"It's his fourth pitch, that's how you look at it. You just have to think about him differently. It's hard to think about - 'Oh, you can't have your fastball be your fourth pitch.' But it's just different with him."
"Cabrera's average changeup last year was 94.2 mph, or almost a full tick harder than Cubs starters' average fastballs for the season. He told fans at Cubs Convention that he's thrown the "offspeed" pitch as hard as 98, which almost broke my brain."
"His -12 run value on fastballs last season was in MLB's 4th percentile, and it looks worse when considering that he threw them only one-third of the time. You would expect guys who pitch backwards to be soft-tossers, so Cabrera's MO has forced the organization to rethink the way they view pitching."
Edward Cabrera, the Cubs' new starter, employs an unconventional pitching strategy centered on an unusually hard changeup that averages 94.2 mph and reaches 98 mph. This offspeed pitch is significantly harder than typical fastballs and caused Brewers leadoff batter Sal Frelick to lose his helmet. Cabrera's fastball and sinker are considerably weaker, ranking in MLB's fourth percentile for run value. Manager Craig Counsell acknowledges this unique approach requires rethinking how the organization evaluates pitching, treating the fastball as Cabrera's fourth pitch rather than his primary offering. Rather than attempting to improve his weaker pitches, the strategy focuses on maximizing his exceptional changeup strength.
#cubs-pitching #edward-cabrera #unconventional-pitch-strategy #changeup-velocity #pitching-development
Read at Cubsinsider
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