Jack Parkman Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 (edited) Everyone has been talking about Lopez taking a step back this season, so I thought this would be a good place to discuss it. https://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/pitcher-spotlight-reynaldo-lopezs-old-breaking-ball/ Edited August 31, 2018 by Jack Parkman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaDoc Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 Very interesting article and a real difference in his approach. Wonder if the pitches felt good in the pen which is probably not the reason. Coop? Looked like Smith catching him. Has Smith caught him a lot? Wish some one (Fegan) would ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiSox1917 Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 A 12 mph difference on his changeup is incredible. I think I was more impressed with that pitch than any of the others in that article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFirebird Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 This is an encouraging article and will be interesting to see if it carries to his next one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dam8610 Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Hopefully they're telling both he and his catcher to continue that pitch mix going forward. It's certainly more effective than what we've seen from him for most of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 1 hour ago, Dam8610 said: Hopefully they're telling both he and his catcher to continue that pitch mix going forward. It's certainly more effective than what we've seen from him for most of the year. I’ve been harping on this all season and was ecstatic when he brought back the curve in his last start. If that pitch is here to stay and he’s willing to commit to the change-up, the kid will have a four pitch arsenal and IMO will be a quality major league starter in the long-run. Also, I get a laugh when people say his fastball sucks and cite his pitch value on Fangraphs as proof. It’s clear that certain people don’t understand how that metric works. Teams have been sitting on his fastball because he was throwing it way too much. If he has other pitches he can use to keep hitters honest / off-balanced, Lopez’s fastball suddenly becomes a weapon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliSoxFanViaSWside Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, Dam8610 said: Hopefully they're telling both he and his catcher to continue that pitch mix going forward. It's certainly more effective than what we've seen from him for most of the year. I posted my thoughts on the Lopez game in the Gio is Saving His Season thread. I'll repeat a little of it here. Coop and Dave Duncan probably have a plan for every young starter that maximizes fastball command and change ups before anything else while curves and sliders are used less. Both Gio and Lopez were known to have decent curves already but like most young pitcher if you can master command of the fastball and develop a good changeup you are well on your way to becoming a good pitcher. They then are able to mix in the curve or slider with more regularity. I'm not saying Gio or Lopez have yet mastered fastball command or their changeups but they both threw the change a lot more recently. Then you need that 3rd pitch to get through the lineup the 2nd or 3rd time. Helps even more if you can also change speed on curves. Edited September 1, 2018 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside add Duncan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 6 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said: I posted my thoughts on the Lopez game in the Gio is Saving His Season thread. I'll repeat a little of it here. Coop and Dave Duncan probably have a plan for every young starter that maximizes fastball command and change ups before anything else while curves and sliders are used less. Both Gio and Lopez were known to have decent curves already but like most young pitcher if you can master command of the fastball and develop a good changeup you are well on your way to becoming a good pitcher. They then are able to mix in the curve or slider with more regularity. I'm not saying Gio or Lopez have yet mastered fastball command or their changeups but they both threw the change a lot more recently. Then you need that 3rd pitch to get through the lineup the 2nd or 3rd time. Helps even more if you can also change speed on curves. This is all sounds good in theory and I’d like to believe it, but Lopez was fastball / slider for the vast majority of this year. He was barely using his change-up for long stretches, which is what he should have been focusing on during a rebuild season. Quite frankly, it doesn’t make any sense at all and makes me wonder if Reynaldo simply didn’t use the change-up because he wasn’t comfortable with it. And if that’s the case, then Cooper & our coaching staff failed him by not forcing him to do what’s in his long-term best interests. Again, just my take, but I can’t really see how being strictly fastball / slider was somehow part of a bigger development plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliSoxFanViaSWside Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said: This is all sounds good in theory and I’d like to believe it, but Lopez was fastball / slider for the vast majority of this year. He was barely using his change-up for long stretches, which is what he should have been focusing on during a rebuild season. Quite frankly, it doesn’t make any sense at all and makes me wonder if Reynaldo simply didn’t use the change-up because he wasn’t comfortable with it. And if that’s the case, then Cooper & our coaching staff failed him by not forcing him to do what’s in his long-term best interests. Again, just my take, but I can’t really see how being strictly fastball / slider was somehow part of a bigger development plan. Could be he wasn't comfortable with it or had trouble keeping it down or wasn't getting movement on it and instead of forcing him just continued to work on it in side sessions until he was comfortable with it or he could keep it down or get movement on it. You know as well as I that you can only focus on so much. Command of fastball is always going to be 1st. and the word "force" is not something anyone should be comfortable with. It's a long season and just have to let them develop at their own pace. No one ever said everything can be done in 1 years time. Edited September 1, 2018 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Just now, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said: Could be he wasn't comfortable with it or had trouble keeping it down or wasn't getting movement on it and instead of forcing him just continued to work on it in side sessions until he was comfortable with it or he could keep it down or get movement on it. I hope you are right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliSoxFanViaSWside Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 (edited) 14 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said: I hope you are right. I have to trust 2 guys like Duncan and Coop know a lot more about pitching then any of us. Both have great reputations. I'm sure you have said when talking about prospects many times that development isn't linear . That still applies here. Un paso a la vez . Edit. A few other things.Coop also knows the personality ,temperament and intelligence of these pitchers which is often overlooked with discussions here. I'm sure if you have listened to Steve Stone you have heard him say he could never get comfortable with the change up so it isn't always a given that it can work with all pitchers. The fact that he is throwing it now with effectiveness is a huge step even for one game. Edited September 1, 2018 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chitownsportsfan Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Cooper's philosophy has always been, for a guy with a good fastball, and that's about everybody in MLB now -- first pitch fastball strike. Then you work from there. Obviously starters will need to work in their off speed stuff but everything starts with good fastball command getting you ahead in the count. Kopech so far has really executed that plan to perfection even though he hasn't had great off speed stuff outside his first start. Hopefully he can continue to work in more off speed stuff and pitch off his fastball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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