On Josh Fields
The little guy out of Georgia got his first AFL action today, and in so doing also got his first exposure to PITCHfx. Of the 20 pitches he threw, 19 were detected, and here's what he flashed:
| Type | n | Speed | pfx | pfz |
| Fastball | 11 | 93.1 | -2.4 | 12.8 |
| Curveball | 8 | 80.6 | 1.9 | -6.7 |
pfx corresponding to horizontal movement and pfz corresponding to vertical movement, as usual.
Fields was as advertised, a power righty with a fastball that gets into the mid-90s and a strong curve that he'll throw in any count. Nothing in there comes as a surprise. What's interesting to note is that, at least this afternoon, his pitches didn't have much horizontal movement. You'll see a lot of righty fastballs range between -4 and -10 and a lot of righty curveballs range between +3 and +8 (or so). Fields, however, stayed closer to zero, working mostly on the up-down plane and not throwing a lot of tail. (Remember that the numbers refer to deviation, in inches, from a pitch thrown with no spin, and that a negative pfx means the pitch tailed in to righty hitters and away from lefties.)
This shouldn't necessarily come as a surprise, either - it's a function of Fields' arm slot. It's just neat to see it in numbers. Where a lot of guys throw three-quarters and some prefer to drop down, Fields is one of those pure overhand guys, a guy who throws on top of his shoulder and unleashes his stuff on a downward plane, or at least as much of a downward plane as a little person like Fields can manage. When you throw over the top, it's difficult to generate the sort of spin necessary to make balls break left or right. So Fields gets by with a hard and literally almost straight fastball and a curve that travels along a similar path before breaking off the table. Read that sentence over again and you can see what makes him so tricky to hit.
Another thing to consider about Fields' arm slot - remember how Sean Green had a lot of trouble against lefties? Green threw from a sidearm slot that confounded righties but gave lefties a good look at the ball. The slot also wasn't conducive to generating good movement against opposite-handed hitters. By coming over the top, though, Fields should be somewhat immune to exaggerated splits, being similarly effective against righties and lefties alike. He probably won't slaughter righties the way some specialists do, but by not having the splits/exposure problem of many of his brethren, it's easy to see why he's always been considered a future closer. He has the stuff and mechanics such that he shouldn't have to pitch around any batter*, no matter on which side of the plate he's standing.
* if he learns to throw strikes
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48 comments
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Comments
About how many undetectable pitches should a reliever be able to throw?
by Janic on Oct 14, 2009 6:01 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
One worked for morrow a year ago
De Gutibus non disputandum est
by Bearskin Rugburn on Oct 14, 2009 8:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Does he start the year in AAA?
"Yayo bring the condoms, I'm in room 203"- Me
by 50 cent on Oct 14, 2009 6:20 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Curve hit the zone only twice
and both had contact made on them. All the other curves missed the zone, including 3 straight that Ike Davis swung on to end the inning. It is a very small sample size to worry about this kind of thing, but if he is struggling to locate his secondary pitch, it could explain a good deal of his struggles at AA this year.
by tdot mariner fan on Oct 14, 2009 6:34 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Or maybe he's doing it on purpose.
Trying to get swings and misses.
You got slurved!
by Slurvey on Oct 14, 2009 7:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Is he going to be Beltre's replacement?
by Fogel on Oct 14, 2009 6:40 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
You are probably confusing the Josh Fields on our team with the journeyman third baseman Josh Fields
by Robert on Oct 14, 2009 7:01 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions 2 recs
In my defense I am doing it purposefully
by Fogel on Oct 14, 2009 7:02 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
The other Josh is like 26.
He definitely ain’t a journeyman.
"Yayo bring the condoms, I'm in room 203"- Me
by 50 cent on Oct 14, 2009 7:40 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I wonder if that'll give him slightly better groundball rates than most power RP.
by Matthew on Oct 14, 2009 7:55 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Will probably depend a lot on whether he prefers the curve or high fastball as a swing-and-miss pitch
by Jeff Sullivan on Oct 14, 2009 8:12 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I bet 5 recs on his Curve.
You got slurved!
by Slurvey on Oct 14, 2009 8:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Crazy FB guy in college
From what I’ve seen, he lives in the upper half of the strike zone.
by davidcameron on Oct 14, 2009 9:16 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
It's always USSM that delivers the bad news...
You got slurved!
by Slurvey on Oct 14, 2009 9:18 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
42% this year in a small sample if you believe AA BIP data
by Jeff Sullivan on Oct 14, 2009 9:39 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Minors BIP data is probably more accurate for grounders as opposed to flies and line drives
it’s pretty hard to get confused over what is and is not a ground ball
by seattlebruin on Oct 15, 2009 12:16 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Oh goody
A right-hander with bad command of an arrow straight fastball. That’s new and unique.
...and now I'm here
by CapSea on Oct 14, 2009 8:58 PM PDT reply actions 2 recs
They should trade him to the White Sox.
They’ll have him straightened out in no time.
I will smash your face into a jelly.
by Phildopip on Oct 15, 2009 8:08 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
More like David Aardsma if he threw a curveball.
You got slurved!
by Slurvey on Oct 14, 2009 9:16 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Mark Lowe throws three pitches, none of which are curves
by Jeff Sullivan on Oct 14, 2009 9:38 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
As far as the arrow straight fastball he can't locate for beans goes, I mean
by OlSalty on Oct 14, 2009 9:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
There are like 50 major league pitchers more similar to Fields than Lowe.
by lailaihei on Oct 14, 2009 11:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yes it was a very bad comparison as far as the totality of the pitcher is concerned
I just find the most annoying quality of Mark Lowe to be the lack of break on his fastball and his inability to locate it, and thus was transferring my annoyance to this our #1 draft pick.
by OlSalty on Oct 15, 2009 12:19 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Which was an oversimplification on my part
But I just have the feeling that the ultimate failing of Mark Lowe will be the ultimate failing of Josh Fields. That being the lack of break on his primary pitch. And Fields does not have the velocity of Mark Lowe with possibly even crappier control from what I have seen of him….Although I probably haven’t seen enough of his curveball to pass judgement on it, but unless it is something approaching Erik Bedard quality….I really don’t know if he is going to work out here. So, I guess what I’m saying is that I’m not really sold on his ability to succeed in the major leagues at this point.
by OlSalty on Oct 15, 2009 12:33 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm sure it exists, I just can't find it for shit
is there a leaderboard of pitchers with most break on their fastball by PitchFX, least break, etc. ?
by craig3410 on Oct 14, 2009 10:51 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Is he mixing in a change at all? Seems like it would be a complementary third pitch.
or is he resigned to be a two-pitch reliever?
by waldo rojas on Oct 15, 2009 8:38 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
If he also had a useful change
he would be a starter
by G_ on Oct 15, 2009 9:09 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Uh-huh, which is why I was curious if he was working on one in the AFL.
by waldo rojas on Oct 15, 2009 9:36 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I wonder if he has endurance issues?
I notice he only started one game in his college career.
by Teej on Oct 15, 2009 9:45 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm sure he has one, but I wouldn't expect him to throw it a lot
He’s a two-pitch guy, and if he learns to throw strikes that’ll be good enough.
by Jeff Sullivan on Oct 15, 2009 9:39 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

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