"I give a big credit to the coaching staff. Talking with Mark (Prior) and Connor (McGuiness) about stuff, even Ryan Dennick, the Triple-A coach, we've gone back and forth quite a bit."
"Tried to incorporate it in years past, and it's been not very good. This year, with the grip and trust, I was actually talking with Chris Archer about it, he had me throwing it at, like, 100 feet, versus 60 feet. And that kind of changed my feel for it."
"Having the third pitch, I think it's a little harder to game plan fastball up and slider down. Now there is a third component to that. Just got to keep riding it."
"I'm going to be honest with you, I don't really know. Arch was watching us play catch in Spring Training and said, 'Do you want to scoot back a little bit?' OK. 'Throw a changeup.' I was like, 'Huh?' And then I threw it, and it was pretty good."
Alex Vesia has increased the usage of his changeup in the 2026 season after limited use since 2021. He credits the coaching staff and Chris Archer for helping him develop the pitch. Archer suggested a different throwing distance, which improved Vesia's feel for the changeup. Vesia believes having a third pitch complicates opponents' game plans. He has used the changeup exclusively against right-handed hitters, and while it hasn't resulted in strikeouts, it has been effective.
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