Spenser Watkins 2023

[Just Regular]

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/released-by-the-tigers-spenser-watkins-learned-how-to-pitch-as-an-oriole/

David Laurila with some in-depth quotes on Watkins' Orioles story.     He certainly pitched well in 2022, though I continue to hope the Rising Tide results in him maybe not being our best option on as many given days as last year.

[Can_of_corn]

That is a really nice piece and Watkins is a great interview.

 

[IPlayGM]

That certainly makes you feel good and hopeful as an O’s fan.

[Tony-OH]

Watkins: “Yes, and I actually got a call from [Orioles pitching coach] Chris Holt right after I signed. He already knew my arsenal, what we were going to be working on, and what our plan of attack was going to be. That was pretty cool, to have a big league pitching coach give me a call and show that he’d already put in the work to learn about me. I haven’t even met the guy. He’s a huge piece of why we’ve been so successful, his proactiveness for all of us.”

This is a huge part of what Holt brings to the table. It's not a surprise that when he was allowed to focus just on the major league pitchers how much better they got for the most part. Hopefully he was able to impart that knowledge on the minor league pitching coaches.

[sportsfan8703]

He gave us 20 GS at an 85 ERA+. The dude was a bulldog last year. He’s good as a 6th/7th SP that makes 10 GS a year. Anything more and our season isn’t looking so hot. 

[Just Regular]

Revisiting the Savant boxes from his first two April appearances, where Holt gave him the "Try 5" sliders note at the end of his bullpen between appearances, Savant got him:

4.12 - 0 of 57 pitches were sliders  (it did say 23 of the 57 were cutters)

4.18 - 17 of 67 sliders, 25%

Edited January 12, 2023 by Just Regular

[Frobby]

5 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

Watkins: “Yes, and I actually got a call from [Orioles pitching coach] Chris Holt right after I signed. He already knew my arsenal, what we were going to be working on, and what our plan of attack was going to be. That was pretty cool, to have a big league pitching coach give me a call and show that he’d already put in the work to learn about me. I haven’t even met the guy. He’s a huge piece of why we’ve been so successful, his proactiveness for all of us.”

This is a huge part of what Holt brings to the table. It's not a surprise that when he was allowed to focus just on the major league pitchers how much better they got for the most part. Hopefully he was able to impart that knowledge on the minor league pitching coaches.

Wait ‘till wildcard reads this.   Seriously though, it’s great to hear. 

[Aristotelian]

That would be pretty infuriating to read as a Tigers fan. Nice for the O's to be on the other side for once. 

[wildcard]

5 hours ago, Frobby said:

Wait ‘till wildcard reads this.   Seriously though, it’s great to hear. 

Its nothing I did not already know.  I am more interested in what it means to everyone else.

Edited January 12, 2023 by wildcard

[Frobby]

This is a great interview.  It obviously reflects very well on Holt and the whole Orioles’ organization, as well as Watkins himself.  And, it’s pretty embarrassing for the Tigers, though Watkins goes out of his way to say that things have changed in Detroit.  

But mostly, it just illustrates how analytics and technology have radically changed coaching techniques over the last 5-10 years.   These guys have so many tools at their disposal to figure out what works and what doesn’t, and why.  I’m glad that the O’s are now among the leaders in this, instead of being at the back of the pack.
 

[Sports Guy]

He’s a valuable guy to have around. 

[Tony-OH]

12 hours ago, Frobby said:

Wait ‘till wildcard reads this.   Seriously though, it’s great to hear. 

I'm a believer in Holt now with the improvements of Kremer, Bradish, and yes, Watkins and even Voth. Holt was ask to go into the minor leagues and be all over the place in 2021, so it's not surprising when he was able to focus on the big league pitchers he was able to get improvements out of them.

 

[Tony-OH]

2 hours ago, Frobby said:

But mostly, it just illustrates how analytics and technology have radically changed coaching techniques over the last 5-10 years.   These guys have so many tools at their disposal to figure out what works and what doesn’t, and why.  I’m glad that the O’s are now among the leaders in this, instead of being at the back of the pack.
 

^^ This can't be overstated enough.

[Just Regular]

1 hour ago, Tony-OH said:

^^ This can't be overstated enough.

Yeah, the bit about "I hadn't thrown a slider since 2019, then Holt showed me a grip and I used it in the game a few days later" was pretty crazy.

I think with the tools savvy coaches have come close to perfecting some kind of Least Common Denominator sweeper slider they can get almost anyone to throw in a few minutes.      Bats will adapt, and then it'll be something else.      And to think of all the thousands of hours kids spent trying to figure the Just Right way to spin the ball.

Reading the piece also reminded me of Steve Johnson's "invisiball".    I remember being here when his seemingly bad fastball was effective enough for a little while.     I think the WHY of that has more or less been completely unpacked by the super slo-mo analysts.

Edited January 12, 2023 by Just Regular

[nvpacchi]

That's a great piece! and drove me to look at his baseball savant page.

The first thing that stood out: even though the O's got him throwing more 4 seamers, it was still his least effective pitch.  Lots of red in the head map middle of the plate, accompanied by a measly 8.6% whiff rate and an xwOBA of .393!

However, then you go and look at his slider and cutter combo, much more effective pitches >25% whiff rate, especially the slider with an xwOBA of .262.

The article was a good reminder, to me at least, that development is a continuous journey - and you can't just throw the entire kitchen sink at a player in one month or even one season and expect it all to click.  Maybe now that he has honed in the slider and cutter - he starts relying on them more than the fastball, which can hopefully lead to more Ks to add to pretty good command and barrel suppression.

Honestly, I think the article just got me hyped, and maybe he's just a guy, but I'll root for him harder now!