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Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER Jordan Zimmermann allowed one run over three strong innings. |
Jordan Zimmermann, though, couldn't find much of anything to be disappointed with after his Grapefruit League debut this afternoon.
"I thought it went well," the right-hander said after allowing one run on two hits in three innings to the Marlins. "I threw strikes. I was attacking hitters. And I mixed in a few changeups, which were mostly good ones. I'm happy with a first outing."
Zimmermann was far more efficient than Stephen Strasburg yesterday against the Mets, completing his first two innings on only 23 pitches and thus getting the opportunity to return to the mound for the third inning. He wound up throwing 26 of his 43 pitches for strikes, several of them well-placed changeups (a point of emphasis this spring).
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3 comments:
Mark writes...He wound up throwing 26 of his 43 pitches for strikes, several of them well-placed changeups (a point of emphasis this spring).
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I kind of hoped someone would have had a change-up count. JZ in his career averaged 3% of his pitches as change-ups which is almost nothing considering on a normal night that's 4 total changeups vs. 62% 4-seamers 21% sliders and 12% curveballs.
I think 8-12% change-ups would be a great target and give JZ 4 "Plus" pitches.
From JZ: "For the most part, I was getting groundballs, getting early contact," he said. "That's what I was trying to do."
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Sandy Koufax is helping the Dodgers pitchers and this is one of the best quotes of his and seems to encompass what Jordan Zimmermann is trying to do. From Koufax: “I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it.”
Mark writes...Zimmermann also got good movement on his sinker, keeping the ball down in the strike zone and inducing eight groundball outs to go along with one strikeout.
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Now this is a puzzler. Jordan Zimmermann averaged exactly 98.5 pitches per start last year and threw exactly 50 2-seamers all season which is less than he threw changeups and in fact on average 1.5 sinkers per game so not exactly a pitch he likes to throw.
Most of JZ's grounders come on his slider and well placed 4-seamers low in the zone.
My question to Mark would be is Jordan Zimmermann also working on a sinker or could those pitches that induced grounders have been on his slider or 4-seamer.
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