GDT 4/19 vs mets game 1

Enscheff said:
Wisler always had a good slider. The problem was he had a bad sinker that he threw too much.

What's interesting is if you look at how I graded Wisler's overall arsenal: 50 FA, 40/45 SI, 50 CU, 55/60 SL, 45/50 CH

It is very close to Teheran's current arsenal, and Teheran has experienced some recent success by throwing the FA (a terrible pitch) about half as often as he used to while increasing his SL (a good pitch) usage.

When I said this about Wisler, "That is a lot of usable pitches...Seems to me he's a guy another team might be able to "fix"", I assumed that team would not be the Braves. However, Wisler threw 102 pitches last night, and they were:

53 FA (52%) - average pitch
6 SI (6%) - below average pitch
4 CU (4%)
39 SL (38%) - plus pitch
0 CH

For his career, he has thrown the SI roughly 21% of the time, and the SL 32% of the time. He essentially abandoned his poor SI last night, and threw his plus SL more.

It seems to me someone may have told him that his SI sucks, and his SL is good, so he adjusted his pitch selection accordingly. Perhaps the Braves new analytics team have "fixed" Wisler? Maybe he can stick as a back end SP now that intelligent people are helping him refine his pitch selection?

However, he was a 2-pitch guy last night. He won't succeed long term in the rotation without the CH, which showed average-ish last year.
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Wisler's slider has always been good but he's never been able to use it effectively as an out pitch. Last night he was burying it on the back foot of lefties and having righties chasing it off the plate. I don't know if it was more that the slider was better than it has been last night or if it was more that he's finally figured out how to use it to its greatest effect.

I agree that his abandoning his sinker seemed to help. IIRC, that was a pitch McDowell was trying to get him to use but it was never very good. He has a much, much better 4 seamer and he paired it effectively with his slider last night.

As good as his fastball/slider combo was last night, I also agree that he's going to have to have a third pitch to succeed long term and that it will almost certainly have to be the changeup. It doesn't have to be a great pitch, it just has to be good enough to keep hitters guessing.

I was actually surprised today when I saw Wisler was only 25. He seems like he should be older. This is an age where some young pitchers start finally figuring out how to use their arsenal. Hopefully that's what's happening with Wisler.
 
striker42 said:
Wisler's slider has always been good but he's never been able to use it effectively as an out pitch. Last night he was burying it on the back foot of lefties and having righties chasing it off the plate. I don't know if it was more that the slider was better than it has been last night or if it was more that he's finally figured out how to use it to its greatest effect.

I agree that his abandoning his sinker seemed to help. IIRC, that was a pitch McDowell was trying to get him to use but it was never very good. He has a much, much better 4 seamer and he paired it effectively with his slider last night.

As good as his fastball/slider combo was last night, I also agree that he's going to have to have a third pitch to succeed long term and that it will almost certainly have to be the changeup. It doesn't have to be a great pitch, it just has to be good enough to keep hitters guessing.

I was actually surprised today when I saw Wisler was only 25. He seems like he should be older. This is an age where some young pitchers start finally figuring out how to use their arsenal. Hopefully that's what's happening with Wisler.
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He may not ever truly turn the corner, but I agree with you that it's important to be patient with pitchers, especially those without eye-popping stuff. He "knows how the pitch" is a cliche, but for some guys, it can translate to an average career if they can, as you say, recognize their strengths and deploy their menu of pitches effectively. His slider was deadly last night.
 
salmagundy said:
Sims optioned back to Gwinnett, Ravin reinstated off DL.
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I see he did 2 innings in his last outing. Biddle has also been used for more than one inning in AAA. Those two will give us some flexibility in the pen.

One thing I've noticed this year is Snitker has generally tried to avoid pitching guys on back-to-back days. Sam Freeman has been an exception and to a lesser extent Viz. I like this approach because the data do show a drop-off in effectiveness for most relievers on the second day and even more when they pitch a third consecutive day.

With the current pen, Viz closes and the other high leverage situations get parceled out to Carle, Freeman, Minter and Winkler depending on matchups and who is rested. Moylan will be mixed in to get one or two righties out in certain situations. And Ravin and Biddle get to be used in multi-inning or lower leverage situations.

Snitker has given hints of using Minter more flexibly. Sometimes in the 7th and sometimes in the 9th. Not always the 8th. I like that approach. It gives us more of a chance to get the matchups we want.
 
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