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Fan Graphs: Grayson Rodriguez on His Changeup, Which Isn’t a Screwball (Or Is It?)

Tony-OH

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Tony-OH Hangout Grand Counsel

Tony-OH

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https://blogs.fangraphs.com/grayson-rodriguez-on-his-changeup-which-isnt-a-screwball-or-is-it/

This quote alone shows the difference in the development of our pitching prospects

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"I like to attack with my fastball sets up my changeup well, how it moves and what it looks like out of my hand. As I’ve learned how to throw it with TrackMan and Edgertronic cameras, I’ve figured out a way to get the ball to spin exactly how I want it to. "

Laurila: When and how did you begin developing it?

Rodriguez: “I went home after finishing my first season — this was 2018, in the GCL after I got drafted — and I was at the workout facility I’ve been going to for a couple of years. Josh Tomlin, who was with Cleveland forever and is now is with the Braves, was there. I was talking to him about how the Orioles really wanted me to be working on a changeup, how they thought it would fit well in my arsenal. Josh is a very smart pitcher, and he kind of showed me, and told me, what a changeup is supposed to do — what the perfect changeup would be like.

“I was working on that. How to move it — the pronation of your wrist — and then when I got to spring training for my first full season, Justin Ramsey, who was my pitching coach in low-A, along with Chris Holt, our big-league pitching coach who at the time was our pitching coordinator… we really got after it with the slow-motion cameras. We did a lot of crazy things, like draw stripes around the baseball, to see how it was moving. Once we figured out the wrist positioning and the wrist movement — once we refined all that — then it was just a matter of which grip would fit me the best.

“We spent hours studying how the ball left my hand, and just how the ball was spinning. We were moving it around in bullpens, getting different feels in my hand with how the ball sits. Finally, we found the perfect grip. We just started rolling with it from there.”

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canonfaz All-Star

canonfaz

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1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Fantastic article here.   Grayson with a very detailed description of how his changeup works and how he developed it.    Talk about pitch design!     https://blogs.fangraphs.com/grayson-rodriguez-on-his-changeup-which-isnt-a-screwball-or-is-it/

Great stuff here. Love the stuff about working with Holt one on one. This next wave of pitchers really seems to have bought in to what the player development staff has been asking of them. Can't wait to see what the results are once the seasons start. 

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SteveA Hangout Grand Counsel

SteveA

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5 minutes ago, murph said:

Ah I see!   He says it at the very end of the article.   He likes the way the ball is coming out of his hand!   

Yes but there is a difference between just SAYING that and being able to quantify it with spin rate and angle of pronation and vertical and horizontal movement measurements!

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Sports Guy Hangout Grand Counsel

Sports Guy

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I am of the mindset that the 2 most underrated aspects of a pro athlete are health/availability and intelligence.  “Baseball IQ”, in this case, is really important imo.  
 

This article makes me feel that GRod not only has the stuff to be a MLer but also the mindset and intelligence to do it.

That’s the type of guy you want to have on your side.

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Tony-OH Hangout Grand Counsel

Tony-OH

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1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

I am of the mindset that the 2 most underrated aspects of a pro athlete are health/availability and intelligence.  “Baseball IQ”, in this case, is really important imo.  
 

This article makes me feel that GRod not only has the stuff to be a MLer but also the mindset and intelligence to do it.

That’s the type of guy you want to have on your side.

Yep, it's a huge part that can't really be measured by anything other then observing their actions. Part of what made Mancini max out his potential is because of those attributes as well. These "intangibles" are sometimes the difference between becoming a star or just being an average player or in some cases, even making the major leagues vs being a minor leaguer.

Elias (and yes I know he did not draft Rodriguez) seems to put a lot into tools and baseball IQ/work ethic. I've yet to hear a bad thing said about his high draft picks when it comes to these attributes.

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Sports Guy Hangout Grand Counsel

Sports Guy

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18 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Yep, it's a huge part that can't really be measured by anything other then observing their actions. Part of what made Mancini max out his potential is because of those attributes as well. These "intangibles" are sometimes the difference between becoming a star or just being an average player or in some cases, even making the major leagues vs being a minor leaguer.

Elias (and yes I know he did not draft Rodriguez) seems to put a lot into tools and baseball IQ/work ethic. I've yet to hear a bad thing said about his high draft picks when it comes to these attributes.

The Patriots have basically built their team through the eyes of intelligence.  Guys that don’t do dumb things to hurt the team on or off the field.  Guys who can do multiple things and aren’t afraid to do it.

The Ravens had those great defenses because of the football IQs of guys like Reed and Ray.  It’s just underrated.

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Frobby Hangout Grand Counsel

Frobby

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5 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

This is already on the minor league board. Please keep minor league stuff on their board, thanks.

Oops, sorry!    Needless to say, I hadn’t seen your post.   Anyway, it’s one of the most detailed articles I’ve read and not only does it reflect well on Holt, it reflects very well on Rodriguez.    This guy is a serious student of the game.   

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Tony-OH Hangout Grand Counsel

Tony-OH

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4 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Oops, sorry!    Needless to say, I hadn’t seen your post.   Anyway, it’s one of the most detailed articles I’ve read and not only does it reflect well on Holt, it reflects very well on Rodriguez.    This guy is a serious student of the game.   

Yes, it was nice to read how much Rodriguez puts into making himself the best he can be. Bodes well for his future success.

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