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The secret of Zach Britton's unique dominance

xian4

By xian4
in Orioles Talk

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Cumberbundy Hangout Veteran Council

Cumberbundy

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Today, at least 6 guys hit 2 home runs in a game. There is definitely something different about the baseball - the multi HR games and now Manny, Ryan Zimmerman and Lamb have all gone 470ft +

 

The fact that the ball is made to fly out of the stadium makes Britton even more valuable. He is, far and away, the most valuable bullpen arm. I have been in favor of trading Britton simply because we could get so much for him, but the price is going up as the balls continue to leave the yard. 

 

 

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OFFNY Hangout Grand Counsel

OFFNY

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o

 

(vs. RED SOX, 5/04)

 

Britton continues to get reacclimated to pitching in the Major Leagues.

With a 5-run lead he faced 4 batters, getting 3 of them out.

He had 0 Walks and 1 Strikeout, ceded 1 single, and threw 15 pitches in the process (9 Strikes, 6 Balls.)

 

o

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Cumberbundy Hangout Veteran Council

Cumberbundy

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32 minutes ago, Satyr3206 said:

I see the old Zach as a starter that threw hard. I'm not seeing the new Zach that had the sink. I really hope this is a temporary thing.

Camera angle in Boston doesn't show as much movement as the one in Baltimore. Seriously.

 

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InsideCoroner All-Star

InsideCoroner

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3 hours ago, Cumberbundy said:

Camera angle in Boston doesn't show as much movement as the one in Baltimore. Seriously.

 

His fastball either just isn't sinking like it was and/or his location is way off. Hitters are squaring up the ball against him and getting the ball in the air. The most worrying sign to me in this series was the triple play ball that JBJ popped up. If anyone pops up against Britton, something is very wrong.

Zach is not back. Yet.

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Emory Eagle Veteran All-Star

Emory Eagle

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Hopefully his FB control will return once he is healthy.  He really needs to work on developing an off speed pitch like a change or a splitter that he can throw for a strike. He drops a slurve every once and awhile, but he doesn't seem to have much control over it and I'm not sure the difference in velocity is enough to keep hitters truly off balance. Obviously his FB is so good that he hasn't had to look to his offspeed stuff so far, but you just can't live w/ one pitch at the MLB level.  Unless you're Mariano Rivera.

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Beef Supreme Hangout Veteran Council

Beef Supreme

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5 hours ago, Emory Eagle said:

Hopefully his FB control will return once he is healthy.  He really needs to work on developing an off speed pitch like a change or a splitter that he can throw for a strike. He drops a slurve every once and awhile, but he doesn't seem to have much control over it and I'm not sure the difference in velocity is enough to keep hitters truly off balance. Obviously his FB is so good that he hasn't had to look to his offspeed stuff so far, but you just can't live w/ one pitch at the MLB level.  Unless you're Mariano Rivera.

So the point is that, in fact, you can live w/ one pitch?

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Emory Eagle Veteran All-Star

Emory Eagle

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5 minutes ago, Beef Supreme said:

So the point is that, in fact, you can live w/ one pitch?

Sure, but it's extremely rare.  And if you can't change speeds at the MLB level, even when you throw hard w/ good movement, hitters will catch up to you.  I'm not saying Britton needs it for this year or perhaps even the next, but in order to keep on having success I don't see why he shouldn't work on some off-speed options (and I'm sure he has and is doing so).  After all, he was a starter for most of his early career I believe, so I'm sure he's got some decent optionality already developed. 

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