I can understand having worse pitch performance than kids in A-ball given the huge difference in quality of competition, but I hadn't realized how relatively poorly his metrics compared against other AAA pitchers across the league.
I suppose, then, that we could get a window into what all this pitch metrics business means.
Scenario 1: Jones comes up to the majors and has success throwing only one pitch.
Scenario 2: Jones comes up to the majors and gets hit like a very naughty girl throwing only one pitch.
Scenario 3 - and much less fun - Jones comes up and has mixed results and we're left puzzling the mysteries of HAA and VAA in a baseball cloister somewhere in a Costa Rico.
Right now he's in the high 80's consistently and tops at around 92 with his FB. But, it's not the velocity of the FB that matters - it's the difference between the velo of the FB and the velo of the Changeup, combined with the arm slot delivery. If they look the same coming out of his hand with about a 6-8 mph difference, and he is getting movement, he is going to get swing and miss on his changeup.
Take a look at the difference in velo of Kyle Hendricks FB and Changeup. He's been making a good living as an MLB SP for about 8 or 9 years with an 87mph FB and an 80 mph Changeup.
Great article
Peaking my Jared Jones skepticism.
I can understand having worse pitch performance than kids in A-ball given the huge difference in quality of competition, but I hadn't realized how relatively poorly his metrics compared against other AAA pitchers across the league.
I suppose, then, that we could get a window into what all this pitch metrics business means.
Scenario 1: Jones comes up to the majors and has success throwing only one pitch.
Scenario 2: Jones comes up to the majors and gets hit like a very naughty girl throwing only one pitch.
Scenario 3 - and much less fun - Jones comes up and has mixed results and we're left puzzling the mysteries of HAA and VAA in a baseball cloister somewhere in a Costa Rico.
-Wabbit
Love kellington's chaneup, but he is absolutely a guy that needs to add a good several mph on his fastball to ever have a shot to by anything
If he gets to around 92-93 consistently, with the movement he gets on it, I’ll take.
Right now he's in the high 80's consistently and tops at around 92 with his FB. But, it's not the velocity of the FB that matters - it's the difference between the velo of the FB and the velo of the Changeup, combined with the arm slot delivery. If they look the same coming out of his hand with about a 6-8 mph difference, and he is getting movement, he is going to get swing and miss on his changeup.
Take a look at the difference in velo of Kyle Hendricks FB and Changeup. He's been making a good living as an MLB SP for about 8 or 9 years with an 87mph FB and an 80 mph Changeup.
Now go teach him a plus-plus change coupled with plus-plus command and you have a shot at the next Kyle Hendricks.
Short of that, velocity *absolutely* makes an enormous difference.