Baltimore Orioles: Could Kevin Gausman’s changes lead to success?
By Ben Palmer
Baltimore Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman has made some changes to his pitch repertoire so far this year. Will it lead to success?
Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Kevin Gausman has been talked about for a very long time, honestly ever since he was drafted back in 2012. He was one of the Orioles’ greatest prospects, and now for the past few years, we’ve gotten to see him in action.
He’s made gradual progress over the years, and especially looked good at the end of the season last year. He had more confidence in his split-changeup, perhaps his best pitch, and it lead to continued success.
We’re still seeing Gausman evolve as a pitcher, and that evolution is continuing this year. While Gausman gained more confidence in his split-changeup last year, we’re seeing him gain more confidence in his slider this year.
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According to Pitch F/X, Gausman threw his slider just 13.3% of the time last season, and that was a career high, up from 10.9% the previous season. This season so far, he’s thrown it 18.9% of the time.
He’s also increased the velocity on the pitch. Last season, his slider averaged 79.7 mph, now it’s up to 84.6 mph.
Gausman has always been effective against lefties, holding them to a career .238 average and .299 wOBA, and his split-changeup has been a major factor in that, as it buckles lefites.
Developing his slider will be the key to Gausman taking down righties as well, and so far, it’s starting to look good. Here’s a great strikeout from Gausman against Matt Holliday using his slider:
It’s got more movement than it ever has before, and per Pitch F/X’s pVAL measurement, which measures the overall “value” of the pitch, it’s getting a lot better. Last year, his pVAL was at -8.6 on his slider, now it’s up to -0.8. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s getting there.
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So far this year, right-handed batters are batting .292 against his slider. It’s a small sample size (just 14-for-48), but it’s starting to work, and if he’s able to develop that slider further, good things could be in store, as it could really be the key to him being a complete pitcher.