How adding a curveball to his repertoire has helped Blue Jays’ Kikuchi

Baseball

Published 01.07.2023

How adding a curveball to his repertoire has helped Blue Jays’ Kikuchi

TORONTO – When the Toronto Blue Jays have skilled surprises this yr, they’ve not often been nice ones.

From Alek Manoah’s baffling collapse, to the lineup’s struggles in scoring place, the sudden has not been a pal to the Blue Jays.

Yusei Kikuchi is an exception to that pattern.

The 32-year-old has dropped his ERA almost a run and a half (1.44) from his tough 2022 season, largely due to the actual fact his BB/9 has plummeted from a dismal 5.19 to an above-average 2.68.

All of that’s spectacular, however his season-long numbers may be underselling the best way he’s pitching, as he’s been stellar currently. Kikuchi hasn’t conceded greater than two runs in any of his final six begins, and he’s coming off the primary seven-inning outing of his Blue Jays profession.

It’s clear that he’s doing one thing totally different in latest weeks — particularly rounding out his repertoire. Kikuchi started the yr throwing a fastball, slider and changeup nearly completely, however he’s now grow to be a four-pitch pitcher.

Early in 2023, the southpaw launched a curveball into his arsenal for the primary time since 2019, however it was a show-me pitch that he used sparingly. Since then, its utilization has crept up steadily.

While hitters have been uncovered to the pitch considerably extra, its effectiveness has not waned on a per-pitch foundation. That appears to be as a result of the providing is rounding into type over time by including each spin fee …

… and vertical drop:

If we take a look at the traits of Kikuchi’s curveball based mostly on his season averages, it appears to be like unremarkable. Its spin fee is within the 52nd percentile and its vertical motion is 5.5 inches beneath common.

But, in his final begin, the pitch’s vertical break (47 inches) was about common and his spin fee (2,569) was 62nd percentile. The distinction is noticeable to the bare eye.

For instance, this curve to Mike Trout from his April 9 begin appears to be like flat and easily can’t make it to the highest of the zone, despite the fact that it was known as a strike:

In his final begin, one other curve close to the highest of the zone had some good drop to it:

Kikuchi hasn’t found Clayton Kershaw’s curve in a single day, however it appears to be like like a mean pitch on the very least, and the outcomes are spectacular. No providing within the lefty’s arsenal has generated a greater run worth rating (-5) or whiff fee (30.9%) than his curveball.

He appears assured in it, too. In his first 10 begins, he threw it as soon as in a three-ball depend, however in his final six he’s gone to the curve 11 instances when he completely wanted a strike.

The premise of Kikuchi starting to combine one other efficient pitch into his arsenal is encouraging for the lefty in and of itself, however his rising curve can also be taking part in a selected function for him.

Over the course of the season, he’s made it his go-to secondary pitch in opposition to right-handers, permitting him to lean on his changeup much less usually.

Month	Curve utilization to RHH	Changeup utilization to RHH
April	2.8%	24.0%
May	18.3%	20.2%
June	28.0%	8.2%

That’s good news for Kikuchi as his change has below-average motion each vertically (-2.1 inches) and horizontally (-5.6 inches). Righties have slugged .490 off of it this season — a far cry from the .200 they’ve managed in opposition to his curve.

We haven’t seen sufficient of Kikuchi’s curveball to know exactly how efficient the pitch can be within the weeks to come back, however it’s trying good. For a pitcher who can lose the deal with on an providing or two at instances, having one other dependable arrow within the quiver looks like it’ll be helpful.

There are weaknesses this new improvement is unlikely to paper over — like Kikuchi’s excessive fee of residence runs allowed — however it appears probably to assist preserve his surprisingly sturdy season rolling.