Blue Jays notebook: Making sense of Vlad Jr., Verdugo’s comments, and velocity
KANSAS CITY — One week into the season, let’s verify in on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.:
Strikeouts: 1
Walks: 5
Home runs: 2
Hard-hit balls (95 m.p.h.+): 17, first in MLB
How he’s performed it: Laying off no matter’s off the plate, ready for pitches he can hit, and doing injury. For occasion, when Jordan Lyles left a 90 m.p.h. fastball on the interior half Thursday, Guerrero Jr. despatched it 436 toes away towards the Kauffman Stadium fountains.
As Blue Jays supervisor John Schneider not too long ago put it, “Vladdy being Vladdy.”
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet {
show: grid;
grid-template-columns: 200px 1fr;
hole: 20px;
width: 100%;
margin: 0 auto;
padding: 16px;
border: 1px stable #CECECE;
background-color: #FFF;
border-radius: 4px;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info a {
text-decoration: none;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-title {
shade: #343434;
font-family: ‘roboto’;
font-size: 20px;
font-weight: 600;
line-height: 22px;
margin-bottom: 10px;
prime: -3px;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-body {
shade: #343434;
font-family: ‘urw-din’;
font-size: 16px;
line-height: 20px;
margin-bottom: 12px;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-link-title {
show: inline-block;
font-family: ‘urw-din’;
font-size: 16px;
list-style-type: none;
width: auto;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-link-title:not(:last-child):after ‘;
shade: #343434;
“Same old Vlad,” said longtime teammate Cavan Biggio. “This year he seems a little more calm and he’s just being himself out there, (letting) things come to him versus at some points he tries to do too much. I think he knows how good he is, and I think he’s just letting the game come to him. I think that’s what he’s going to do for the rest of his career.”
As Biggio notes, Guerrero Jr. doesn’t appear to be feeling an excessive amount of strain. He could supply max effort on the bases or whereas enjoying first, however on the plate a extra composed method has been working.
“I mean, I feel relaxed these days,” Guerrero Jr. stated by interpreter Hector Lebron after hitting his first residence run. “I’m the form of one that believes if you’re making an attempt too laborious, if you search for it, it’s going to be more durable.”
None of that is new, precisely, however what we’re seeing now calls to thoughts the 2021 model of Guerrero Jr. — the participant who hit 48 residence runs, batted .311/.401/.601 and completed second in AL MVP voting. If he’s nearer to these ranges in 2023, that might push the Blue Jays forward by a number of wins in a intently contested AL East race.
With that, welcome to the second installment of what is going to be a daily Friday column right here this season, and let’s survey some growing storylines with the Blue Jays and past:
THE VERDUGO COMMENTS
Players are entitled to their opinions, and the sport is healthier after they converse candidly. At the identical time, it’s laborious to take what Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo says severely when there’s not consistency between his phrases and his actions.
First, his phrases. Speaking to Rob Bradford on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast, Verdugo stated this about Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah:
“If it’s a genuine reaction and it’s for the boys, not directed towards somebody, then yeah (it’s fine),” Verdugo informed Bradford. “Like, I’ll say it proper now, I believe Alek Manoah goes about it the mistaken approach, 100 per cent I believe he does. You can discover movies of him, footage of him in triple-A going like this to hitters. Last yr, telling Franchy (Cordero) and Bobby (Dalbec) like go sit, (expletive) like that and searching proper at them (in July).
“That just pisses me off. It’s not the way it should be played. It should be played like you’re celebrating it with your team, you’re not (expletive) disrespecting another player who is — at the end of the day, we’re just trying to compete, that’s it.”
And now, Verdugo’s actions, from final June after hitting a house run towards a well-recognized face — Alek Manoah of the Blue Jays.
Is Verdugo’s response purely for the Red Sox? Or is it potential he’s letting the Blue Jays know he bought them? To be truthful, there’s nothing mistaken with having fun with a house run, and if he desires to let the Blue Jays realize it, nobody’s stopping him. But there’s nothing mistaken with Manoah having fun with a strikeout, both. What’s more durable to reconcile is Verdugo having one algorithm for himself and one for everybody else.
SEARCHING FOR MEANING WITH THE RADAR GUN
At this level, it’s a bit early to learn all that a lot into radar gun readings. Not solely are we speaking about small samples right here, the Blue Jays simply performed in cool Kansas City climate, making it more durable for the likes of Manoah and fellow starter Kevin Gausman to pitch at full velocity.
But in keeping with evaluators tasked with monitoring these items, velocity readings do inform a significant story inside a few weeks.
So if lefty Yusei Kikuchi can maintain his increase in velocity for one more couple of begins, that may be one thing to take severely. On the opposite hand, if Chris Bassitt’s velocity stays at 91.1 m.p.h., down from 92.9 m.p.h. a yr in the past, that may even be vital. For now, it’s wait-and-see mode on each.
Sometimes, even the pitchers themselves aren’t certain what to anticipate. All spring, left-hander Tim Mayza was having bother discovering an additional gear on his sinker. “I felt like I couldn’t ramp up when I needed to,” he recollects. Then in Tuesday’s sport towards the Royals, the left-hander got here in and touched 97 m.p.h. towards first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, the primary batter he confronted.
“I don’t think I was expecting that by any means, but definitely refreshing and kind of nice to see,” he stated. “I simply form of let it unfastened and wished to make a high quality pitch.”
In 63 appearances final yr, Mayza didn’t throw a single pitch that onerous. Then, two days later, he topped out at 92.4 m.p.h. All of which to say it’s nonetheless early, however these radar-gun readings will inform us significant data prior to we would assume.
BUYING SOME TIME
As quickly as MLB launched new guidelines, you knew groups would search for methods to use them. Case in level: if a pitcher asks for a brand new ball with at the very least 9 seconds remaining on the pitch clock, the clock resets, permitting the pitcher a number of extra seconds to arrange.
“You started seeing (pitchers) do that pretty deliberately. I think that there’s ways around (the rule), at least to start,” Schneider stated. “And then I believe most likely umpires depart a bit be aware within the locker room for the subsequent man saying ‘hey, that is what this (pitcher) likes to do.’ … The outdated ebb and circulate of the motion and response.”
If you’re a pitching coach, you’d need your employees to concentrate on this wrinkle for moments they need a bit additional time.
LOOKING AHEAD
One under-discussed rule change price noting because the Blue Jays head to California for the primary time this yr: MLB quietly discontinued taxi squads for the 2023 season, so the five-player committee of reserves will not be obtainable.
Teams can carry one added catcher in the event that they so select, however in any other case any participant with the crew should be on the roster or about to affix it. At this level, with Daulton Varsho able to transferring behind the plate in an emergency, the Blue Jays aren’t carrying an additional catcher in that capability.
As such, their 26-man roster is really that — no additional layer of depth lurking close by simply in case. If the Blue Jays need to make a transfer, for not too long ago claimed right-handed hitting outfielder Jordan Luplow, say, then they’ll should do it the quaint approach by selling from triple-A.
.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper {
show: grid;
grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr);
hole: 20px;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper a {
pointer-events: none;
cursor: default;
text-decoration: none;
shade: black;
}
