Grayson Rodriguez Adding New Pitch?
11 months agoBaltimore Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez struggled initially in his first taste of the big leagues in 2023, and the core of the issue was a lack of fastballs thrown. By September, he was throwing his fastball 56.7% of the time, a 12.2% increase from May. He threw 69% fastballs in his final start against the Rays, when he tossed eight shutout innings with seven strikeouts. Rodriguez is focused on leaning on his fastball more in 2024 and is tinkering with adding a two-seam fastball to his repertoire. The pitch has more arm-side run that could jam a right-handed hitter. After going back to the minors for a bit last year, the 24-year-old was great with a 2.58 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 73 strikeouts over 76 2/3 innings (13 starts) to finish the year. Overall workload could be an issue, but the former top prospect's finish to 2023 was very encouraging.
Source: The Baltimore Banner - Andy Kostka
Source: The Baltimore Banner - Andy Kostka