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Pedro Martinez Returns


Welcome back, Pedro Martinez.

Martinez came back against the Cubs, tossing 99 pitches, topping out just under 93 mph, which are both pretty darn good for this vintage of Martinez.

He threw change-ups, sinkers, fastballs slutter/slider/slurve thingees and a curveball.

  • Fastball: 90 mph
  • Sinker: 89 mph (adds 3 inches of tail and over 3 inches of sink to the fastball)
  • Slider: 82 mph
  • Change-up: 79 mph (a little more tail than the sinker with 3 more inches of sink)
  • Curveball: 73 mph (good drop, but even more hook)

Flight paths and more after the jump.

Star-divide

Click for larger versions

Pedro01a_medium

 

Pedro02_medium

Pedro was Mr. Fly Ball, getting only 12% of balls in play on the ground. 18% were pop-ups, which is sky high. No pun intended. No one offered at a curveball, resulting in just a single called strike. Otherwise, Pedro worked the zone more than 52% with each pitch.

Martinez liked his sinker, but even that only yielded fly balls (two flies and two line drives). Pedro threw it 25 times, second only to the four-seam fastball (30), but it was the one pitch the Cubs managed to hit hard. While no one swung at the curveball, the other pitches combined for an even .300 whiff rate, ranging from .222 (sinker) to .357 (slider).

We'll see how Pedro looks next time out before passing judgement, but he got off on the right foot.

0 recs  |  Comment 7 comments |

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I really noticed the tail on the sinker more than anything from watching his outing

Really looked good, and the data shows the same.

Really interested in seeing how he does going forward, and if this was just an adrenaline rush type of thing.

by Zach Sanders on Aug 12, 2009 11:57 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Stamina

I really think he looked better in innings one through four than inning five. Hopefully the average FB velo can go up a tick as he stretches out a bit. The same thing happened in his two most recent rehab starts (including the 11 K one).

by Tommy Bennett on Aug 12, 2009 11:59 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I should follow-up

with the “versions” of the slider. And an inning-by-inning breakdown. I think stamina is going to be a big hurdle. Still, his stuff looks really good, and he he threw strikes.

Another concern is that flyball rate. Not sure how that plays in the Philly bandbox.

by Harry Pavlidis on Aug 13, 2009 1:19 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Meh.

Small sample size. Coulda been first start jitters, unfamiliartiy with the catcher, etc. Stamina’s going to be big though, I agree. Maybe a color coded velocity scatter chart based on pitch type?

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Aug 13, 2009 1:18 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I remember someone (Josh Kalk I’m assuming) talking last year or the year before about how Pedro should throw his 2-seamer/sinker a ton more than he does and substantially more than his 4-seamer. Given the movement and still being 89 MPH, he definitely should.

Very encouraging outing.

by Mike Rogers on Aug 13, 2009 4:06 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

He had trouble keeping the ball down in the zone with Mets

Seems like command and stamina will be bigger problems than stuff and velocity

by viktor06 on Aug 13, 2009 8:39 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

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