Post by chinmusic on Mar 30, 2023 12:20:33 GMT -8
A.J. Lattery is a good pitcher and Coach Dorman likes to pitch him, but only in small doses. For me, Aaron is an enigma, a guy with some real positives but with a couple of questions unanswered.
He has appeared in 1/3 of the OSU games to date. He has pitched 16 innings in 8 appearances (3 starts and 5 relief). Aaron's pitching stats are impressive for 2023. Here is what I show:
In 16 innings of work, he has allowed only 3 earned runs on 16 hits while issuing 5 walks and hitting 4 batters. He's given up 2 doubles and 1 home run while striking out 20 opposing hitters and holding the opponents to a .258 BA. His W-L record is 2-0, with a sparkling 1.69 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP.
The stats tell us he frequently pitches with men on base and is pretty effective at pitching his way out of a jam. He has given up 1 hit per inning pitched and his WHIP indicates he is putting runners on base at a rate of 11.79 runners per 9 innings pitched. His modest WHIP metric doesn't correlate with his low 1.36 ERA. His K:BB ratio is admirable at 4:1
Aaron has averaged 2 innings and 33 pitches per outing. Oddly, he has been relieved when seemingly doing well – why not extend him? Is it a stamina issue (He had Mono as I recall)? Arm tightness or soreness after 30 pitches or so? Or maybe a strategic play to use him sparingly and keep him fresh and available? That would be understandable if OSU didn’t have the bullpen depth it has.
Here's an observation - I think Aaron could be an even better hurler with just one improvement. Aaron has thrown 174 strikes of the 264 pitches he's thrown for a 64% zone rating. That's an acceptable number, but here is a note on his strike throwing. He has a sharp 11-7 breaking ball with a biting, steep vertical break that OSU coaches think is one of the best they have seen. Even better is plus slider that the instructional crew at Driveline Baseball says is exceeded by only 4 pitchers in MLB that have better metrics on that pitch. The amount of induced vertical and horizontal break on A.J.’s slider is elite.
A.J. has good command on both pitches and will throw them anywhere in the count. The pitch that is problematic for him and offers the best opportunity for taking another step up is the fastball, the bread and butter pitch of any power pitcher that's 6-5 and 2-fitty.
I would like to see more "life" or movement in his heater, and he doesn't appear to locate it as well as his breaking stuff. Throwing that pitch for a strike when he wants to would really improve his stock. At 89-91, there is enough velocity there, but he looks like he has a hard time keeping it down and in the zone at times and when he gets "up", the base hits come. It’s possible that at the first sign of him losing the bottom half of the zone is when Coach Dorman comes with the hook.
Working the lower half of the zone with breaking balls, then elevating the fast ball to change speeds and the hitters eye level, is smart pitching but that's not the case here. It's throwing fastballs above the belt (in the hitter’s happy zone) or being unable to locate it when you have to have a strike.
Aaron has been really good with what he has but better command and more life on the fastball would elevate his profile and effectiveness.
He has appeared in 1/3 of the OSU games to date. He has pitched 16 innings in 8 appearances (3 starts and 5 relief). Aaron's pitching stats are impressive for 2023. Here is what I show:
In 16 innings of work, he has allowed only 3 earned runs on 16 hits while issuing 5 walks and hitting 4 batters. He's given up 2 doubles and 1 home run while striking out 20 opposing hitters and holding the opponents to a .258 BA. His W-L record is 2-0, with a sparkling 1.69 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP.
The stats tell us he frequently pitches with men on base and is pretty effective at pitching his way out of a jam. He has given up 1 hit per inning pitched and his WHIP indicates he is putting runners on base at a rate of 11.79 runners per 9 innings pitched. His modest WHIP metric doesn't correlate with his low 1.36 ERA. His K:BB ratio is admirable at 4:1
Aaron has averaged 2 innings and 33 pitches per outing. Oddly, he has been relieved when seemingly doing well – why not extend him? Is it a stamina issue (He had Mono as I recall)? Arm tightness or soreness after 30 pitches or so? Or maybe a strategic play to use him sparingly and keep him fresh and available? That would be understandable if OSU didn’t have the bullpen depth it has.
Here's an observation - I think Aaron could be an even better hurler with just one improvement. Aaron has thrown 174 strikes of the 264 pitches he's thrown for a 64% zone rating. That's an acceptable number, but here is a note on his strike throwing. He has a sharp 11-7 breaking ball with a biting, steep vertical break that OSU coaches think is one of the best they have seen. Even better is plus slider that the instructional crew at Driveline Baseball says is exceeded by only 4 pitchers in MLB that have better metrics on that pitch. The amount of induced vertical and horizontal break on A.J.’s slider is elite.
A.J. has good command on both pitches and will throw them anywhere in the count. The pitch that is problematic for him and offers the best opportunity for taking another step up is the fastball, the bread and butter pitch of any power pitcher that's 6-5 and 2-fitty.
I would like to see more "life" or movement in his heater, and he doesn't appear to locate it as well as his breaking stuff. Throwing that pitch for a strike when he wants to would really improve his stock. At 89-91, there is enough velocity there, but he looks like he has a hard time keeping it down and in the zone at times and when he gets "up", the base hits come. It’s possible that at the first sign of him losing the bottom half of the zone is when Coach Dorman comes with the hook.
Working the lower half of the zone with breaking balls, then elevating the fast ball to change speeds and the hitters eye level, is smart pitching but that's not the case here. It's throwing fastballs above the belt (in the hitter’s happy zone) or being unable to locate it when you have to have a strike.
Aaron has been really good with what he has but better command and more life on the fastball would elevate his profile and effectiveness.