By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rapsodo and TrackMan won’t make any plays, but the two pieces of technology will have an impact on what happens at Frontier Field this season.
As the Minnesota Twins, like many other Major League organizations, continue to dive deep into the study and use of advanced statistics, Rochester Red Wing manager Joel Skinner and his staff will continue to implement those metrics at the Triple-A level.
Fans caught their first glimpse of an analytics-based approach last July when Trevor May was used as an “opener” and pitched the first inning of a game before giving way to Zack Littell, that game’s starter.
“There are certain times where the numbers don’t lie,” second-year manager Joel Skinner said during Tuesday’s media event at Frontier Field. “If you look at the first inning of a nine-inning ball game, that’s when most of the runs are scored. If you also look at the third time through the lineup, the sixth inning, that’s when the second (highest) amount of runs are scored. If you’re trying to keep runs off the board, that’s one way to do it, depending on your staff and the people you have.”
Tampa Bay and Toronto both used the approach, known as “bull penning,” early last season.
“If we were standing here last year at this time, everybody would kinda be scratching their head a little bit,” Skinner added. “All of sudden you see it in playoff baseball at the Major-League level. Durham (Tampa’s Triple-A affiliate) did it last year. We did it last year in the minor leagues. We wanted to expose our pitchers to it before they did it at the major-league level which we ended up doing last year.”
Opening the game planning to use a pitcher for one inning is just the start of it, though. Through Rapsodo and TrackMan, organizations are better able to identify the weaknesses of opposing batters and fit a pitcher’s strengths into the situation.
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“It’s information that we can go over in scouting reports from the other teams to pick up on hitting tendencies and weaknesses, where we can attack a hitter,” Red Wing pitching coach Stu Cliburn explained. “It’s another tool for them to use to enhance their game and to progress them up the ladder.
“It’s been around for years, but as far as getting in-depth with it that is an avenue we went into.”
Trackman, installed at all Major-League and International League parks, uses 3D Doppler radar to measure the location, trajectory and spin rate of hit and pitched balls. Rapsodo is another radar device used to give pitchers immediate feedback on velocity, trajectory and spin rate of a pitch.
Understanding these metrics and how to explain their benefits is the role of second-year Wings bullpen coach Mike McCarthy.
“We’re giving pitchers evidence-based information that tells them what we think is a better direction to go in,” said McCarthy who studied Biology and Pre-Med at Cal-State Bakersfield. “If we show you the stock market and one stock is paying you four percent dividend and is growing at an annual rate of six percent. Then you have another stock that is paying you two percent and it’s growing at a rate of two-and-a-half percent, it’s a pretty easy choice which one we’re going to buy more stock in.
“For a lot of guys it becomes easy for them to see why they’re doing that. We just have to make sure we explain it in the right way and go about it the right way.”
Cliburn and McCarthy will use the technology from game-to-game when preparing pitchers for opposing lineups and potential situations within the batting order.
“Lineup construction is a big part of advanced stats,” McCarthy explained. “Platoon splits is a really big factor that we can control. It’s a matter of who plays and who doesn’t for that given day. A lot of times that’s overlooked, but it’s a really important piece that we’re looking at on a regular basis.
“The same goes on the pitching side. We’re going to utilize pitchers that have the strongest matchup based on seeing a handful of guys in that lineup and comparing swings with the pitcher’s profile and try to maximize those opportunities.”
For a struggling pitcher the technology becomes a tool.
“If we see a pitch that isn’t performing that well when we look at something like an expected iso number, we might ask why is that pitch getting hit? There are a few options to look at that. It might be the usage. It might be the location he’s using it (the pitch). The handedness (how the pitcher is releasing the ball) he’s using it. We just have to dive a little bit deeper into those statistics to find out why that pitch isn’t performing as well as we’d like it to.”
And adjustments made from there?
“We’re seeing guys that are prioritizing two-seam or sinkerball action and instead now are utilizing a varied profile where they’re going four-seam,” McCarthy noted. “They’re trying to get the axis (measure on the hands of a clock) as close to 12 o’clock as possible. Say they were at the 1:15 getting them up into a 12:45, 12:30 slot to give them the best opportunity to create carry at the top of the zone.
“A lot of it has to do with things like spin rate and the ability for the pitcher’s mechanics to work in that specific space.”
STEWART TO GET THE OPENING DAY START
Right-hander Kohl Stewart will get the start when the Red Wings open the season at Lehigh Valley on Thursday.
“Last year, I was the fifth guy in Double-A,” the 2013 first-round pick said. “It’s kinda crazy what can happen in one year.”
Stewart made five starts and seven appearances on the mound last season for the Wings.
“It’s an honor. We’ve got five guys who could do it. They’re really well-deserving, so it’s exciting. It’s one start. I’m excited to get out there and get the season started and get us on the right foot. The first guy that takes the ball hopefully you can go as deep as possible, get your team in position to win.”
USING A MAJOR-LEAGUE BALL
One change this year will be that the International League will use the same as those at the Major-League level.
“It’s going to be interesting with the new baseball we’re using this year,” Skinner said. “We’re using a Major-League baseball. The same exact ball. They say that ball goes farther. We’ll see. When guys come down on rehab, they use the Major-League ball just because it has that little bit different feel for it. That’s the reason why we’re doing it. It’s the feel for the pitchers. These guys who do it on a daily basis, it just feels different. I can’t explain why or how.”
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