This Week in Bradenton: Intriguing pitches from under-the-radar pitchers
Interesting pitches from some of the lesser known names
As metrics and analytics become an even bigger part of the game, teams are searching for pitchers with outlier traits among their current pitchers that they can work with and try to emphasize in optimizing their abilities.
Today, I wanted to take a look at some of the lesser-known pitchers in Bradenton (both at Low-A and FCL) who have outlier traits in their pitches or are having a lot of success with one specific offering.
Gavin Adams, RHP FCL Pirates
Drafted in the eighth round in 2024 out of Florida State, Adams has spent the entire season in the FCL after recovering from Tommy John surgery.
He’s hit 100 mph this season with the fastball, and it has plenty of other supporting traits that make it a very interesting pitch.
Adams throws from a 5-foot-3 release point while also getting above-average extension on it. This is from a game that the FCL team played at LECOM, which allowed for additional data.
It has a flatter approach angle, which should allow it to play well up in the zone, and had a whiff rate of over 40% in this game. The issue with Adams has been walks, as he has more walks (23) than strikeouts (20) in 14.2 innings this season.
Part of this could be part of the recovery from Tommy John, but how much may have to wait until next year to see.
*It was a three pitch sample, but his four-seam might be even more intriguing at this point. Whatever it is that he throws, it could be a very dangerous pitch, especially he gets it in the zone more.
Alexis Torres, RHP Bradenton Marauders
After beginning the year with the FCL team, Torres made his way up to Bradenton and has put together a solid season out of the bullpen for the Marauders.
In 30.1 IP this season, Torres has struck out 32 while posting a 3.56 ERA at both levels. Most of those strikeouts have come from the slider, which is getting a whiff rate of over 65% right now.
It doesn’t grade out well, as the velocity, extension, and zone rate is well below average, but that doesn’t matter, has it has become an elite swing-and-miss pitch for him.
Jesus Clode, RHP Bradenton Marauders
While the overall numbers aren’t anything to write home about, Clode’s slider has been a dynamic pitch out of the bullpen. Clode is mainly used in cleanup roles, getting out of innings, generally with runners on.
While throwing from an ultra-low arm slot, it hasn’t mattered the pitch isn’t in the strike zone often, as hitters chase it 42.6% of the time, and then miss at it half of the time overall.
Irwin Ramirez, RHP FCL Pirates
It hasn’t been the best year for the 18 year old Ramirez, with 4.70 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 30.2 innings pitched this year, although a lot of that is from a rough start to the season.
According to the FCL stream the Pirates have, Ramirez hit triple-digits with his fastball, and it’s a curious pitch in general.
The velocity is clearly there, and it has a flatter approach with plenty of horizontal run on the pitch. If he can hold the velocity, and maybe get the extenion up a bit more, it becomes an even more of an interesting pitch.
Andres Silvera, RHP FCL Pirates
After missing all of last season, Silvera is just working his way back on to the field for the FCL Pirates as their season winds down.
When you add in his appearance on Tuesday, he has now thrown four times, posting an 1.80 ERA with seven strikeouts in five innings pitched. Tuesday’s game was the first appearance he had that he’s allowed a run.
Silvera throws from a higher arm slot, and doesn’t get much extension, but there are some traits here to like in his fastball. It gets a good amount induced vertical break, and the low horizontal break gives it a ‘cut’ action to it.
If he adds a couple of ticks to it, it could be a valuable pitch. We’ve seen pitches gain some velocity back as they recover, and Silvera has an interesting four-pitch mix.
He’d be an interesting name to bring over to the Marauders once the Complex season is over.
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Murphy: Watched some Nick Frusco video from a Perfect Game event. He hid the ball well, and the fastball had some nice life on it, with some pop as well. Perhaps some tinkering that needs to be done on the delivery to smooth it out, but in the meantime, he repeats it well, and while it seems like a shorter extension, he moves his arm fa…
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