Paul Blackburn Has Altered His Pitch Mix
4 months agoNew York Mets right-hander Paul Blackburn is set to face his old team, the Oakland Athletics, on Tuesday night, and he'll be pretty much a new pitcher when he does. Since being acquired from the A's at the trade deadline at the end of July, Blackburn has altered his pitch mix to emphasize his cutter and changeup at the expense of his four-seam fastball and curveball. In his two starts with the Mets while using the new plan against the Angels and Rockies, Blackburn had a 1.50 ERA over 12 innings with 12 strikeouts and four walks. The cutter is the 30-year-old's best pitch, so the Mets have basically encouraged him to use it more often. The Angels and Rockies are two of the weakest teams in baseball, and he'll get another bottom-feeder on Tuesday in the A's, making Blackburn a fine fantasy streamer in his third start for the Mets.
Source: The Athletic - Tim Britton
Source: The Athletic - Tim Britton