![]() ![]() “Clubs expect him to spin the ball,” Willis said, “so it’s not just a matter of upping the usage of his fastball as much as maybe, while doing that, changing the location a little bit and trying to make them honor both sides of the plate a little more.” He noted hitters are seeking out his off-speed stuff more and more, so it stands to reason he’ll rely on the cutter, since it looks like his slider, but it’s harder and doesn’t move quite as much. There’s been a steady decline in Bieber’s fastball usage over the years.It carries the highest whiff rate of any of his pitches (30.3 percent), but it’s also the pitch opponents have hit the best (.536 opponent slugging percentage), and there’s been a spike in exit velocity against it this season (91.6 mph, up from 86.1 mph last year). Bieber implemented the cutter in 2020 and now leans on it far more than he ever has.He’s constantly saying he’s never satisfied, even when tinkering during a meaningless spring training start. There are underlying forces at play, of course: his shoulder injury, MLB rule changes, diminished fastball velocity (his least favorite subject), hitters’ approaches against him, and his ever-changing feel for certain pitches.īieber is a self-proclaimed perfectionist and cynic. He’s almost unrecognizable when compared to his breakout season in 2019 or those 12 award-winning starts in 2020 or even his pre-injury resume from 2021. In that start against the Cardinals, Bieber induced the lowest average exit velocity of his season, an important path to success for him.īieber is a pitcher undergoing a transformation. After all, Bieber is still effective, with a 2.88 ERA last year and a 3.04 ERA this season. He has registered more than four strikeouts in only two of 11 starts this season. ![]() The average ERA of the 11 pitchers ranked behind him: 5.17. Among them, Bieber ranks 76th in strikeout rate. Just … different.Įighty-seven starting pitchers have logged 50 or more innings. This is a guy who, a couple of years ago, eclipsed Randy Johnson’s record by tallying eight or more strikeouts in 20 consecutive starts. He’s intriguing but mystifying.įive days after facing New York, Bieber submitted a solid start against the Cardinals in which he walked four and struck out only two across 6 2/3 innings. “I’m not going to divulge all of that.”īieber remains Cleveland’s ace, but he has changed. So, what changed from one start to the next? ![]()
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