Mike Pelfrey is tipping his pitches!
"When he is to throw his fastball, he will keep his tongue in his mouth under the mouth piece. When Pelfrey initiated his delivery of a fastball, his tongue became visible."
"Pelfrey would open his glove wide when he reached in to grasp the ball deep in his right hand for the offspeed pitch."
So any batter with reasonable observation skills knew all three of Pelfrey's pitches; the fastball, slider or changeup and which he intends to deliver to the plate.
So when Pelfrey fanned his glove it meant changeup; visible tongue meant fastball; neither was the unmistakable sign for slider.
I'll admit I've been a little hard on Pelfrey. I think he would benefit greatly from a full year in AAA. But this changes my opinion on Pelfrey. He has shown some improvement this spring but has yet to show the consistence, tipping his pitches would explain that.
"When he is to throw his fastball, he will keep his tongue in his mouth under the mouth piece. When Pelfrey initiated his delivery of a fastball, his tongue became visible."
"Pelfrey would open his glove wide when he reached in to grasp the ball deep in his right hand for the offspeed pitch."
So any batter with reasonable observation skills knew all three of Pelfrey's pitches; the fastball, slider or changeup and which he intends to deliver to the plate.
So when Pelfrey fanned his glove it meant changeup; visible tongue meant fastball; neither was the unmistakable sign for slider.
I'll admit I've been a little hard on Pelfrey. I think he would benefit greatly from a full year in AAA. But this changes my opinion on Pelfrey. He has shown some improvement this spring but has yet to show the consistence, tipping his pitches would explain that.
How good is Mike Pelfrey? What major would you compare him to? I only seen pitch to the Braves twice. Once in NY when the Braves blasted him, and another time in ATL and he did a good job. It seems like he throws way too many fastballs, but I haven't seen him pitch that much.
ReplyDeletePelfrey's fastball is his best pitch.. it can get up to 98 mph..but if he could somehow improve his command of his other pitches, he would be a #1 or #2 starter.
ReplyDeleteSome scouts have said that he could be a right-handed Randy Johnson-- that is if he can control his stuff like he did against the braves last September.
He sounds like the Mets version of JoJo Reyes. JoJO has a 92-95 fastball, sinker, slider, and curveball. The ONLY problem with him is his control. For some reason he pitches great in the minors and doesn't walk any one. When he is in the majors he really becomes really erratic. Last 5 games he started last season he didn't have a starter were he gave up more than 3 runs. Spring training for him this year has been a roller coaster. If he can fix his delievery and throw strikes, Bobby Cox believes he can be a #2 type pitcher.
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