Garrett Whitlock continues to elevate his performance on the mound learning from Michael Wacha
Garrett Whitlock was massively impressive last season in his rookie year. The former Rule 5 pick from the Yankees performed on the field and was a sponge learning everything he could off the field.
Last season, Whitlock linked up with former Red Sox pitcher Matt Andriese and learned how to throw a changeup. Prior to Spring Training the changeup was not in Whitlock’s regular repertoire.
“In spring training, him being a Rule 5 guy, you’re soaking it all in,” Andriese told WEEI.com last season. “Trying to learn, trying to get your feet wet, trying to make the team. I noticed from Day 1 his stuff was really good. I started playing catch with him probably two or three times every five days. We kind of had similar schedules, so I started playing catch with him and I was just talking to him about his changeup.”
Before learning to throw a better changeup, Whitlock primarily threw a fastball and slider. He began to fool around and throw a changeup during his Tommy John recovery. The right-handed hurler wanted to learn a third pitch in order to be considered to be a starter in the big leagues.
“I’d had a changeup before, but it was never really that good. It was always too hard,”said Whitlock.
“Then I saw the video of Pedro Martinez talking to Dan Plesac about why his changeup had been too hard: he’d been using two dominant fingers to throw it. So he slid the ball over a little bit, and used two non-dominant fingers,” added Whitlock.
Whitlock who threw a changeup 237 times last season has now turned to veteran Red Sox starter Michael Wacha on improving his changeup. "I’m picking Wacha’s brain. He has an amazing changeup," Whitlock told Rob Bradford of WEEI.
Whitlock told WEEI that he was intrigued with how Wacha holds the ball when he throws his changeup. "You’re always learning in this game and trying to make everything better. You will never hit perfection. You have to learn from the guys who has been there before you,” said Whitlock.
"Wacha has a fabulous changeup so we have been playing catch and he has been showing me some stuff. We’re just trying to get it consistent and keep it going."
Last season, opponents only hit .207 when Wacha threw his changeup. Meanwhile opponents only hit .185 against Whitlock when he threw his changeup.
This spring, Wacha has pitched in three games earning a 2-0 record with a 4.09 ERA. The 30-year-old starter has only yielded five runs in 11 innings while striking out seven batters. Wacha has all but locked up a spot in manager Alex Cora’s rotation.
Whitlock’s focus on getting better with his craft on the mound shows how relentless he is with wanting to help his club when he pitches. As Boston begins to break camp it looks like Whitlock is going to remain in the bullpen. Cora will utilize his second year righty similar to last season. Eventually Whitlock will be a starer in the majors, until then, he continues to work on his craft, one changeup at a time.
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