Garrett Crochet’s sinker
All of Garrett Crochet’s pitches were really good. Except his changeup. That one was just okay. His four-seam was dominant, his cutter racked up strikes, and nobody could touch his sweeper. What made him truly great, however, was his sinker. Last season, lefties had a .307 on-base percentage against Crochet. He started throwing the sinker in August 2024. Nobody hit it out of the infield.
This season, he ramped up the usage, throwing it 37%
of the time against lefties. He located it over the inside part of the plate, and nobody could square up the ball. Lefties hit .176 against the pitch with a 70% ground ball rate. Their on-base percentage against Crochet fell from .307 to .193. According to this guy named Rick and this other guy named Rob on Twitter, that’s the ninth-lowest OBP in the history of the sport. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but there’s a fancy graphic, so I’m inclined to believe them. Crochet was already good when he was acquired, but the sinker made him elite.
Aroldis Chapman’s slider
When Aroldis Chapman was signed, it was questioned for more reasons than one. In terms of on-field reasons, walks were a big factor. Prior to this season, Chapman had registered a walk rate over 14% in each of his previous four seasons. This year, he cut his walk rate down to 6.6%, making him one of the most dominant relievers in the league.
It was reported that using PitchCom to call for pitch locations, rather than just aiming for the middle and letting it rip, was part of the reason for Chapman’s improved command. With his newfound location, it also unlocked his slider. In 2024, about 70% of his sliders were thrown to the arm side or down the middle. About 50% were middle-height or higher. In 2025, he spotted the ball on the glove side 51% of the time and low 61% of the time. With hitters worried about in-zone velocity, the slider returned a massive 34% putaway rate. It’s also hilarious watching a hitter gear up for a 101 mph fastball only to see an 86 mph slider.
Brayan Bello’s cutter
By pure stuff, Brayan Bello’s cutter wasn’t his best pitch. That honor probably goes to his sinker for its strike-getting, ground ball-inducing ability. On the other hand, his cutter was a new pitch that changed his approach entirely.
By the end of the season, his cutter was his second-most-used pitch. Against lefties, he threw the pitch on the glove side for backdoor called strikes. The 68% strike rate was the highest mark he’s had against lefties since 2023. He pitched from positive counts more often, helping him decrease his wOBA allowed against lefties from .348 to .305. In theory, it also should have unlocked his changeup. He wasn’t able to execute the changeup frequently, but it was another pitch to throw on the arm side to make his slow ball seem more tempting.
At the end of the season, he started trying to go inside with it to lefties, I’d assume to try to jam them for ground balls and to set up the front hip sinker. It didn’t work very well, but it’s a cool idea and something to monitor. Using the whole plate is a good thing, and the cutter is one way for Bello to try to do that.
Garrett Whitlock’s slider
When Garrett Whitlock burst onto the scene in 2021, his changeup was his bread and butter. After injuries and moves to and from the rotation, Whitlock returned to the bullpen in 2025 and reinvented himself, kinda. His pitch mix remained the same, but his slider was his best secondary pitch. He threw the pitch harder than in any other year in his career, and with more depth. He located it low and on the glove side against both lefties and righties. Against lefties, he broke the pitch out in two-strike counts, returning an 18.6% swinging strike rate, 80% ground ball rate, and .094 batting average against.
Pete Fairbank’s slider
What a moment it gave us.
