Forget this Pitch – MLB Week 1

  |  
Apr 10, 2022
Seattle Mariners
Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners.

Every week we’ll be looking at some MLB pitches that get absolutely destroyed.

This weekly article will look at some poorly performing pitches that batters take full advantage of. Not every selection is going to be a home run. It can be extra-base hits or hard-hit singles. Our criteria is that the pitch didn’t go as planned, with negative consequences.

We do our best to provide you with some information on the pitcher and the pitch. For example, how the pitch should have performed and been executed. Also, if possible, we’ll provide the spin rate of the pitch.

Does the pitcher have control issues, or is this a new pitch he’s working on, or did he just miss? We’ll also point out the location of the pitch, where the catcher wants it, and where it ends up.

Let’s get into it.

Julio Rodriguez

Seattle Mariners‘ latest top prospect, Julio Rodriguez, gave us one of the more incredible spring training home runs in 2022. Due to his speed, it was an inside-the-park variety. He’s at the plate against Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase. It’s a 2-2 count with one out in the seventh inning and nobody on base.

Cleveland’s catcher calls for a breaking pitch middle of the plate at Rodriguez’s knees. Instead, Clase leaves the pitch up about two-thirds of the way up J-Rod’s thigh. Clase expected this pitch to start lower in the strike zone, and because of the flatness of his slider, leaving it up proved to be a mortal mistake.

Twinning

Minnesota’s Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa both F*!k This Pitch Up made by Michael Wacha. First up is Buxton, who takes a poorly executed fastball(?) deep. Minnesota’s catcher wants the pitch “low and away” as he positions his glove on the outside part of the plate and at Buxton’s knees.

Instead, Wacha delivers his fastball belt high and middle, middle. Buxton gets the barrel of the bat on the ball, and BANG. This one literally left the yard.

Next up is new teammate Correa. Atlanta’s catcher wants this ball low, knee-high, but Wacha puts it in the middle of the plate. Again, similar to Buxton, Wacha misses his target and leaves this “fastball” elevated and right down Main Street.

Correa turns on the ball as well. And just like with Buxton, Correa’s ball also leaves the park. Location and the ability to hit your spots are paramount.

Yankees

On Opening Day, New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton went deep off Boston starter Nathan Eovaldi. It’s the bottom of the fourth inning, with a 1-1 count, no outs, and no one on base.

Eovaldi left an 88 mph slider over the middle of the plate. Boston catcher Christian Vazquez wanted the pitch to be low and away. With the pitch belt-high, Stanton crushes a line drive to right field that only goes out in Yankee Stadium.

Related Story: Building the best Seattle Mariners lineup

The purpose of these articles is not to pick on pitchers but to recognize how batters capitalize on mistakes. Baseball is the ultimate imperfect game, and it’s those imperfections that lead to dramatic moments. Drop a comment if you have a pitch/hit you’d like us to analyze.

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