What rank is Otani’s slider? Data reveals! MLB Magic Pitch Rankings

The United States is at the forefront of data and technology. Hawk-Eye devices have been installed at all stadiums to measure every play, and the data has been made public to analyze the factors that affect ball changes.

As a result, in addition to the axis of rotation, the effect of the seam (the seam on the ball), known as the seam shift wake (SSW), was revealed, and more balls this season use this effect. In essence, these are balls where the spin does not match the actual change.

These balls are difficult to hit because they contain a gyroscopic component and are slow to start bending and have a sharp “late movement” after the start of bending. Sliders, cutters, splits, 2-seams, and change-ups that contain a gyroscopic component tend to be sharply variable balls using the seam effect.

In a world where the average velocity of fastballs is over 150 km/h, a ball that uses this effect, where spin and change do not match and where the pitch has a free-fall velocity in gravity, functions like a “magic pitch” even in Major League Baseball, where the world’s best hitters gather.

The following is a ranking of the top five magic pitches of each pitcher, based on analysis of data such as “RV” (a value that reduces the expected value of runs scored by the opposing team; if RV-5, the expected value of runs scored by the opposing team is reduced by 5; if RV-0, the pitcher is considered to have performed at the league average) and hit rate in the year 2022. 〉

No. 5. Edwin Diaz (Mets) Slider (Gyro Cutter) RV-22

No. 5 is Edwin Diaz’s slider (gyro cutter). Edwin Diaz is having a record-breaking season as the Mets’ closer this season. He strikes out more than half of the batters he faces when he appears with his cool trumpet entrance music.

He throws only a 100+ mph shot-rise straight from a low angle and a gyro cutter around 93 mph with a form that uses his body similar to Akira Sasaki, but this gyro cutter is a magic pitch with a .114 batting average and 54.7% whiff% (swinging at/swinging from the sky). This gyro cutter is a magic pitch that boasts a .114 batting average and a 54.7% whiff% (swinging/walking), and it has led to the Warriors raising their pitching ratio to nearly 60%.

The gyro-rotating fastball with low rotational efficiency can produce a changeup effect if the seam shift wake (SSW) is working, and it falls with more bend than expected to get the most strikeouts. Diaz has proven that.

4th . Justin Verlander (Astros) Straight (4-seam) RV-24

In fourth place is Justin Verlander’s straight (4-seam). Verlander, an ace in the majors, is coming back from Tommy John surgery this season, and at 39 years old, he has a one-run defense, the most wins, and is the leading Cy Young Award candidate in the A-League with a dominant pitching performance.

Although he overcame a core injury in his early 30s that was thought to be over once and done with, his recovery from Tommy John surgery at an advanced age seemed like a quandary.

However, since his return, he has been pitching with great stability and has developed a more mature power pitch. In the majors, straight pitches are generally reduced because they are more susceptible to hits, but he still threw 50.4% of his pitches with an RV-24 and a .194 batting average, the highest mark for a 4-seam pitch.

His unique ball, which has a lot of rotation and a floaty trajectory that makes the ball seem hard to come by despite its fast velocity, has led to many strikeouts and pop flies, and in the 7th inning, he is able to keep the ball at a full 99 mph, as he did in the past. It is a Verlander pitch that is truly admirable to watch.

3rd . Sandy Alcantara (Marlins) Fast Changeup RV-25

Third place goes to Sandy Alcantara’s fast changeup. Alcantara, the ace of the Miami Marlins and the most likely candidate for the National League Young Young Award, has a quiet form and throws a nearly 100 mph 4-seam, a 2-seam, a slider around 90 mph, and a fast changeup all in equal proportions. This is a pitching style that he throws with great consistency.

All pitches are theoretically balanced in terms of the amount of change and velocity that will most easily hit batters, but this high-speed changeup is particularly exceptional. The seam shift wake (SSW) works, and it falls about gravity free fall sharply with side spin that is hard to distinguish from a 4-seam or 2-seam, resulting in a .145 batting average and a lot of swinging strikes.

2nd . Shohei Ohtani (Angels) Slider (Sweeper/Slapper) RV-28

In second place is Shohei Ohtani’s horizontal slider. The fast slider, also known as a “sweeper,” supported pitcher Ohtani this year. It has a big sideways bend, but by gripping it so that it is also a 2-seam gyro, the ball slides sideways without falling off as much as you might expect.

The Japanese horizontal slider is a specialty of Otani, Darvish, and Kenta Maeda in MLB, and Tomoyuki Sugano, Shinya Kayima, and Hiroki Tojo in NPB, but we have long known that this ball has a high index and increased its percentage.

Otani can throw a fast slider that slides sideways without falling while sliding 40 cm to the side at 85.3 mph (about 137 km/h) and nearly 140 km/h. Tomohito Ito (current Yakult pitching coach) threw a ball similar to Ohtani’s sweeper 30 years ago, and his batting average was .161.

The sweeper is a ball that doesn’t drop as much as you might think, so it tends to hit the top of the bat, which makes it more likely to fly out. Because of this, it is more susceptible to long balls than one might think, and it is not suited for situations where one does not want to hit even a sacrifice fly, so its usage is also important. Toward the end of the season, Ohtani changed his grip on his slider and realized a vertical slider, striking out left-handed batters. This vertical slider has a quality similar to that of a slider and is also a magic pitch.

1st place. Dylan Sheas (White Sox) Vertical Slider RV-36

At No. 1 is Dylan Cease’s vertical slider. The White Sox’s moustachioed daredevil, Dylan Sheas’ vertical slider ranked first in terms of quality/quantity from the standpoint of deterring runs. The White Sox’s Dylan Sease’s vertical slider was the top slider in terms of quality/quantity from the standpoint of deterring runs.

Seas’ vertical slider has topspin, which would normally cause the ball to drop more if it were left untouched, but since it is held in a 2-seam gyroscopic grip, the seam shift wake (SSW) works and the ball does not drop as much as one would expect from the spin. However, since it is held in a 2-seam gyroscopic grip, the seam shift wake (SSW) works and the ball does not fall as much as expected from the spin.

As a result, the ball has about the same free fall due to gravity as a slatter, even though it is a top-spin ball, and batters are fooled.

Seas pitched this ball with a batting average of .128, and was one pitch away from a no-hit, no-run game. Although he gave up the most walks in the league, his vertical slider was the source of his Cy Young Award-contending pitching.

Extra Edition Otani’s Sinker, Darvish’s 2-seam

In a game in August, Otani threw out a 2-seam (in the U.S., a 2-seam is called a sinker. ), which he had not used until then, in a game in August.

It was theoretically possible for a pitcher like Ohtani, whose straight ball has a lot of gyroscopic components and whose arm angle is low, to throw such a 100 mph sinker by turning a cut ball inside out, but I was surprised that he was able to develop it to a level where he could use it in games during the season while playing two sports.

Perhaps he was inspired by experiencing Yankees reliever Clay Holmes’ 100 mph sinker in the batter’s box.

Ohtani currently uses this sinker exclusively as an inside pitch to right-handed hitters and an out pitch to left-handed hitters, but I would like to see him try throwing it front door and inside to left-handed hitters like Darvish’s two-seamer.

If he throws it front door after showing a biting cut ball or slider, perhaps Ohtani’s sinker will get a missed strikeout. Ohtani can develop a pitch that is 5 to 10 kilometers faster in the velocity range than former Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Corey Kluber.

However, Ohtani is the ultimate change-up pitcher as well as a dual-thrower, which is a great romanticism. His splits are still the number one ball in the majors, although his pitching percentage is lower this season. I would like to see him concentrate on pitching. He is really within reach of becoming the first Japanese Cy Young Award winner.

(Reference)
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/
http://www.mlbpitchprofiler.com/