But I really wanted to find that fastball command and hone it in.. We DONT want pressure to be on the fingertips, but rather at the very bottom of the fingers. Tyler Chatwood seems likely to rejoin the rotation after a year of serving in a swingman role, alongside southpaw Jose Quintana and the elder statesman of the group in Jon Lester. Hendricks sinker achieves about 26 inches of downward vertical movement on average, roughly five inches more than league average in 2020. There is one more thing that stands out when looking at the movement of his fastball and changeup. June 7, 2022 . . Now Available! There are a few conditions that result in more reliable hand action and spin application, which are made difficult or impossible by certain grips. I mean, he throws a cutter and a curve about 10% of the time combined, but both pitches are fairly substandard by whiffs and grounders, and with two strikes, they all but disappear. The means by which Hendricks has found success is well documented. Youth pitchers 14 and under should concentrate on developing the fastball and learning to throw it to spots, plus learning to change speeds on the pitch. Odds & lines subject to change. The hand action provides the second 4.5mph, and that action is the same as a sinker, and somewhat opposite of a slider: pronating the hand on the inside of the ball just before release. By movement, it looks like a cutter almost straight, with about the same sink as his sinker. Watch the short video below to see what I believe is the modern changeup: If all other parameters are equal, a pitch that has movement is harder to hit than a pitch that is straight. Hendricks achieved a season high in curveball usage (25%) and whiffs (5), finishing off two hitters with the pitch. The more speed we remove, the more the pitch must deviate from a fastballs initial trajectory, thus making it look less like a fastball out of the hand. Faster changeups were more effective; slower were much more effective. Depending on the pitcher and his unique way of executing the pitch, the output will vary slightly. When force is applied to the center of the baseball, the baseball will come out hard, because all of the available arm speed is going into propelling the ball forward and applying backspin. He consistently beats a higher FIP. Kyle Hendricks' Changeup . The ball should rest up against the top ridge of the palm or at the base of the fingers. Breaking pitches are slower than fastballs not because they are thrown with less intensity. Feedback is crucial in figuring out which versions are good and which are bad, and without it, the pitch wont improve because the percentage of good vs bad changeups wont skew in the right direction. The changeup used to be a significant part of Verlander's arsenal, but he began relying on it less and less as his slider became more of a weapon. With his 70-72 mph changeup, he creates an even larger speed differential.. Several MLB hitters claimed to be able to read the spin of pitches, which might be impacting the effectiveness of Pinedas changeup. Gambling problem? We maximize lateral spin application by forcing the ball to roll up the fingers before finally releasing off the fingertip. In the meantime, subscribe to my Podcast, titled Dear Baseball Gods and find me on Instagram @coachdanblewett. How can you get the same movement/action using two different grips? When a pitch is thrown harder, it flies longer along the same trajectory as a fastball. Examples of fastball counts are 0-0, 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 2-1, 3-1, and 3-2. In his first 13 major league starts, Hendricks went 7-2, 2.46 in 80 innings, with 72 hits allowed and a 47/15 . The main criticism. Kyle Hendricks is a solid and consistent pitcher. Still, it is something to think about going forward for Pineda. There. But his changeup looks like the exact same pitch only it comes in even slower, at 78.6. What is an appropriate age? 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. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. Besides advising Hendricks to sharpen an edge, Budner adjusted the grip on a changeup that eventually became his most effective pitch. We all know that Hendricks has a first rate changeup, but it may surprise some to learn exactly how good it is. He can locate his sinker well, though, and has a good change. This counteracts the idea that killing more spin automatically means more downward movement (multiple factors go into the movement of every pitch). Sign up below to receive my beloved weekly emails updates on new videos, articles and content. And, unfortunately, it ended too early. 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. But, we need to do this at a 100% intensity, which is difficult. 15% will throw get the same speed reduction with predominantly lateral movement, and another 15% will get the same speed reduction, but only sinking movement. Thats an 8-mph differential between two pitches that follow the same trajectory. No, Im not blowing smokeIve taught lots of pitchers over the years, and its not hard to produce a heavy sinking changeup. When Hendricks is on, weve seen this in action. Provided the speed reduction is there, anomalies in movement are okay, and to be expected no two pitchers are alike. As you can probably tell, I love the changeup and love teaching it. Mixing in a few two-seamers might improve the effectiveness of his changeup as it is. Hendricks rotates the ball backwards less than 90 degrees, allowing his two fingers to sit right below the horseshoe (the right side of the split screen at the 50-second mark). A curveball has defined spin, topspin moving in a 12-6 or 1-7 orientation with as true a spin axis as possible. Your email address will not be published. That way, even throwing it to their Mom or Dad, a pitcher can feel for good and bad changeups and consistently reinforce his good habits. And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. Its not as cool-looking to throw with your buddies. Tension and fingertip pressure will result in the pitcher hooking the pitch into the ground more often. The grip helps us remove speed from a changeup while simultaneously applying spin to it. Baseball is interesting . His fastball command issues led to four walks in less than three innings. 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! 10,000+ people already dosign up now! Entering his second season, Steele is lined up to pitch third in the order to start the year while veteran Wade Miley continues to ramp up. Spring training is, after all, a time to work through timing issues. The #1 baseball brand in the world, Rawlings, has partnered with Cressey Sports Performance to make getting the best training gear for you more affordable. Brad Keller and Joe Musgrove reportedly throw their fastballs with a one-seam grip. SUMMARY 2022 Career WAR 0.5 Kyle Hendricks, left, and Alexi Pappas as Dartmouth freshmen, in a photo from Pappas. The best changeups feature the following: James Shields is one of the best examples. 07/16/2013. Kyle Hendricks assigned to Tennessee Smokies from Daytona Cubs. But for the second time in three seasons, Hendricks helped the Cubs start off on the right foot with a good performance against the Brewers at Wrigley Field in the season opener.. Not to mention both starts followed a strange set of circumstances: the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020 and an . Straight changeups are sooooo old-school. Kyle Hendricks purposefully cuts his changeup sometimes. So you could call him a two-pitch guy. Lets take a look at good examples of both. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. Yankees 4, Nationals 2: Walk-off Wednesday, The Yankees Top 10 Prospects: No. Okay, so once you learn this shiny new pitch, itll be important to understand when and why you should throw a changeup. More and more pitchers in the Major Leagues are throwing changeups with hard sink and run. It wont matter what kind of firepower the likes of Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Kyle Schwarber, Willson Contreras and Anthony Rizzo bring to the table if this group cant keep opponents off the board. I had this conversation with a friend of mine who is a scout and former Big Leaguer. Among 112 pitchers who have thrown at least 50 sinkers or two-seam fastballs entering Mondays slate of games, Hendricks is tied for the fifth lowest average spin rate (1878 rpm). The fact is Hendricks and Maddux share numerous similarities - mechanics, stuff, statistics, and even a nickname. Ive seen five different sources call one particular pitch five different things, so I figured a cut change was some grizzled old coachs slang for a circle changeup. That sounds a little better already. It just wont get hitters out on their front foot enoughthe speed change wont be enough to really throw off their timing. What Causes A Mental Meltdown in Baseball? Over the course of six innings, he generated a 55.6 percent whiff rate with the change, his highest such mark with that pitch since April 8 of last year (58.3 percent, also against the Brewers). Sink is good, right? You can do so HERE. Hendricks rotates the ball backwards less than 90 degrees, allowing his two fingers to sit right below the horseshoe (the right side of the split screen at the 50-second mark). #cubs #mlb #pitching2022 MLB Strikeout Reels playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYkCwy6ah6d_xXaI7mM8OIIIr7AeW0zuA2022 College Baseball Strikeout Re. Even many major league pitchers are successful with three basic pitches. For a veteran pitcher who throws a curveball, sinker, sinking changeup, mixing in an occasional cutting changeup will definitely confuse a hitter. If you want to develop faster, and train better, you need the best gear. But what creates that downward movement on Hendricks changeup is, in part, his grip. Your goal as a catch partner for someone learning a changeup should be to give feedback over and over, so that they can connect how it feels and looks as they throw it. We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. the arm pronates on every single throw its not possible to not pronate. Kyle Hendricks, Cubs Hendricks leaned on his changeup heavily and threw it 932 times, nearly double Scherzer's 548. 0 0 Less than a minute. Lawmakers and others should not seek to undo laws meant to protect people from gun violence. Though this works quite well for him, its not the standard version for most pitchers, for one main reason: pitchers need a pitch that breaks away from opposite-handed hitters. Dan Blewett is a former pro pitcher, baseball academy owner and author of, https://elitebaseballperformance.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/1-1.png, http://Elitebaseballperformance.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ebp-green-transparent-horizontal-logo-300x96.png, The Modern Changeup: The Best New Pitch In Baseball. All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. At the 50-second mark in the video above, theres an example of this grip from an Edgertronic camera. Just head to www.Rawlings.com and enter coupon code CRESSEY20 and youll receive 20% off on your order. How to Throw a Curveball - The Definitive Guide, Here are The Best Pitching Drills for Young Players in 2021, The grip doesnt work well for them (tinker and try others), Without the thumb on the bottom, theyre forced to tense their hands up to keep the ball secure, Theyre guiding it and not throwing it like a normal fastball. Thats always a plus. You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page. Part of the reason Hendricks achieves this much drop is due to his ability to kill spin. You can also change some of your preferences. His thought? Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. From there, they can decide to alter the movement profile of the pitch by tweaking its release. Even change ups out of the strike zone can be effective because it effects a hitter's confidence that he can sit on the fastball. 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. Whats the best way to start throwing this critically important pitch? Its critical to remember that early on in the learning process, bouncing your changeup will be somewhat normal. Unsurprisingly, Hendricks' changeup was the runaway . You bet. 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!). He rarely walks anyone, strikes out enough to get by, and will induce weak contact. Its a small blue box, a little bit bigger than a wallet that captures images at extremely high frame rates. Kyle Hendricks and Greg Maddux also share the same nickname: "The Professor". You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. Not technically. Situational pitching is huge. We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. At the core of this was a changeup he threw almost twice as often as before, and that changeup was a very weird . Maybe you have an explanation. Cubs Spring Training Notebook: Swanson's winning mentality, Lester's mark on Steele, Cubs make some spring history. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com. Just about everyone understands that a southpaw throws a circle change to a RH batter so it will sink and tail away from the plate. You should be tinkering with this grip and any other you try and see what works best for you to produce the best possible result. If you can just mix that in there, its gonna make his stuff even better.. And, what grip will get him there? He had been between about 195 and 205 pounds, generally, and feeling good. On the follow through, collapse the body slightly. The changeup grip I teach in this article is very easy to learn and produces a heavily-sinking changeup with armside movement. The grip will only account for a 5% speed reduction when force is applied to the center of the baseball. Circle change? All advice, including picks and predictions, is based on individual commentators opinions and not that of Minute Media or its related brands. To add to the positive changes in his life, Steele is expected to break camp in the Cubs rotation or, as manager David Ross put it Tuesday morning, Steele has a strong chance of doing so. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. The finger tips and pads are raised slightly and the finger pressure is between the first and second finger joints. In the first week of camp, he weighed in at 222. If the thumb is not beneath the ball, as in the circle change grip, the fingertips will tense up to prevent the ball from simply falling out of the hand. He reminds me of Brad Lidge, who threw a slider that appeared to have mostly downward movement. He wasnt particularly bad at locating his changeup, as shown by a heatmap from FanGraphs: However, hitters were particularly good at hitting his changeup. 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. The ball is gripped deep in the hand, balanced and held loosely. Ive taught this exact style of changeup to hundreds of pitchers, and 70% will obtain a 10% speed reduction with equal parts lateral and sinking movement. We need 2 cookies to store this setting. As it turns out, the changeup method I teach is incredibly easy to learn for pitchers of all ages, and it starts with the grip. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. We may request cookies to be set on your device. Lets clear it all up. The arm action is just like the fast ball until the pitcher comes into the acceleration phase, then: Bring the hand in closer to the head which causes the elbow to lead longer. 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. Read him here, writing about the A's or Giants at The Athletic, or about beer at October. Spiking a changeup is caused by the finger tips hooking it into the ground. Follow him on Twitter @enosarris if you can handle the sandwiches and inanity. He then provides tips and tricks for how to throw a changeup and make it an effective part of your pitch mix.Tickets for all 2022 regular season games are on sale now: https://www.cubs.com/tickets Follow us! Learn how your comment data is processed. The odd thing about Hendricks is that his changeup actually spins more than his fastball, roughly 300 rpm more on average in 2020. When and if the 2020 season gets underway, the Cubs will be asking a lot of Hendricks who is irrefutably the go-to guy in the rotation. A four-seamer that cuts slightly and works best against right . Turn the hand on the inside of the ball to apply spin. All UZR (ultimate zone rating) calculations are provided courtesy of Mitchel Lichtman. The ball comes out in a unique way, with a tumbling spin rather than an angled axis. 07/31/2012. Edgertronic cameras can capture images at over 2,000 fps. Same scenario but different pitch. Pitchers who use four-seam grips need a large velocity gap between their fastball and changeup, looking at the table shown above. He keeps his arm speed exactly the same, Marshall said. Cubs facing a bleak situation with the luxury tax in 2020. dark. Pitchers want to create as many variables as possible to prevent the hitter from getting barrel to ball. Steele has yet to fully highlight the changeup in three spring starts. If Michael Pineda never puts it together, no one will ever be able to say that it was due to a lack of effort from internet analysts trying to diagnose his problems. The wrist and hand are pronated a little early which stops the wrist from popping forward. Hes looked really good, Ross said of Steele. Another quick question, then Ill let you go. No one should expect to make money from the picks and predictions discussed on this website. Hook em horns grip? Oct. 22, 2016; In 2008, my freshman year at Dartmouth, I lived on the third floor of Fahey . Click on the different category headings to find out more. I filtered out the changeups over 85 mph because they are most likely slow sinkers. by Handedness, R.A. Dickeys Unique Stuff and Conventional Problems. [In the regular season], I would have started flipping a lot more breaking balls or tried something a lot different, Steele said. Casey Sutherland may have just 12 games of experience with the Red Sox, but he has already shown dominance while fulfilling a childhood dream. Condition 3: Overall hand tension must be as low as possible. Hendricks threw his changeup 58.2% of the time in two-strike counts, registering a whiff rate of 17.9% in those situations . Right-hander Kyle Hendricks' changeup has been a staple of his big-league success. The speed difference is significant, but the difference in their running action is nearly zero. south bend fire department news. A changeup should be slower than a fastball by 10-12%, which means if you throw 70mph, a changeup should be 7-8 miles per hour slower (62-63mph). Even with consistency in teach methods, there will be an inconsistency in output. Thankfully, theyve got a stalwart anchor atop the rotation in Hendricks. A circle change and a straight change are two different pitches, right?? A left-handed pitcher's circle change will break down and away from a right-handed batter. Two Common Curveball Mistakes Pitchers Should Avoid, How to Throw the Modern Change Up - Elite Baseball Performance, Excellent arm speed that appears identical to the fastball, Speed reduction of 8-12% (miles per hour value varies depending on fastball velocity). If a changeup is dead-straight, being closer to a 12% reduction is ideal (79mph off a 90mph fastball). Rather, that arm speed and velocity is lost into the baseball by spinning it. Hendricks is predominantly a sinker (42.4 percent of his pitches in 2019) and changeup (27.8 percent) pitcher, mixing in the four-seamer and curve as well. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses cookies. Thats a big step, veteran right-hander Kyle Hendricks said. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website. Kyle Hendricks entered his Sunday Night Baseball start on June 19 against the Pirates never having registered a double-digit strikeout game in his 57 starts. * 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). When the hitters brain must deal with both speed change and movement away from the initial trajectory of the pitch, the likelihood of weak contact increases. Twitter: https://twitter.com/cubs Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cubs/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cubs/ Snapchat: http://Snapchat.com/add/Cubs TikTok: http://bit.ly/3jRYPkM I taught myself how to throw a changeup in my junior year in college, and it became my best pitch in pro baseball. The version I threw in college and pro ball moved as much as both of these accomplished MLB pitchers. The ball should rest up against the top ridge of the palm or at the base of the fingers. By Alexi Pappas. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. When these harder breaking pitches finally do move off the fastballs path, it makes them appear to break more suddenly, sharper, which in turn makes them more difficult to square up. 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). 08/01/2012. Well, we have some good news for you. Ive lost count of how many Ive read a report that says a pitcher throws a straight change and that he uses the pitch for the same effect. ""Hendricks sits at 86.7 mph with his two-seamer (slower than some of the other changeups picked here). I know he had great stuff and his pitches had tons of movement but he constantly struggled with command his entire career. Like fastballs, changeups can be thrown with either a four-seam or a two-seam grip. So technically, it does break. When they do, the brain apparently defaults to the average changeup. Per Brooks Baseball, Hendricks gets a lot of swings-and-misses and a ton of popups when he puts the changeup in the lower part of the strike zone. Remember this: Even though this site describes a method of throwing five or six different pitches, it does not mean any pitcher should attempt to learn or throw all these pitches. Six miles per hour? This offer is only valid on select items, but theres a ton of great gear youll save 20% on that will help you become a better player, so shop now! By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. I told him, Dad strength it happens immediately, right?. At the 50-second mark in the video above, theres an example of this grip from an Edgertronic camera. Suddenly, Kyle Hendricks is a three-pitch guy, with an elite change, a good slider, and good command of a good sinker. Theres too many questions, too much confusion with the changeup. Two distinct clusters. Last year, he used the breaking ball 9.5 percent of the time. Yankees Mailbag: Managing the infield and Domnguez hype. 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. This is basic, but needs to be addressed in any good changeup article. This second 5% is important not only in reducing the pitchs speed, but in also making the the changeup sink and run to the armside. You try to tell the difference when he tunnels those two pitches.". When learning a breaking ball, we get feedback by watching it break before our eyes, and our throwing partner gives us feedback from his point of view (that one was sharp!). Also like fastballs, changeups thrown with a two-seam grip get more run and fade. Call it what you will, its a different pitch. Kyle Hendricks assigned to Daytona Cubs from Tennessee Smokies. 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 The problem is that he doesnt throw a two-seam fastball to go along with his two-seam changeup. From my years pitching professionally, my experience has been that the more movement a changeup has, the harder it can be thrown. His excellent strikeout numbers and walk numbers, combined with his below average ERA have perplexed many, with a few explanations floating out there. Steele and his girlfriend, Libby Murphy, are expecting their first child, a boy, in July. Kyle Hendricks purposefully cuts his changeup sometimes. By movement, it's almost exactly average. This usually happens for a few reason: Watch the video below for some more great troubleshooting tips related to bouncing it. This LHP throws a straight change, he turns it over and it sinks away from RH batters. Whats up with this?! He throws strikes and has a sense on how to pitch, and looks like a sleeper prospect to me. It sounds like a cutter to me but thats not a pitch that is associated with sinking. Why 10%, give or take? My pitchers dont spike changeups very much. He also ranks second in the. This pitch, in comparison to the deGrom one above, exhibits how a changeup's effectiveness isn't about how fast or slow one is thrown, but rather how well it plays off a pitcher's fastball. But Scherzer dominated, limiting opponents to a .126 average in at-bats ending against the pitch - 12 points lower than deGrom's average. Dont try to get too much backside drive and hip rotation into the pitch. Right-hander Kyle Hendricks starts during a spring training game March 4, 2014, between. At the same time, it is such a small number that it might just be a result of their Pitch F/X algorithm falsely classifying 111 of his pitches as two-seamers. The middle and ring finger do the job of turning the ball inward (pronating over it), and the thumb holds it in place. very good and useful article I thank you. Although Kyle Hendricks is not a pitcher in need of change given his prolonged success with below-average velocity, comparing him to other pitchers with the footage from Edgertronic cameras provides insight into how he succeeds. 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? Youll learn everything you need to know to throw one that sinks and runs with great deception and arm speed. Either way, it is hard not to feel like Pineda is one small adjustment away from something special.