Katie Stratman-Mimagn Photographs
Have you ever seen all of the technological advances taking up pitching in recent times? Excessive-speed cameras, pitching labs, weighted ball coaching, wind tunnels – perhaps the rationale we haven’t despatched anybody to the moon for many years is that we’re utilizing all of the know-how to strike batters out as an alternative. Clearly, the arms race (get it?) favors technological savvy and complex, inscrutable mathematical modeling.
Right here’s a counterpoint, although: Possibly it is best to simply throw a fastball and a slider and chuckle as batters flail at each. Living proof: Randy Rodríguez has been the most effective reliever in baseball this yr, and there’s nothing fancy about his recreation. He throws a 98-mph fastball. He throws a good slider. That’s it – and that’s actually all he wants anyway. Via eight appearances this yr, he has 13 strikeouts, zero walks, and 0 runs allowed.
Oh, two paragraphs don’t make an article? Effectively then, I assume we must always increase on the whole lot a bit. First, his backstory: Rodríguez signed with the Giants in 2017 out of the Dominican Republic after which slowly climbed the minor league ranks. He was a reliever proper from the soar, with solely occasional dalliances with short-burst begins, and he bought a style of Triple-A in 2022, the place he bought shelled. He tried it once more in 2023 with higher outcomes, and by 2024 he regarded like he belonged. That was his first yr within the higher minors with a single-digit stroll charge, and that’s all of the Giants had been ready for; they referred to as him up midseason and plugged him into the bullpen.
Wildness typically comes with the reliever territory. Starters are constant and easy; relievers are herky-jerky and max effort. That’s not universally true – Mariano Rivera’s supply may put infants to sleep – however it’s a great rule of thumb. I’m not a kinesiology professional, however Rodríguez’s supply definitely seems to be difficult sufficient to create some wildness. He’s bought a leg kick, some torso rotation, a protracted arm swing, and even a little bit of crossfire. Right here’s his first fastball of the yr:
Have been you shocked to see that pitch sail excessive? I wasn’t. However Jeimer Candelario was; he nearly swung at that clear ball. That’s as a result of Rodríguez’s fastball is downright electrical. Certain, he has to swing lots of physique elements to generate that electrical energy, however it pays off in uncomfortable swings and awkward takes. You shouldn’t have the ability to throw a fastball on this trajectory and land it for a strike:
I’m not telling you something you haven’t already heard relating to good four-seam fastball form. Bear in mind all these technological advances? They’ve proven us that top induced vertical break, shallow vertical strategy angles, and sudden motion from a given arm slot are all supremely beneficial. Rodríguez’s heater dips between two and three inches lower than you’d count on given his arm slot and velocity. And that mixture is, itself, fairly uncommon. To this point in 2025, 195 pitchers have thrown a minimum of 50 four-seamers. Solely eight launch the ball from a decrease top with a better launch level. In different phrases, he’s releasing the ball from the place sidearmers do however throwing from a high-three-quarters arm slot.
How, precisely? It helps that he’s solely 5-foot-11. It helps much more that he takes an enormous stride as a part of his supply. The larger the stride, the nearer to the bottom your torso will get at launch, which permits for increased arm angles even with low launch factors. It’s the sort of supply that a pc program would dream up.
Oh yeah, our laptop packages find it irresistible. PitchingBot thinks it’s one of many 15 finest four-seamers in baseball, a clone of Ryan Helsley’s fastball kind of. Stuff+ thinks it’s even higher than that. The massive change this yr is command. That’s powerful to outline, after all, however right here’s a blunt mind-set about it. In two-ball counts, Rodríguez threw his fastball within the zone 52% of the time final yr. That’s fairly dangerous; league common is 58%, and the pitchers who hit the zone that hardly ever and nonetheless excel are principally starters who don’t worry three-ball counts as a lot as relievers do. This yr, his in-zone charge on fastballs in two-ball counts is as much as 62%. That’s essential for a man who, even now, is susceptible to sail a fastball or two.
Will Rodríguez sustain his excellent 0.0% stroll charge? Clearly not. I don’t even purchase him as having plus command. An eight-game pattern doesn’t outweigh a mountain of opposite proof. Certain, he’s enhancing over time, however enchancment from his 2024 kind can be a median stroll charge, not Logan Webb-level command. In my head, his fastball is a 70 stuff/50 command on the scouting scale. It received’t all the time be in the precise place, however when it’s, it’ll appear to be this:
Hey, that’s good. However that’s “good fastball” good, not “zero ERA zero FIP” good. The actual key to Rodríguez’s success is his “secondary” pitch, which I put in quotations as a result of he’s thrown every precisely 50% of the time this yr. That’s a mutant slider, someplace between gyro and sweeping, that turns batters into uncoordinated nincompoops:
In comparison with what’s good in fastballs – velocity, form, angle – it’s tougher to elucidate what makes a slider good in a couple of phrases. However it’s simple sufficient to elucidate why Rodríguez’s is sweet: It strikes greater than a gyro slider however will get to dwelling plate quicker than a sweeper. That mixture – plus the truth that he’s pairing it with an elite fastball – leaves hitters discombobulated frequently. How frequently? How does a 22% swinging strike charge sound?
Yeah, that’ll do. So will a 56% (!!!) chase charge. To this point this yr, batters have solely swung at 58% of his sliders within the strike zone. You may blindfold them, in different phrases, and so they’d do about as properly at determining which of them are good to hit. The slider would possibly grade out ever so barely worse on our pitch fashions, however it nonetheless registers as simply above common, and my eyes inform me the identical factor. That slider from a man who throws 92? Fairly good, actually. That slider with Rodríguez’s degree of octane? Fearsome.
To be honest, I ought to inform you that the chase and zone swing charges are deceptive. That’s as a result of Rodríguez trusts his slider a lot that he throws it steadily when he’s behind within the rely. He doesn’t fairly pitch backwards, however on the very least, he pitches at a slant:
It’s been working to this point. Hitters assume {that a} man with a fame for wildness will use his fastball within the strike zone on the first signal of hassle, however Rodríguez flips in flexible stuff and confounds their tendencies. I don’t know if he’ll get away with it perpetually, however batters are decidedly unprepared for this.
Now, I wouldn’t usually advocate a gentle food regimen of 1-0 sliders for a man with a profession stroll charge within the double digits. However what can I say? Rodríguez has the pitch on a string this yr. When he’s behind within the rely, he spots the slider within the strike zone 70% of the time. Small pattern? Completely, it’s solely 17 sliders. However that’s elite territory, the place true command artists reside. No surprise he’s not strolling anybody – he’s pitching like Bryan Woo when he will get behind within the rely.
Is all of this going to proceed? Clearly not. That’s simply not how baseball works. However I really feel assured in saying that to this point this season, Rodríguez is pitching like he’s one of many prime 5 or so relievers within the recreation. It’s not smoke and mirrors. It’s not batters taking pitches down the center for inconceivable strikeouts. The numbers say that Rodríguez has been probably the greatest pitchers in baseball this yr – whether or not you’re ERA or diving deep into the weeds.
By the way in which, that introduction I bought you about ignoring pitching growth and retaining it old skool? It was nonsense. Old-fashioned and new faculty would say the very same factor about Rodríguez. Ask any scout who noticed him within the minors, however don’t allow them to take a look at their laptops or their Synergy Sports activities accounts, and so they’d say “Nice stuff, must be taught command.” Ask actually an algorithm what he seems to be like this yr, and it might say “Nice stuff, realized command.” That’s what our two say, a minimum of. So will Rodríguez proceed to be the most effective reliever within the recreation? In all probability not. Issues all the time change, nobody stays on prime perpetually, and I can’t think about him persevering with to command the ball this properly. However is all of this a fluke? Positively not. He’s been precisely nearly as good as his two dominant pitches and pinpoint command would recommend.
All statistics present by April 14.
