free 47-minute presentation, you'll learn: Written on December 18, 2019 at 4:51 am, by Eric Cressey. I chewed over this data, which still seemed counter-intuitive, and then calculated what percentage of effectiveness was attributed to velo differential (which is not obvious at all from the numbers in the analysis). And it was very little! Click to enable/disable Google reCaptcha. Hendricks' focus on the mound is utilizing his below-average velocity in conjunction with the excellent movement on his pitches, specifically his elite changeup. Chosen by RHP David Robertson, LHP Justin Steele, LHP Wade Miley, RHP Adrian Sampson and LHP Brandon Hughes. And he replaces it with his ring finger you let the changeup grip do the work.. personal pitching pitcher changeup changeup grip cubs chicago cubs mlb fastball kyle hendricks sinker < back to my photo gallery alvinalexander.com is owned and operated by Valley Programming, LLC Yankees 4, Nationals 2: Walk-off Wednesday, The Yankees Top 10 Prospects: No. He rarely walks anyone, strikes out enough to get by, and will induce weak contact. You can check these in your browser security settings. There are many times when we pitchers get away with a changeup that was thrown a little too hard because late movement caused it to fade off his barrel at the last moment. Yet, there is no best changeup grip. 1 - Kyle Hendricks (Cubs) - 19.7% Whiff rate, 62 Adjusted Contact Score For my money, Hendricks throws the best changeup in the game. The changeup Hendricks threw at the time notably wasn't the same as the one he uses in the majors. If so, then stick with me! He knows he hasn't looked like "The Professor" that . Category Baseball Content, Podcasts | Tags: Baseball Training, Chicago Cubs, Cressey Sports Performance, Elite Baseball Development, elite baseball development podcast, Kyle Hendricks, Pitching Coach, Pitching Mechanics, 2023 Cressey Training Systems, LLC Privacy Policy | Terms of use SUMMARY 2022 Career WAR 0.5 A slider has defined spin, a mixture of bullet-spin, forward and side spin that creates a visible red dot. Lay the middle and ring fingers together between the two-seams, with the thumb on the bottom pointing right at them. First, he averaged just 5.5 mph of separation between his fastball and changeup, with the latter clocking in at an average 88.5 mph. Dont set the grip until the ball is hidden in the glove just before the hand break. Hendricks struggled in 2021 in large part because he could not establish his fastball down and away and use it to set up his changeup and curveball. He is the owner of a 3.12 ERA, which is among the best in all of baseball. Hendricks sinker achieves about 26 inches of downward vertical movement on average, roughly five inches more than league average in 2020. The grip might differ slightly, but the way spin is applied, which may be the biggest factor in throwing a breaking pitch, is largely the same. What type should a young pitcher aim to develop? Cubs lefty Justin made his third start of spring training against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. Alternatively, switching to a four-seam grip might save his offspeed pitch if he can find a way to take some velocity off of it as well. Pingback: "Going JUCO" - Is Playing NJCAA Baseball a Risky Move? You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. He had been between about 195 and 205 pounds, generally, and feeling good. Sink is good, right? We prefer the 3 finger grip because we find it easier to control. does st martin parish have school tomorrow. Several MLB hitters claimed to be able to read the spin of pitches, which might be impacting the effectiveness of Pinedas changeup. Were ecstatic to announce a new partnership between Rawlings and Cressey Sports Performance, and theyve set up a 20% off discount code on select products for our listeners. And when they did hit his changeup, they hit the ball on the ground more often (39. . According to Pitch F/X data, Pineda gets five more inches of horizontal movement on his changeup than on his fastball. Overturning the wrist to make it. 23 for '23: Who steps up for Cubs in wake of the Seiya Suzuki injury? Heres what David Adler had to say about the right-handers elite offspeed stuff. Id say Stephen Strasburgit has such crazy sink and armside run, Im not sure how anyone ever hits it. If you can just mix that in there, its gonna make his stuff even better.. Then, let your index and pinky fingers fall gently to the side of the ball. He consistently beats a higher FIP. Thats always a plus. The way I teach the modern changeup in this article, it will produce movement to the armside, with sinking action as well. But, a -8% changeup must have tremendous movement to be effective. Essentially, its no different than a slider or cutter Think about Noah Syndergaards extra-hard slider, and how hard it is to hit. Hold the ball at the base of your middle and ring fingers, then put your thumb on the bottom. To follow proper form, a pitcher releases the ball while keeping his wrist straight, then follows through fully. Your email address will not be published. You can also change some of your preferences. Would love to compare - similar movement 2 Rob Friedman @PitchingNinja Replying to @dcor_25 Greg Maddux's two seam grip and changeup grip. Since making his big league debut with the team back in 2014, youve never had to wonder what you were going to get every fifth day. The answer depends on the other big half of the equation: movement. And I was able to, so it was good to end on that note.. You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page. For a veteran pitcher who throws a curveball, sinker, sinking changeup, mixing in an occasional cutting changeup will definitely confuse a hitter. The least effective velocity differential was 11.1 mph. Same scenario but different pitch. But, how much slower? If the middle and ring finger are apart, they start to work against each other, causing the ball to have inconsistent spin that often cuts. Pull the string! In short, Hendricks changed the grip of his curveball back during his Cy Young-caliber 2016 season, from a four-seam grip to a two-seam grip, in an effort to build up some increased confidence in a pitch he wasn't using as often as he probably should've been. Building off of last year, balls coming out nicely [and he] looks like hes healthy and going to give us some really good starts.. Excellent explanations Dan. As a right-handed pitcher myself, I threw more changeups to lefties, because I didnt want my curveball breaking down and in, into their happy zone. Learn how your comment data is processed. If it can be a more effective weapon, maybe Sunday night's 14 percent usage is a sign of things to come this year.