As he prepares for his 2023 campaign, Josiah Gray decided to incorporate a cutter into the mix a little more after throwing him in 0.5% of the time (Total of 13 balls) He will make his first full appearance in the Major Leagues in 2022.
Nationals pitching coach Jim Hickey was open to the possibility when he first saw Gray pitch in spring training.
“With this cutter,” Gray told MLB Network Radio hosts Mike Ferrin and Jim Duquette in late January this winter. Working with a cutter. [Hickey’s] I was like, “Okay, let’s take a look.” So I started pitching to batters in the bullpen and he was like, “Okay, let’s use this, keep working on it.” ”
Gray will throw a cutter 17.8% of the time in 2023 (.243 BAA on the field) He threw more four-seam fastballs (38.9%) than any other pitch in 2022, second only to sliders (24.6%) in usage (In 2023, he threw four-seamers only 17.0% of the time, the fourth-most among all pitches.).
The pitcher told MLBNR organizers that his interaction with the pitching coach was typical since the trade that brought Gray to the Nationals.
“We were together [Hickey] Since my rookie year. And he worked with me and all the things that I had to change over the years, he was always open to me,” Gray said. said.
“Because he knows that I want to play around with things, and he knows that I want to adjust and adapt. And he’s always like, ‘Okay, let’s take a look. , let’s work on it.’
“He’s not only great, but he’s obviously been very open to all the ideas that I bring to him.”
This winter leading up to 2024, Gray has focused on his changeup, a pitch he threw 3.3% of the time in 2021, 2.8% of the time in 2022 and just 1.6% of the time last season. BAA on the field in 2023 is .286.
“I’m naturally curious about, ‘What can I do next?'” Gray explained.
“I do not think so [the changeup] It’s going to be that pitch that really takes over my arsenal. If you look at it, that’s probably 8-10% of my throws, so if I can throw those 8-10% of the time really, really effectively, that’s a win. It doesn’t really take over the arsenal, it’s just another element that you can incorporate into your game plan and see how hitters adjust and go from there. ”
What specifically is he working on with his changeup?
“It’s a start. I’m very good at pronation,” Gray said. So for now, we’re just trying to spread his fingers out a little bit more and try to throw the ball like a fastball with a split change or a splitter or whatever, just letting the air and gravity do the work. Take over and drop a little bit. So, I’m not saying it’s going to be Kevin Guzman’s, but if I could throw his splitter, that would be a big win. ”
Gray and the show’s host then struck up a conversation that goes like this: Pronation vs supination Annotate the link on your pitch (like us), if you need help…
“I think it’s all about grip, pressure, finger pressure, too,” he said of concentration.
“So, as far as the cutter, it’s a pitch that you see in players who are really good at pronating. It’s probably not a pitch that he throws very well. And it’s pretty unique to me because the pitches that I throw really well are ‘Cause they don’t get a lot horizontal movement From the glove side, they just stay straight, with zero horizontal movement, and some even back up, which works out well for me because it’s completely different from a fastball. ”
“The changeup is similar,” Gray continued. “A changeup with grip and everything falls naturally, so if you do something like this; seam shift wakeor by changing the pressure of your fingers, that’s the point you can reach the ball. Gyro comes out a littleJust rotate with gravity to get a Gaussman-like drop or a Logan Webb-like drop, giving you grip control along with a seam-shifting effect. ”
So clearly, Gray is digging deep into all the data available to pitchers these days. He spent the winter at Cressy Sports Performance alongside Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander.
So how does an “old school” pitching coach like Hickey balance his approach with the new school data and analysis available to everyone in baseball?
“I think that’s the way the game is now,” Gray said. “Every organization needs to understand now that behind the numbers, behind all the analysis and information, there is a lot of success. [Hickey] He’s just accepted everything they give him from top to bottom.
“And speaking more about the data, we now have Sean Doolittle on staff, who helps us fill in the gaps until there are no misconceptions. ‘Okay, this is something you can reference. ‘Here’s what we think you should stay away from.’ And it’s going to make you better in the long run. . Because there’s data behind everything that gives you the cold truth about whether your pitch or sequence was successful. do not have. “
