Puk thrives with MLB’s trendiest pitch
This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola’s Marlins Beat e-newsletter. To learn the total e-newsletter, click on right here. And subscribe to get it frequently in your inbox.
Entering Thursday, 90 pitchers have thrown no less than one sweeper in 2023, in line with Baseball Savant, and Marlins nearer A.J. Puk is amongst them. He has closely relied on it, tallying the sixth-highest sweeper utilization (50.4%, min. 100 pitches thrown) amongst all Major Leaguers.
During his first full season in 2022, Puk utilized his four-seamer (46.4%), slider (38.1%), sinker (15.4%) and changeup (0.2%). But Oakland teammate Sam Moll “spun the crap” out of a sweeper, which led Puk to think about the pitch. After speaking to Moll fairly a bit about it, Puk determined so as to add it to his repertoire. When the A’s informed Puk they have been going to stretch him out as a starter forward of Spring Training in 2023, he discovered it to be the proper alternative to alter his arsenal to that of a sweeper, cutter and break up finger.
“I just wanted something with a little more movement and a little slower, too,” Puk mentioned. “I think it’s better, because [it used to be that] everything’s hard, hard, hard. Now, though, I’ve got something slower. They’ve got to sit back on [it]. And then with my fastball, I think it plays well with each other.”
Despite serving in aid relatively than a beginning position in Miami, Puk has saved the sweeper and splitter. He hasn’t thrown the cutter, as a result of he fears spinning one down the center of the plate at 90 mph in a high-leverage scenario and negatively impacting the ballgame. Once Puk will get extra comfy with the cutter, nonetheless, he’d like for it to be a daily providing.
Puk’s sweeper, in the meantime, has turn out to be his most-used pitch. Not solely does it have a distinct grip but it surely additionally has a distinct really feel out of his hand than his slider. There’s just a little extra gyro spin to it, with extra horizontal break. The concept is for the pitch to maintain going exterior and hopefully get across the barrel to lefties whereas getting in on or blowing up the barrel of righties.
“That type of movement and spin — it does sweep and it’s got a little turndown,” pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. mentioned. “It’s not like that [Steven Okert] upward sweep, but it surely retains biting on the finish. The angle’s just a little totally different. And for me, on high of that sweep down on the backside, what enhances that’s his fastball on the high. It cannot be simple. I’m not a hitter. It turns laborious, and I believe there’s sweep after which pitches that get to spots. And then I believe there’s the aggressive flip and chunk of a breaking ball, and he positively has that. It’s not lazy.
“He’s got a low slot, and it keeps coming to the hitters, from what I’ve talked to him. It just doesn’t stop. It’s got that kind of finish and bite to it.”
In 14 at-bats which have ended on a sweeper, Puk has given up only one hit and struck out two batters. It already has a -3 run worth. His four-seamer, which averages 95.6 mph, continues to be his putaway pitch (35.3%) and is thrown 45.3% of the time general.
“It’s a new pitch, and [I’m] still getting comfortable with it,” Puk mentioned of the sweeper. “I’m happy [with] where it’s at. Last year, I was a little more aggressive with my heater, but here I can be like 50/50.”
