Baseball analyst📊 & writer📝 / Occasional Podcast Guest / New York Mets roller coaster rider / JWU 2023 / @jwupvdbaseball @BananaBall_
Joined November 2021
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The Angels should spend a lot of money (relative term) this offseason. It would help the long term direction of the org substantially
What the Rays did with Freddy Peralta has been fantastic & he's arguably pitching the best of his career
However, they didn't exactly move him to the 3B side of the rubber, more so moved him back. The Mets moved him to the center of the rubber & he was on the 3B side in 2025
Changes the Rays made to Freddy Peralta pitching after trading for him, per @jorgecastillo
- Exclusively pitching out of the stretch
- Moved to 3rd base side of rubber
- Widened his stance
- Sped up his delivery
- Gave him a drill package to incorporate into his preparation to generate more strength from his legs
- Instructed him to throw more changeups
Peralta allowed three runs in 34 innings -- good for a 0.79 ERA -- over his final six regular-season starts and he was named the American League Pitcher of the Month for September
(espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/5021…)
I'm curious to hear from Mets fans
Would you could trade Marcus Semien's 2 remaining years + one of the better prospects in the farm for
34 year old Mookie Betts' 6 remaining years?
76%2 Semien Yrs+Top Prospect
24%6 Betts Yrs
50 votes • Final resultsLucas Erceg is going to be one of the most valuable buy-low relievers on the trade market this winter.
My guess, Pittsburgh identifies it as the move to make
Been saying this @HagenSnellBB
The Dodgers are NOT expected to offer Tarik Skubal a mega contract before the December 1st lockout, per @Alden_Gonzalez
“It would be really difficult for the Dodgers to justify signing Skubal to a massive deal before knowing what MLB's economic model will look like… It would be a major risk to sign Skubal before knowing what they're signing up for.”
(espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/5005…)
The small ball Brewers have 20 balls in play with tracked bat speed (1 not tracked)
11 of those 20 were fast swings, 75+ MPH. That's 55% of balls in play coming from fast swings.
Now they're on the verge of sweeping the Dodgers to win the pennant.
Swing the bat fast
ALT Sorted Bat Speed via Baseball Savant Gamefeed
I'm curious as to whether Mets fans would credit Stearns with signing Skubal or if they'd say it was Cohen's doing
On Baseball Night in New York, @chelsea_janes discusses how the Mets will be in the conversation for Tarik Skubal
I definitely don't think Nolan McLean has been talked about enough in NL ROTY conversations
31 G | 20 QS | 3.16 ERA | 179.2 IP | 194 K
11/46 Qualified MLB Pitchers had a Quality Start% =<60%
1) Yoshinobu Yamamoto - 78.6%
2) Chris Sale - 70.4%
3) Sonny Gray - 69.0%
4) Cristopher Sánchez - 66.7%
5) Michael Wacha - 65.6%
6) Nolan McLean - 64.5%
7) Sandy Alcantara - 63.6%
8) Zack Wheeler - 60.7%
9) Cam Schlittler - 60.6%
10) Drew Rasmussen - 60.0%
11) Jacob Misiorowski - 60.0%
Aside from McLean, Parker Messick (43.8%) is the only other Rookie that's a Qualified Pitcher
Neither Carson Benge nor Nolan McLean is a finalist for the MLBPA's Player Choice for the National League Outstanding Rookie Award. #Mets
This situation happens quite often & people usually only judge the outcome. Not every move works out & in the moment, there are definitely options that give your team a better chance at winning.
POBOs/GMs don't get to see the future & have no idea if a move will work.
Process>
Mikey O’Connor retweeted
Miguel Vargas is on his way to a big breakout season
Analyzing the changes the White Sox 3B has made (A Thread)
The last 3 balls the Mets hit off Jake Irvin have been 104 mph or harder
Brett Baty - 109.0 mph Lineout
AJ Ewing - 104.7 mph Go-Ahead HR
Ronny Mauricio - 106.6 mph Solo HR
Bless you @Mets admins for posting a side angle
There is a significant disconnect in the space when it comes to data evolution.
As data continues to evolve with the use of CV, etc., we gain a more literal understanding of what is happening within game movements (i.e. a swing or throw).
The data population explains its newest development, of now being able to quantify something that once could not be, with the intention of pushing the game forward and help players or teams.
The coaching/non-data population views this as the data population discovering a decades old concept, creating a perception that the data side is not immersed in the game of baseball and behind decades of coaching.
That is not what is happening though. This disconnect creates or furthers negative perception within each population. The individual work of each side pushes the game forward, but if the two sides do not trust one another, the potential for growth will be limited compared to what it could be with collaboration.
The data population is merely conveying data evolution of previously unquantified concepts that now opens more avenues to communicate with players and improve structured programming for growth.
It should be obvious that everyone is interested in helping players get better, but you would not think so by observing the space.
Shedding the predispositions built around each side, entering discourse with curiosity instead of judgement, stop trying to read between the lines and just read explicitly what someone writes are ways we improve collaboration.
Everyone wants to help the game progress.
Francisco Lindor got some chin music at 96 mph
The next pitch is an 86 mph changeup that he stays in on and barrels for a leadoff home run
Part of what makes him a future hall of famer
This is a great show of what adjustments Anthony Volpe has made
The major noticeable difference is the weight shift.
Before:
- Not a strong coil
- Entire body moving forward
- Leaking energy
- Arms disconnected
- Swing is long & Rotates into the ball which lowers attack angle
Now:
- Holds a deep coil
- Controls forward move
- Stores energy & creates tension
- Tight connection to body
- Shortened swing & Rotating behind the ball which raises attack angle
What did Volpe do to make these adjustments?
One answer is right in front of us in the video. Volpe is now utilizing a step back in his load. Something Nolan Arenado has done for years & Mike Trout notably did earlier this season
The Step Back allows him to feel the activation of his rear to know he's getting into the proper positions. It's great for hitters that struggle to load into their back hip, coil properly & control their forward move/weight shift.
Two other drills I think could have been incorporated with Volpe are the Pivot Pick drill and the Kershaw dill.
Pivot Picks are designed to really engage a hitters coil and is a more fluid movement to promote controlling that forward move, instead of shifting too far onto the front foot. This would further emphasize getting into a deeper load with his rear hip + coil and controlling it as he starts his swing
Kershaws are also a great way to work on a more connected rotation behind the baseball (among other redundant benefits).
Volpe has a much better load, coil & forward move, but also has much better connection, a shorter swing and is now rotating behind the ball.
Lots of hitters are known to incorporate drill work into their game swings. Now that Volpe looks to have done the same, hopefully this leads to more sustainability for him!
Mets RHP Ryan Dollar just made his Double-A debut in Binghamton!
He's quickly becoming one of the best & nastiest relievers in the Mets system & has some serious potential!
Dollar is a 22 year old that stands 6'3 & 220 lbs. He has an extremely high arm angle, but with the help of his 6.7 ft of extension, his release height gets down to 6.1 ft.
This is fantastic for him to create approach angles. While his FF IVB might not differentiate from his arm angle (68 degrees), it is still great from his release height.
He deploys a 95 mph FF with 18.7 IVB & very high spin rates, averaging over 2500 rpms. It's a quality pitch that will play up in the zone & will get even better if he continues adding velocity.
He has a tandem of secondary offerings in the form of a cutter and a slider.
The cutter was his most used pitch in A ball. It's 90 mph with 7.4 IVB & -3.1 HB while also averaging over 2500 rpms. In a vacuum this is a great pitch, but what makes it even better is Dollar's release & how it plays off the FF. The raw shape of the cutter is around the RH normal, but it's still has an 11 IVB difference from the FF which is not normal. All these factors help the pitch induce over a 40% whiff rate, well over 30% chase rates & great quality of contact in a ~90 pitch sample. It's his go to out pitch and it's exceptional.
The slider is a gyro that's bordering on death ball territory. It's fantastic in its own right, arguably his best pitch overall. It's 86 mph with -2.9 IVB & 0.1 HB & plays very steep because of his arm angle. In a ~35 pitch sample it posted a whiff rate greater than 50% with good quality of contact.
Dollar's release allows him to throw all 3 high spin pitches out of the same window. It's not easy to pick up any of his offerings which helps him induce a lot of chases. That helps the fact that his zone & walk rates aren't ideal, but this is also his first pro season. One could call it a tunneling masterclass. Dollar already looks the part of a Major League reliever and it's scary to think about what he could be with even more velocity!
