Jonah Keri on Brandon Finnigan:
“Notice how Finnegan comes off the rubber after he lands. In the first GIF, he’s falling heavily towards third base, which tells me he’s not getting all of his momentum toward the plate on delivery and pulling out a little more than he should. Compare that to the second GIF and you’ll see a much less exaggerated pull toward third base. This is due to his right arm not pulling back as violently as before, giving him a smoother release. This stabilized landing is a great indication that he’s driving more towards home plate and could explain his increase in velocity. Additionally, an improved amount of balance could be a major factor for better command.”
The second big change came in Finnegan’s pitch usage. Last season, the southpaw leaned heavily on a sinker, throwing it 53.7 percent of the time; he used his four-seam fastball far less frequently, just 11.3 percent of the time. On Wednesday, that trend flipped: 60.2 percent four-seam fastballs (56 of them in his start) vs. just eight percent sinker (four of them in the start). Add to that a full mile per hour on his fastball (from a little below 93 mph to just shy of 94 mph). And now the kicker: In 2016, Finnegan had 9.9 inches of vertical break on his four-seamer ... compared to a huge 13.6 inches of vertical break on the pitch Wednesday.
If Finnegan’s heater is going to be that fast, with that movement all year long, he could become a huge pain to hit. For a Reds team trying to build a pitching staff from almost nothing, that would be a huge boon to the team’s present -- and future.
Archie Bradley - Dave Cameron
From Scouts
“He was electric,” a scout with an American League club said. “He was like Wade Davis out there. Everything he threw was above-average. That was (on the 20-80 scouting scale) a 70 fastball, 70 curve, 60 cutter. That must have been exciting for (the Diamondbacks) to see.”
…
“Who was that guy?” another scout asked tongue-in-cheek. “That was really impressive.”
No comments:
Post a Comment