3 years ago
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Julian Fernandez sat successful the Rockies dugout astatine Coors Field talking fastballs.
In his major-league debut past Sunday, the 6-foot-7, 235-pound right-hander blew distant Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson with a 102.4 mile per hr third-strike fastball. Fernandez’s heater tied for the fourth-fastest transportation successful the National League this season, according to StatCast. It besides was the highest velocity by a Rockies pitcher successful the StatCast epoch (since 2015).
Fernandez said helium tin propulsion harder.
“I person thrown 105 successful games before,” helium said, remembering moments erstwhile helium fto it alert successful short-season Class A-ball with Boise successful 2016 and with Low-A Asheville successful 2017.
But that 105 vigor scale was earlier his way to the majors was stalled by Tommy John country successful March 2018.
“Before Tommy John, it was brainsick however casual helium could throw,” recalled Carlos Estevez, the Rockies’ person and Fernandez’s person and mentor. “He would say, ‘I’m going to propulsion 104 today.’ And past helium would conscionable spell retired and bash it. It was stupid-good however hard helium could throw.”
Now, much than 3 years aft that process and aft stints with the Giants and Marlins organizations, the 25-year-old Fernandez is trying to instrumentality successful the Rockies’ bullpen. There’s magic successful his fastball again.
Of the 21 pitches the reliever threw Sunday, 11 topped 100 mph.
But helium knows axenic vigor is not capable to win successful the majors. Lots of pitchers tin propulsion hard. According to information from FanGraphs and StatCast, the mean large league fastball has accrued 3.8 mph implicit the past 20 years, and the fig of pitches astatine oregon supra 100 mph has jumped from a mates of 100 per play to what could beryllium astir 2,000 this year.
“I cognize present that I person to usage my secondary pitches and onslaught the onslaught portion and determination the shot around,” Fernandez said. “I person to bid my pitches.”
He was reminded of that successful the seventh inning Tuesday nighttime against the San Francisco Giants’ Mike Yastrzemski. Fernandez fell behind, 1-0, with a misplaced changeup, and past grooved a 97.7 mph fastball. Yastrzemski clobbered the transportation for a two-run homer successful the Giants’ 12-3 rout.
“The Giants are a smart-hitting team,” Estevez said. “They knew what was coming.”
Fernandez, obviously, has a batch to learn, but there’s nary denying his talent, nor his pedigree. He seemed destined to beryllium a major-league pitcher.
His father, Tony Eusebio, caught 598 games for the Houston Astros from 1991-2001. What’s more, Fernandez grew up 5 minutes distant from the Rockies’ Latin American analyzable successful Boca Chica, Dominican Republic.
When helium was 9, helium was a batboy for the Rockies’ Dominican Summer League team. As a kid, Fernandez was ever hanging astir the Rockies Dominican Academy. He collected the leftover vegetables from the grooming array and took them backmost to his grandfather’s farm. Roman Fernandez would past provender the vegetables to the pigs.
One day, erstwhile Fernandez was opening to sprout arsenic a pre-teen, Edison Lora, the Rockies’ Latin American tract and pitching coordinator, asked Fernandez if helium wanted to pitch. It was soon evident that determination was lighting successful Fernandez’s close arm.
“I signed with the Rockies erstwhile I was 18,” Estevez recalled. “He was 14 and astir to crook 15. I retrieve helium was truly skinny. Then, 2 years later, erstwhile I returned from the States, he’s similar 6-5 and throwing truly hard. I was like, ‘What happened, dude?’ ”
Fernandez tin reply that.
“I started truly moving retired hard,” helium said. “I was moving for a extremity to motion (a contract) astatine 16.”
He made it. In 2012, Rolando Fernandez, the Rockies’ vice president of planetary scouting and development, signed him arsenic an planetary escaped agent.
But the right-hander’s roadworthy to the majors had immoderate hairpin turns. The Giants selected him from the Rockies successful the Rule 5 draught anterior to the 2018 season, putting him successful enactment to marque their major-league roster. But past helium wounded his elbow and had to acquisition Tommy John surgery.
“That was hard,” helium said. “I did not spot that coming, but I knew I couldn’t springiness up.”
Claimed disconnected waivers by Miami, helium didn’t transportation astatine each successful 2019. He returned to the Rockies aft the 2019 play but the pandemic wiped retired his 2020 season. He showed up astatine this year’s outpouring grooming steadfast and successful bully shape. And rusty.
“I saw a pitcher who was inactive throwing hard and inactive beauteous raw,” manager Bud Black said. “I don’t deliberation thing has changed. He’s inactive raw. But what Julian has done is beryllium capable to get connected the mound with repetitions, and past the endowment started showing up.”
Black volition usage Fernandez erstwhile helium tin during the last 3 weeks of the season.
“He is successful a truly bully spot physically and mentally,” Black said. “Hopefully, helium tin decorativeness up beardown this season. And hopefully, that volition enactment him connected gait for adjacent season. There is astir apt immoderate wintertime shot successful determination for Julian successful his location country. He needs to support pitching. He needs the reps.”
And Fernandez needs to amended his slider and changeup, due to the fact that major-league hitters are susceptible of mashing powerfulness fastballs.
“As overmuch arsenic pitchers’ velocity has accrued implicit the past decade, and adjacent much truthful the past mates of years, hitters are making adjustments to get the tube to the ball,” Black said. “And they are making carnal adjustments with their ain hitting mechanics to beryllium capable to deed precocious velocity. So you person to person different pitches and different weapons to beryllium capable to onslaught the hitter.”
Plus, nary 1 tin hurl lightning bolts forever, arsenic Yankees person Aroldis Chapman’s vocation has shown.
In 2016, Chapman’s mean fastball was 101 mph. Now, astatine property 33, it’s 98.6 mph. In 2016, 57.8% of his fastballs were astatine slightest 100 mph, which blew distant each different pitcher successful the majors. This year, conscionable 15.8% of his fastballs person been 100 mph oregon faster.
When Estevez made his major-league debut successful 2016, helium reached 100 mph connected 38 pitches and averaged 98.7 mph with his fastball.
“When I spell walking astir and they go, ‘Hey, spot this guy? He throws 100.’ It’s conscionable crazy. It’s awesome,” Estevez said astatine the time. “I person seen guys enactment truly hard, too, and they ne'er get to that. I’ve been moving hard my full beingness and I get to propulsion 100, but not everyone is capable to. And I deliberation it’s conscionable a acquisition from God.”
According to FanGraphs, successful 2016 Estevez threw his four-seamer 70.9% of the time; this play it’s down to 66.8%. He threw his slider astatine a 20.3% complaint successful 2016 and present it’s astatine 15.6%. The biggest alteration has been accrued usage of his changeup: 8.8% vs. 17.6%.
“I don’t effort to propulsion arsenic hard anymore,” Estevez said. “I archer Julian that each the time. He understands. The bully happening is, sometimes earlier I adjacent accidental anything, he’s got it figured out.
“I emotion my fastball. He loves his fastball. But the different time helium said, ‘I should person utilized my breaking shot connected the archetypal pitch, arsenic a show-me pitch.’ He’s starting to get it.”
Hot Stuff
The mean velocity of a large league fastball continues to climb. In 2008, the mean fastball was 91.7 mph, according to FanGraphs. And that velocity continues to increase:
2016: 92.3 mph
2017: 92.8 mph
2018: 92.8 mph
2019: 93.1 mph
2020: 93.5 mph
2021: 93.7 mph
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