Stat Line:  8 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 8 SO, 1 BB

Logan Verrett showed more than scouts prepared us for, exhibiting an above average breaking ball while keeping four pitches low in the strike zone.  Based on his performance, Verrett will add much needed depth to the New York Mets bullpen.

Repertoire

Verrett’s breaking ball (slider and curveball) is a viable MLB strikeout pitch, inducing an extremely high 31.4% miss/whiff rate (swing and miss rate).  The breaking ball shows sharp, late, downward movement and has enough velocity to deceive the hitter into thinking the pitch is a four-seam fastball.  The reason behind defining it as a breaking ball is because it’s tough to decipher the difference between his slider and curveball.

At times, Verrett’s two-seam fastball seemed to move 10 to 14 inches with sharp 10 to 5 downward movement.  Although he didn’t show consistent fastball command on the corners of home plate, Verrett kept his pitches between ankle and thigh high.

Staying low in the strike zone with two pitches having sharp downward movement makes it nearly impossible for opposing hitters to lift the baseball for hard hits and extra base hits.

Cause for Concern

Verrett showed a stronger out pitch than scouts reported but didn’t exhibit fastball command on each corner of home plate needed for a pitcher throwing in the low 90’s.  This makes him vulnerable to higher homerun rates and more walks.

The Colorado Rockies over aggressive swings at pitches in and out of the strike zone helped mask Verrett’s command.  A veteran lineup, like the St. Louis Cardinals, will take more pitches and more controlled swings leading to more walks, more singles and more runs.

Another reason to view his debut cautiously is he did an average job throwing first pitch strikes (64% first pitch strike rate) and mixing his pitch selection.  Verrett only threw 35% first pitch off-speed pitches.  I want to see Verrett pitch backward more often for a pitcher throwing 90 mph fastballs with average command.

Looking Forward

Given the Mets exceptional starting rotation, Verrett is a spot-starter and above average reliever.  Although he might be slightly better than Bartolo Colon, Verrett can easily translate to an above average reliever whereas Colon cannot.  Also, Verrett will not start in the playoffs so it is better the Mets train him in the role he will be most productive in during playoffs, as a reliever.

There are two reasons Verrett will be a solid bullpen option.  His two-seamer inducing groundballs coupled with his strikeout ability with the sharp breaking ball gives Verrett the ability to get out of late inning jams.  Additionally, Terry Collins can take out a struggling starter in earlier innings with Verrett able to bridge the middle innings to Tyler Clippard and Jeurys Familia.

Stat of the Night

I need to reiterate Verrett’s exceptional miss/whiff rate of 31.4% with his breaking ball (slider and curveball combined rate).

Follow Chris Zaccherio on Twitter @ziography for more Mets pitching insight that goes beyond statistics.

The post Logan Verrett Scouting Report appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

“I feel like with the exception of the first inning it was a pretty solid performance. A lot of people have been concerned about my performances on the road. I feel like this was a step in the right direction, as far as being more comfortable out there.” – Noah Syndergaard

Stat Line:  (ND 7-6) 5 IP, 3 R, 8 H, 6 SO, 2 BB

Battling past erratic command, Noah Syndergaard’s sharp movement on his two-seam fastball and curveball coupled with a solid mix in pitch selection helped him evade complete disaster.  This outing is a great example of being wild but not effectively wild as noted in previous Matt Harvey articles.

Harvey was wild within the strike zone, still maintaining a high strike rate.  Conversely, Syndergaard continually threw pitches out of the strike zone leading to less swings and less weak contact.

Thankfully, Syndergaard’s curveball is an absolute hammer, exhibiting sharp 12 to 6 movement which produced a 34.4% miss/whiff rate.  Otherwise, the Orioles would have started the carrousel around the bases.

Getting Behind, Staying Behind

Contrary to Jacob deGrom’s outing last night, Syndergaard consistently fell behind in the count.

As noted in yesterday’s article, the Orioles hit .297 with a .517 slugging percentage when ahead in the count this season.  Conversely, the Orioles batting average is .202 with a slugging percentage of .324 when behind in the count.

Syndergaard fell behind in the count against 11 of the 24 Orioles faced (45%).  He threw a first pitch strike to 14 of the 24 Orioles faced (58%).  To understand those subpar percentages, in deGrom’s successful outing last night, he feel behind against 35% of Orioles faced and managed 78% first pitch strikes.

Another difference is deGrom throwing 70% total strikes versus Syndergaard’s 64% total strike rate.  Major League strike rates below 65% are considered average to below average as opposed to an above average strike rate at or above 70%.

Additionally, less strikes early in an at-bat equate to less balls put in ball early in the at-bat leading to higher pitch counts.  This lowers Syndergaard’s chances to gain a six inning quality start and pushes more innings on a bullpen that has faltered of late.

Control Running Game

As Keith Hernandez eluded to in the broadcast, Syndergaard’s high leg kick and slow rhythm in his pitching motion from the stretch translates to the ball taking too long to get to home plate.

Even worse, Syndergaard struggles mightily with holding runners on base.  Too often he comes set, waits one second and begins his pitching motion.

This hit rock bottom last night after Chris Davis, who now has two stolen bases this season, took a walking lead off second base to steal third base.  Gerardo Parra took advantage of this in the first inning, easily stealing second base.

Simply, Syndergaard needs to vary his time holding the baseball when he comes set in the stretch.  Another way to vary his timing is attempting more pickoffs to first base even if he knows he won’t pickoff the runner.

He must improve on holding runners to minimize stolen bases before a potential playoff run.  The importance of 90 feet is the difference between a double play ground ball and the opposing team advancing a runner from second to third with one out.  This is how playoff games are won and lost.

Looking Forward

Syndergaard’s next start will come next week against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.  On May 27^th, he dominated the Phillies striking out six over 7.1 innings.  Here is the pitching breakdown article from that game.

Stat of the Night

Last night, Syndergaard didn’t induce any soft contact registering a 0.0% soft contact percentage.

Statistics thanks to @BrooksBaseball PitchF/X Tool.

Follow Chris Zaccherio on Twitter @ziography for more Mets pitching insight that goes beyond statistics.

The post Pitching Analysis of Noah Syndergaard vs Baltimore Orioles appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Stat Line: (W 12-6) 7.2 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 6 SO, 1 BB

Jacob deGrom proved he doesn’t need his best command to be deGrominant.  Similar to Matt Harvey against the Colorado Rockies last week, deGrom struggled commanding his pitches knee high and low in the strike zone.  In order to adapt, deGrom attacked the strike zone throwing 70% of his pitches for strikes.  Specifically, deGrom threw 76% strike rate with his fastball.

DeGrom also put heavier reliance on his curveball and changeup.  This helped him stay unpredictable, helping keep opposing Baltimore Orioles off-balance translating to a low 10% line drive rate and high 60% ground ball rate.

Get Ahead, Stay Ahead

It is essential getting ahead and staying ahead of Orioles hitters this season.  In 2015, the Orioles are batting .297 with a .517 slugging percentage when ahead in the count.  Conversely, when hitting behind in the count the Orioles batting average is .202 with a slugging percentage of .324.

DeGrom controlled nearly every at-bat, throw 78% first pitch strikes.  Additionally, he stayed ahead of hitters, only falling behind in the count in 10 of the 28 Oriole at-bats.  Even in the 10 at-bats he fell behind, deGrom battled back even or induced a ball in play for an out in eight of those 10 at-bats.

Mixing Pitches

The first time through the Orioles batting order, deGrom attacked primarily with fastballs accounting for 71% of his total pitches.  After the third inning, deGrom altered his approach, throwing 57% fastballs to 43% off speed pitches.  This resulted in off speed pitches producing eight of the 14 outs during that span as opposed to only one of the first nine outs during the first three innings.

After throwing first pitch fastballs to all of the first eight batters he faced, deGrom flipped the script, starting 12 of the following 20 Orioles with off speed pitches.

This unpredictability in pitch selection caused hesitant swings and weak contact from the fourth through eighth innings excluding Gerardo Parra’s sixth inning homerun.

Looking Forward

DeGrom’s next start will likely come against the Philadelphia Phillies early next week.  He has been deGrominant against the Phillies this season allowing 1 earned run, striking out 12 and holding them to a .315 slugging percentage over 13.2 innings.

Stat of the Night

@ESPNStatsInfo provides a look into deGrom’s place in Mets single season pitching history here.

Statistics thanks to MLB.com and @BrooksBaseball.

Follow Chris Zaccherio on Twitter @ziography for more Mets pitching insight that goes beyond statistics.

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Jacob deGrom starts his 23^rd game of the season tonight against the Baltimore Orioles.  Currently, deGrom’s 22 starts this seasons matches his 2014 total.  No better time to compare the two seasons.  Here are five statistical categories deGrom has shown improvement and the impact it’s had in his overall success this season.

Strikeout to Walk Ratio (K to BB Ratio)

This ratio indicates the strength of a pitcher’s ball movement coupled with the pitchers command of their ball movement within the strike zone.  Higher ratios correlate to strong command of the baseball on both side of the strike zone while inducing swings and misses both in and out of the strike zone.

DeGrom’s strikeouts per nine innings (K/9 rate) are similar at 9.33 K/9 this season compared with 9.24 K/9 in 2014, far superior to the league average of 6.41.  However, improvement is seen in his K to BB ratio.

In 2014, deGrom had a mediocre 3.35 K to BB ratio.  His 5.43 K to BB ratio this season puts him in the upper echelon in MLB pitching hierarchy.

Average Velocity

Velocity alone doesn’t make deGrom or any pitcher better but it allows him to make more mistakes in the middle of the strike zone without penalty.

Higher velocity is due to the baseball spinning at a higher number of revolutions per second, also referred to as tighter spin on the baseball.  Tighter spin directly correlates with sharper, quicker pitch movement.  All of which produce a higher swing and miss rate (miss/whiff rate) or simply, pitches more difficult to make strong contact with.

In 2014, deGrom’s fastball averaged a respectable 93.5 mph with max velocity at 97.3.  This season he has shown a 94.9 mph average fastball, maxing out at 98.8 mph.  Additionally, his slider averages 89.7 mph as opposed to 87.0 mph last season.

Hard Contact % and Line Drive %

Less hard contact equals less extra base hits equals less earned runs allowed.

In 2014, deGrom had a 31.8% hard contact rate versus 26.6% this season.  Consequently, his line drive rate is down to 20.3% from 23.2% last season.

Miss/Whiff Rate

The best MLB pitchers consistently induce swing and misses with their fastball.  Excluding knuckle ball pitchers, all MLB pitchers throw their fastball more than any pitch in their repertoire thus the importance of producing a high miss rate with the fastball.

DeGrom’s improved velocity and command of his fastball has translated to an 11.84% miss rate with his fastball this season, a whole percentage higher than the 10.82% miss rate in 2014.

Earned Run Average

Although deGrom’s FIP is basically identical year over year (2.67 in 2014 vs, 2.62 in 2015), his ERA is substantially lower at 2.03 this season compared to 2.69 in 2014.

Pessimists of deGrom would contend his ERA is due to regress towards his FIP.  Normally this is true as ERA and FIP were created with the intention to correlate with one another.  One component that FIP doesn’t consider is hard contact for balls put into play, which as seen above, is exponentially better for deGrom in 2015.

DeGrom’s improved velocity and command creating weaker contact and higher miss rates this season as compared to last will result in a strong finish to his 2015 campaign.

Thanks to @FanGraphs and @BrooksBaseball for statistics.

Follow Chris Zaccherio on Twitter @ziography for more Mets pitching insight that goes beyond statistics.

The post Jacob deGrom’s Five Statistical Advances from 2014 to 2015 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Stat Line:  7 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 5 SO, 2 BB

Noah Syndergaard learned one valuable lesson yesterday against the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies are a worn out, non-contending playoff team.  They are playing in a day game late in the season before they fly out of that night.  They want to get on that plane as soon as possible so they can get to their destination as early as possible.  This translates to a team coming out swinging to speed the pace of the game.

DJ LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado jumped on fastballs early in their first inning at-bats for two solo homeruns.  Syndergaard quickly recognized his less than normal command and adjusted, using his full repertoire of pitches to battle through the remainder of the outing.

Adapting Strategy

Typically, young pitchers game plan adjustments game to game rather than inning to inning.  Syndergaard showed veteran game management acumen far ahead of his 22 year old age, making key adjustments after the second inning.

In the first two innings, Syndergaard threw a first pitch fastball to nine of the 10 Rockies faced.  During the third through sixth innings, he began pitching backwards, starting only five of the following 13 batters with fastballs.

Simply, pitching backwards is the strategy of throwing hitters off-speed pitches early in an at-bat to set up the pitchers fastball later in the at-bat.  Matt Harvey integrated this strategy mid-season which reflects his 2.54 ERA and 9.76 K/9 rate over his past 11 starts.

Inside Fastball

Another excellent adjustment Syndergaard exhibited was throwing his 97 mph fastball inside to opposing hitters.  On LeMahieu and Arenado’s first inning homeruns, each hitter leaned over home plate and into Syndergaard’s middle to outside located fastballs.

This proves Syndergaard became predictable, falling into the first pitch fastball routine noted above and on Syndergaard’s scouting report to opposing teams.

Sharp Curveball

Syndergaard threw sharp curveballs at a 67.9% strike rate resulting in a 17.9% miss rate (whiff rate).  For comparison, in 2014 Aroldis Chapman’s 100+ mph fastball miss rate was 19.2%.

Use of Changeup

I’ve noted in past articles the hope that Syndergaard could acquire enough confidence in his changeup to throw it 8 to 12 times a game.  He doesn’t need to throw the changeup for a strike or create outs but merely show it to opposing hitters.  This will effectively change eye level and set up his 97 mph fastball to look even harder to opposing hitters.

Last night, Syndergaard’s changeup exuded sharp movement but lacked the command knee high needed to produce a higher miss rate.

Looking Forward

Syndergaard’s next start will come sometime next week against the Baltimore Orioles.  He’s faced American League East opponents twice this season, struggling earlier this month against the Tampa Bay Rays but struck out 11 against the Toronto Blue Jays in June.

Stat of the Night

Syndergaard’s 11.1% hard contact percentage was second lowest of his season.  Excluding the two homeruns, the hard contact percentage is 0%.

Thanks to @FanGraphs and @BrooksBaseball databases for statistics.

Follow Chris Zaccherio on Twitter @ziography for more Mets pitching insight that goes beyond statistics.

The post Pitching Analysis of Noah Syndergaard Adapting vs Colorado Rockies appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Stat Line:  8 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 4 SO, 0 BB

Matt Harvey amassed 19 strikeouts to zero walks, allowing only one run in 22.2 innings over his last three starts.  Currently, Harvey owns a 15 inning scoreless streak.  Harvey allowed only four hits against the Colorado Rockies, three of which were infield singles.  The Dark Knight is back.

Harvey’s found command in his fastball which was inconsistent during the first half of the season.  The success in his pitching repertoire is a chain of domino’s beginning with the command of his fastball.

Fastball Command Dictates Success in His Other Pitches

Last night, Harvey threw 72% strikes with his fastball, accounting for three of four strikeout pitches.  More importantly, strong fastball command sets up Harvey’s secondary pitches.

Successful fastball command directly correlates with Harvey repeating his delivery and proper release point over his front foot insuring Harvey’s pitching fingers stay on top of the baseball.  This allows Harvey to push down on the seams of the baseball, creating tighter spin which translates to sharper pitch movement and directs the baseball down in the strike zone.  All of which create a much tougher hitting environment for opposing batters.

Additionally, Harvey used his fastball to constantly get ahead or fight back in at-bats.  Harvey’s confidence with fastball command allows him to pitch backwards (start hitters off with off-speed pitches).  He knows even if he falls behind 1-0 on a first pitch off-speed pitch, he has the ability to consistently fight back to a 1-1 count with his fastball.  The ability for Harvey to pitch backwards enables his fastball to become an out pitch.  This forces hitters to guess which pitch will be thrown and normally, guess wrong.  Even if they guess right, they still have the daunting task of making solid contact.

Simply, that’s the circle of life for a successful MLB pitcher.

Success with Changeup

Harvey showed the best command and movement in his changeup thus far this season.  Most pitchers put the majority of their hand on the baseball when throwing a changeup as compared to their other pitches.  As a result, a pitchers changeup is the toughest pitch to get their feel and command back after an extended period away from pitching.

This is extremely encouraging, not only for his changeup going forward but proof that Harvey’s overall feel in his repertoire of pitches is back for good.

Looking Forward

Harvey’s next start will come against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field on Sunday at 1:10 PM.  The Pirates roughed up Harvey on May 23^rd for seven runs on six hits in four innings.  Pedro Alvarez and Andrew McCutchen hit homeruns.

Stat of the Night

Harvey’s now 7-2 with a 2.47 ERA at Citi Field this season.

Follow Chris Zaccherio on Twitter @ziography for more Mets pitching insight that goes beyond statistics.

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Stat Line:  7 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 6 SO, 1 BB

Jon Niese dominated a weak Miami Marlins lineup to gain his first win since July 12^th.  Niese showed more than commanding his fastball, throwing five different pitches for strikes.

This article explains Niese’s ability to baffle Marlins hitters by utilizing various pitch movements and keen pitch selection.

Effectively Wild

Niese exhibited erratic command, completely missing and perfectly hitting targets all night.  The unpredictability of pitch speed and location make it difficult for the hitter to comfortably guess or look for the right pitch to drive.  When a pitcher is successful with this blue print it is commonly referred to as being “effectively wild”.

Niese being effectively wild correlates with three positive attributes:

1. Keeping all pitches low in the strike zone, regardless of hitting the catchers target or not.  This translated to a 64.7% groundball rate last night.
2. Throwing a full repertoire of pitches (four or more different pitches) with very tight spin, making it difficult for the opposing hitters to pick up or decipher the pitch as it comes to them.  Niese threw five pitches at more than a 10% usage rate (Four-seam fastball 13%, two-seam fastball 32%, changeup 18%, curveball 14%, and cutter 21%).  This constant variation in pitches forces the hitters to begin guessing the speed, location and movement.  With all those different components at work in the hitters mind, it causes more hesitant swings translating to weak contact.
3. Pitch selection.  Simply, Niese not only kept the Marlins hitters off balance by consistently mixing up his pitches but also set up hitters for poor contact and strikeouts.  This was best seen during Christian Yelich’s sixth inning at-bat.  Niese recognized Yelich leaning over plate with his front shoulder.  To combat this, Niese threw a four-seam fastball up at Yelich’s shoulder to brush him off the plate followed by an 89 mph fastball located on the outside corner to strikeout him out looking.  There is nothing special about two consecutive 89 mph fastball.  However, there is value in setting the tone up and in with a fastball and changing the hitter’s eye level to set up the eventual strikeout pitch.

Additionally, Niese’s curveball and changeup showed especially tight spin producing noticeably sharper downward movement than previous starts.

Looking Forward

Next probably start comes Monday August 10^th at Citi Field against the Colorado Rockies.  Over Niese’s last six starts this season, he’s pitched to a 2.58 ERA with a 59.1% ground ball rate.

Stat of the Night

Although Niese exhibited a full repertoire of pitches, he still commanded his cutter at an 85.7% strike rate.

Thanks to @BrooksBaseball and @FanGraphs for statistics.

Follow Chris Zaccherio on Twitter @ziography for more Mets pitching insight that goes beyond statistics.

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Stat Line: 8 IP, 2 R, 7 H, 9 SO, 0 BB

Noah Syndergaard maneuvered two solo home runs leading the New York Mets into a first place tie in the National League East division standings.

Washington Nationals hitters were visibly off-balance leading to a swing and miss rate (whiff %) of 13.76%.  The high miss rate is attributed to Syndergaard aggressively commanding fastballs and curveballs in the strike zone.  Most impressive is the development and implementation of his changeup.

Usage of Changeup

In my mid-season report, I touched upon the fact that Syndergaard was one pitch away from becoming an ace.  That pitch is his changeup.  Not only is Syndergaard keeping the changeup low in the strike zone but showing confidence throwing it behind in the count.

Notably, Syndergaard used his changeup in pivotal pitches against the most likely MVP, Bryce Harper.  Syndergaard threw a perfectly located changeup behind 2-1 in the count to against Harper on two occasions.  In Harpers first inning at-bat, inducing a ground out to Daniel Murphy.  In Harpers final at-bat, producing a foul ball to even the count 2-2 to set up the 100 mph fastball that ended with a swing and miss.

Additionally, Syndergaard threw a 2-0 changeup to Yunel Escobar induced a swing and miss in his third inning at-bat.

Flaw: Fastball Up In the Strike Zone

Syndergaard used adrenaline well, relying on his fastball to attack National’s hitters all night.  One issue adrenaline leads to is over throwing or trying to throw the fastball too hard.  Consequently, arm speed picks up and the baseball rushes out of the pitchers hand resulting in fastballs up in the strike zone.

Unfortunately, for this reason, Syndergaard found himself missing up in the strike zone leading to the two solo home runs and hard hit singles during the sixth inning.

Five poor pitches may seem harmless but Syndergaard must learn to hone his adrenaline as one run, one at-bat or even one pitch can define a playoff series.

Looking Forward

On Saturday, Syndergaard faces the Tampa Bay Rays.  This is his second career start against an American League team having beat the Toronto Blue Jays on June 15^th.

Stat of the Night

Syndergaard threw a first pitch strike to 70% of the National batters faced.

Follow Chris Zaccherio on Twitter @ziography for more Mets pitching insight that goes beyond statistics.

The post Pitching Analysis of Noah Syndergaard vs Washington Nationals appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Stat Line:  7.2 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 9 SO, 0 BB

Matt Harvey is resembling the Dark Knight of 2013.  Using both sides of the plate predominately with his fastball and slider, Harvey was perfect through five innings before Jose Lobaton singled up the middle.

This article explains Harvey’s fastball dominance and an area of improvement for Harvey.

Fastball and Slider Command

Harvey dominated knee high on the outside corner with both his four-seam and two-seam fastball.  When Harvey did miss, it was no more than two inches on either side of the outside corner.  This works especially well against Washington Nationals hitters for four reasons:

1. Some stand far from the plate.  See:  Ryan Zimmerman
2. Most are taller hitters, making it difficult for them to reach low and outside with the barrel of their bat.  See:  Jayson Werth, Zimmerman, Ian Desmond
3. Some are not MLB polished or skilled enough to hit a 96 mph fastball knee high on the outside corner.  See:  Michael Taylor, Lobaton, Gio Gonzalez
4. Harvey owns Bryce Harper.  Including last night, Harper is 0-17 career against Harvey.

Additionally, Harvey showed a hard, sharp slider located low in the strike zone, producing a swing and miss rate (whiff rate) of 16.7%.  The slider was a strike 14 of the 18 times thrown last night (77.8% strike rate).

Pitching out of the Stretch

Simply, Harvey’s command became erratic when pitching out of the stretch in the sixth and eighth innings.  Being erratic doesn’t necessarily equate to more walks.  However, it does equate to missing an outside target on the inside corner.  Harvey stopped missing by two inches as noted above, and began missing on the opposite sides of the plate or far out of the strike zone vertically.

Although everyone’s excuse Harvey is Tommy John surgery effecting his command, Harvey needs to take more repetitions in his bullpen sessions from the stretch.  Remember, the most pivotal pitches in any baseball game are thrown from the stretch.

Looking Forward

Harvey’s next start will come on Wednesday August 5^th against the Miami Marlins.  So far this season the Marlins are hitting at a .223 batting average against Harvey.

Stat of the Night

To further cement Harvey’s fastball dominance:  Harvey’s fastball produced 20 of the 23 outs he recorded, included all nine of his strikeouts.

Thanks to @BrooksBaseball for pitch specific statistics.

Follow Chris Zaccherio on Twitter @ziography for more Mets pitching insight that goes beyond statistics.

The post Breaking Down Matt Harvey vs. Washington Nationals appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Stat Line:  2.1 IP, 6 R, 10 H, 1 SO, 0 BB

Bartolo Colon struggled throwing his fastball against the San Diego Padres leading to a 6-1 deficit by the middle of the third inning.  This article explains the reason behind Colons poor fastball velocity and command.

Lack of Spin

MPH on a pitch is measured by the amount of revolutions per second made by the baseball.

Colon’s velocity was down three miles per hour on each pitch.  Colons four-seam fastball, usually thrown at 91 to 93 mph occasionally hitting 94 mph, was down to 89 to 91 mph occasionally thrown 92 mph.  The same two mph drop off was seen on his two-seam fastball.  Since Colon throws fastballs 85% of the time, any reduction in mph translates to a much larger deficiency in performance.

It’s fair to assume that Colon produced less spin on the baseball due to his velocity readings.  Additionally, pitch movement is effected by lack of spin on the baseball.

Last night, all of Colon’s pitches exhibited lazy or flat movement.  Many people use the term “hanging” to describe this lazy movement.  While Colon’s pitches were in their trajectory towards the hitter, the pitches seem to move up slightly before they break downward.  That is known as a flat or hanging pitch.

Conversely, sharp movement is seen when the baseball is continually moving downward.  Due to the constant trajectory downward, those pitches are more apt to be located down in the strike zone translating to optimal pitch command.

As a finesse pitcher in the MLB, all pitches must move sharply downward as one hanging mistake could be the three-run homerun that loses your team the game.

Looking Forward

Colons next start comes on Monday against the Miami Marlins.  In three starts this season against the Marlins, Colon’s ERA is 3.48 with nine strikeouts to no walks.

Stat of the Night

Thanks to @BrooksBaseball:  Colon produced three swings and misses translating to a miss rate of only 5.5%.

Follow Chris Zaccherio on Twitter @ziography for more Mets pitching insight that goes beyond statistics.

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