Jeurys Familia is coming off a difficult season that saw him get suspended and battle through injury. The results on the field were less than impressive also as he had a 4.38 ERA, 3.60 FIP, and 1.459 WHIP in 24.2 innings while only having six saves in 2017.
Familia and Dave Eiland believe that bringing back a certain pitch might be able to help him reclaim his past dominance, as detailed in an article by Tim Healy of Newsday.
That pitch is the splitter.The 28-year old had this to say about the pitch:
“I want to get to the point where I can trust it and can throw it in any count. It’s something I’ve been working on in the offseason. I know I will get a good [result] if I have trust and throw it again.”
In the past, the closer has struggled to have effective control of the pitch, which is why he abandoned the pitch in the first place. If he can control it, that can only help, as Dave Eiland agrees.
“To the hitter, it looks the same coming out of his hands. It’s obviously a little slower, and that’s what gets them out. They see it, they see it, they go to get it and it’s gone. Right before it gets to home plate, the bottom falls out as it crosses the plate. When he throws it right.”
“If he’s got it going, he’s throwing it good, it’s going to be a big pitch. It’s going to be a big put-away pitch for him.”
So he believes that not only could the splitter just become another weapon for him, but it could potentially be his most lethal pitch and become his “out pitch” if he learns to harness it.
Brooks Baseball notes that hitters hit a mere .114 off the pitch in a small sample size in 2015. It was not even his most dangerous weapon at the time, but it very well could become that now.
