PITTSBURGH — Chase De Jong was so eager to respond that he blurted out an answer before the entire question had tumbled out of my mouth: If you could steal any one pitch …
“Gimme Clay Holmes’ sinker,” De Jong said.
Whoa, that’s a good choice, but let me finish: … from any other Pirates pitcher in this clubhouse, which would it be?
“Oh, sorry,” De Jong said, grinning. “Let me look around the room and think for a second.”
Over the past couple of days, I asked the Pirates pitchers to select one pitch they would to swipe from a teammate. Everyone needed a few moments to mull it over.
“Hmm … that’s a freaking good question, man,” reliever Duane Underwood Jr. said. “There’s a few to choose from. I like (Mitch) Keller’s sweeper. I like (David) Bednar’s breaking ball. I love (Wil) Crowe’s changeup. (JT) Brubaker’s front-door two-seam is pretty good. This is tough, brother. You’ve put me in a bind.”
Although there was no landslide winner, Bednar’s buzz-saw fastball got the most votes. That’s not surprising. It averages 96.5 mph and has a 33 percent whiff rate. His heater has produced a minus-2 run value and a .238 bating average against.
Here are the responses (edited for clarity) to this thought experiment from 13 Pirates pitchers.
His arsenal: Cutter (35.3 percent), sinker (22.9), four-seam (16.1), changeup (13.0), curveball (12.8)
What he’d steal: Bednar’s fastball
The reason: “I was looking around the room and I’m like, ‘Who do I want to steal from …’ Then I got to Bednar and it was like, ‘Hold on. That’s it.’ Friggin’ 98 mph at the top of the zone with … oh, my gosh. I’d love to get 97-98 mph with that much carry at the top of the zone. Do exactly what he does and you’re unhittable. It’s crazy how good it is.”
His arsenal: Four-seam (49.9 percent), slider (27.6), curveball (18.1), changeup (4.4)
What he’d steal: Brubaker’s slider
The reason: “If I could dominate and execute a slider the way he does, I believe it would amplify all the tools in my toolbox. I feel like I use my slider plenty, or at least at the appropriate times. However, if I had the kind of control Brubaker has with his slider, I would feel a little bit more confident with it and probably utilize it more.”
If you had Brubaker’s slider, would you also throw it 100 mph like your heater?
His arsenal: Changeup (31.3 percent), slider (28.1), four-seam (19.5), sinker (18.2), curveball (2.9)
What he’d steal: Bednar’s fastball
The reason: “It would play off my other pitches better than anything else. It would help my curveball, my slider and my changeup. Metrically, his running-up-and-in four-seam is like one of the best pitches you can have. So, selfishly, I would want that to help my stuff out.”
A lot of folks get wide-eyed about Bednar’s four-seamer simply because of the upper-90s velo. But you’re saying the movement is the thing, right?
“I don’t care about the velo. It could be 92 mph for all I care. Just the way it spins and runs up and in to a righty, up and away from a lefty … oh, man. You watch him throw it to lefties and they swing under it. That’s because when they swing, they’re (envisioning) it (ending up) on the barrel, but it runs up over the bat. He can get away with more four-seams in the zone to lefties because it has that run, which creates more flyouts, more popouts, more swing-and-miss at the top of the zone. The barrel is down here, but the ball is going the opposite direction. And even when people try to get on top of it, they can’t.”
His arsenal: Four-seam (59.5 percent), curveball (26.8), splitter (13.4), sinker (0.3)
What he’d steal: Underwood’s changeup
The reason: “I’m thinking of Roansy’s fastball or Underwood’s changeup, something that goes to the right side. For me, that would be big. I’ll go with Underwood’s changeup. It’s a banger. It would give me something that takes a hard right turn.”
Have you toyed around with a changeup during your career?
“Yeah, that’s kind of how I ended up throwing my splitter. I could never get a great feel for throwing a changeup. When I was with the Padres, I got introduced to Hideo Nomo and he showed me how to throw a splitter. That was it for me with the changeup.”
His arsenal: Four-seam (50.3 percent), slider (30.1), curveball (15.0), changeup (3.6), sinker (1.0)
What he’d steal: Crowe’s changeup
The reason: “Mitch’s new two-seam fastball is pretty impressive. I watched it on TrackMan and I watched his (May 31) start against the Dodgers, and that is an absolute legitimate sinker. That’s a cool thing. I have a little bit of envy because I’ve got nothing that moves like that. I’m straight four-seams up and breaking balls down, so having arm-side run would make that a cool pitch to have. Crowe probably has one of the best repertoires in our locker room. I could essentially take anything from him. His changeup’s ridiculous. So there’s two pitches for you.”
Yeah, but I said you could choose only one …
“Then I’ll take Wil’s changeup. I like my fastball and I like my breaking balls, so I would really benefit from having a Bugs Bunny changeup like he does. It’s an out pitch to righties and lefties, it has depth, it induces groundballs. This is me being just completely green with envy. I don’t induce a lot of groundballs, so to have something that has that kind of depth and bottom to it and plays off a fastball would be great. Wil’s changeup is a phenomenal pitch.”
His arsenal: Four-seam (41.1 percent), curveball (32.2), slider (17.7), changeup (8.4), sinker (0.2)
What he’d steal: Bednar’s fastball
The reason: “I don’t throw so hard, not as hard as anybody else around here, so I guess I’d have to go Bednar’s fastball. It probably gets more swing-and-miss than anybody’s.
“It’s so good because of the mentality he has. He’s coming at you, and the opponent knows it. Having that confidence in that fastball, and it’s 97, 98, 99 mph — and I’m sure he wants 100 mph before the end of the year — he gets a lot of swing-and-miss in the zone. That’s the characteristic that makes him special.”
His arsenal: Changeup (23.9), sinker (23.9 percent), four-seam (23.4), curveball (15.1), cutter (13.8)
What he’d steal: Anthony Banda’s changeup
The reason: “I really love how he does a great job of keeping the same arm speed and he tunnels it well with his fastball.”
Listening in from a couple of lockers away, Banda chimes in: “You already throw a really good changeup. Why do you want mine?”
“Banda is left-handed. I’ve tried to throw left-handed, but I can’t do it. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve tried to do in my life. So, I’ll take a left-handed changeup from Anthony Banda — and I would want to be able to throw it left-handed. I would need a special glove, but I also would be ambidextrous, which would be cool.”
His arsenal: Changeup (46.3 percent), four-seam (39.6), curveball (14.1)
What he’d steal: Stratton’s curveball
The reason: “I’m not jealous, but I wish I could spin it like Strat, to be honest. I love watching him throw curveballs. I just love seeing it. It’s a clear, white ball that moves. It’s pretty awesome. He’s still getting high RPMs on it, which is really impressive. You can hear it: ka-chunk!”
His arsenal: Four-seam (33.2 percent), curveball (25.4), changeup (24.8), sinker (16.6)
What he’d steal: Thompson’s cutter
The reason: “It works so well because he always shows that pitch in the zone. It becomes a really good pitch then when (paired with) his curveball or fastball at the top of the zone. His curve is really good. And as soon as hitters think they got it, he’s able to make his other pitches look the same. The cutter is a really good pitch in the zone because he controls is really well.”
His arsenal: Four-seam (44.5 percent), slider (23.0), sinker (11.2), curveball (11.2), changeup (10.1)
What he’d steal: Crowe’s changeup
The reason: “Crowe’s got a really good changeup and if I could slow mine down … yeah, that’s what I want, a slower changeup. (Crowe’s change) has got really good movement and it’s got really good velo separation from his fastball. (Note: Crowe’s changeup averages 85.2 mph and his fastball is 94.7 mph.) Wil’s got a lot of pitches, he throws it all, but I love his changeup. It’s always been my fourth pitch, but just some added velo separation would be awesome. I don’t know how to do it, but I’m trying.”
His arsenal: Sinker (35.6 percent), slider (32.6), four-seam (13.1), curveball (11.6), changeup (7.1)
What he’d steal: Bednar’s splitter
The reason: “Bednar’s splitter is 90 to 92 mph and it’s a dart, left or right. It’s a really cool pitch to watch from behind. It looks like it can be unpredictable movement-wise. The velo is pretty consistent. You can get it to (move) one way or the other, based off how you’re gripping it or how you finish. You can get that ball to go in to a righty, away from a righty, in to a lefty or away from a lefty. It’s kind of two pitches in one.
“I’ve always thought the splitter is a very interesting pitch. He’s got the arm for it, but I don’t think my arm would be able to hold up. So I’d only want to steal it if there was a guarantee that no future injury was possible.”
You’re saying you’ll take the splitter only if it came with a giant, cartoon character-type right arm?
“Yeah, a big ol’ Popeye arm. That’s a good way to put it.”
His arsenal: Sinker (26.9 percent), changeup (25.9), four-seam (25.4), curveball (11.1), slider (10.6)
What he’d steal: Contreras’ curveball
The reason: “Have you seen it? It’s nasty. It’s 82 mph and it’s straight down.”
His arsenal: Four-seam (51.3 percent), slider (47.4), curveball (1.3)
What he’d steal: Peters’ changeup
The reason: “Just seeing how effective it is off his fastball. He’s got a fastball like, the velo might not stand out but it’s sneaky and it gets on guys. His changeup complements it well. (Note: Peters’ changeup averages 84.9 mph and his fastball is 92.9 mph.)
“A good changeup is something I wish I could add to my repertoire. I can spin it, but I’ve never been able to throw a changeup. I’ve tried everything. I don’t know if I just can’t get it or probably I spin it too much.”
(Top photo of David Bednar: Keith Srakocic / Associated Press)