Tigers trying to figure out Zumaya's fastball
It's a rare occasion when you hear about coaches going to video in Spring Training to try to work on a player's issues. At just shy of midway point of Spring Training games, though, that's what the Tigers are doing with Joel Zumaya.
The good news on Zumaya is that his fastball has just about the same speed as earlier. He's been hitting 98 mph on radar guns, which manager Jim Leyland believes will translate to 100 mph once the regular-season adrenaline kicks in.
The bad news is that hitters are pounding the fastball. He has given up runs in three of his four Spring Training appearances against big league clubs this year, including single runs in his last two outings. Both of those came on solo home runs.
His strikeouts also are down in the limited sample size, though both of his outs Sunday against the Rays came from hitters fanning at his pitches.
Though Leyland has said several times already this spring that good hitters can pummel a fastball in a poor location no matter how fast it is, he and Tigers coaches think there's something more to what's going on with Zumaya.
"When you throw it 98, they shouldn't be centering it like that," Leyland said.
So they went to video to look at Zumaya's delivery now compared with his rookie season of 2006, when he was downright dominant.
Zumaya's delivery now isn't as compact as it was then, bullpen coach Jeff Jones. Leyland also said he isn't getting as much arm extension on his pitches, though he apparently has the same arm slot as before.
Since he's supposedly healthy now and his fastball is as hard as normal, they don't believe it's compensation for an injury. But given how little he really has pitched over the last three years since that '06 campaign because of all his previous injuries, he could've easily fallen into some mechanical quirks that now feel comfortable. That's what coaches are indicating seems to be happening.
They think it can be fixed.
"I think it can," Leyland said. "He's throwing the ball good. The arm strength is there."
The good news on Zumaya is that his fastball has just about the same speed as earlier. He's been hitting 98 mph on radar guns, which manager Jim Leyland believes will translate to 100 mph once the regular-season adrenaline kicks in.
The bad news is that hitters are pounding the fastball. He has given up runs in three of his four Spring Training appearances against big league clubs this year, including single runs in his last two outings. Both of those came on solo home runs.
His strikeouts also are down in the limited sample size, though both of his outs Sunday against the Rays came from hitters fanning at his pitches.
Though Leyland has said several times already this spring that good hitters can pummel a fastball in a poor location no matter how fast it is, he and Tigers coaches think there's something more to what's going on with Zumaya.
"When you throw it 98, they shouldn't be centering it like that," Leyland said.
So they went to video to look at Zumaya's delivery now compared with his rookie season of 2006, when he was downright dominant.
Zumaya's delivery now isn't as compact as it was then, bullpen coach Jeff Jones. Leyland also said he isn't getting as much arm extension on his pitches, though he apparently has the same arm slot as before.
Since he's supposedly healthy now and his fastball is as hard as normal, they don't believe it's compensation for an injury. But given how little he really has pitched over the last three years since that '06 campaign because of all his previous injuries, he could've easily fallen into some mechanical quirks that now feel comfortable. That's what coaches are indicating seems to be happening.
They think it can be fixed.
"I think it can," Leyland said. "He's throwing the ball good. The arm strength is there."
Because he is not a pitcher but a stone thrower . Ryan was a .500 pitcher even after he became a real pitcher. And he is not Ryan. Every real big-leaguer can hit a fast ball, no matter the speed. And the slider makes it worse . It is the most hittable throw. The only way he make an out is pitching at night games
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i heard a scout say once it's conventional baseball wisdom that the fastball is a contact pitch. the breaking ball or change is a swing and miss/strikeout pitch for major league hitters...
...i'm not sure what to make of this commentary. are they saying that zumaya is not hiding the ball well, not getting any movement on the fastball (how much movement can you get at 98-100 mph?), mechanical flaws affecting his ability to locate the ball, or all the above?
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Here's the thing..it makes no difference how fast you throw a fastball. If you are not consistently changing locations, working inside, outside, up, and down, hitters are going to sit on your pitches and have a hit parade. Zoomer's range is 82mph change to 100mph+ fastball, which is absolutely effective. What I've seen the past 2 seasons when he did take the mound was him throwing fastball after fastball. He so effective in '06 because (1) a limited scouting report being a rookie and (2) the use of his secondary pitches, slider & change. These days most guys in the Majors are throwing mid 90s, and the hitters have now made the adjustment to quicker pitches. It's those secondary pitches thats gonna make Joel effective again. I can't even count how many times in '06 he started guys off with 2 or 3 fastballs then would switch to the slider for the K only to start the next guy off with a changeup. Thats what he also has to focus on aside from whatever mechanical issues he's having. If he actually IS HEALTHY as claimed, I still see a struggling Zumaya coming out of camp until Knapp gets things worked out. But I have a lot of faith in the kid because he is a workhorse and absolutley wants to be THAT GUY.
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zoom zoom is another ryan duren no more no lest get him glasses and let him have fun!
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