Brett Anderson's Release Point Adjustment

by rebus on Jul 9, 2009 10:51 PM PDT

Curious about Brett Anderson's newfound success, I checked out Fangraphs the other day. Of course, I expected to see the increase in velocity, but I also saw another change in his release point that's equally pronounced.

Here's a collection of Brett's release points for his first 9 starts, one further from his body horizontally. I'm not sure if this was a change he made when working from the stretch, but the second release point seems too deliberate to be tiredness or loss of focus. Maybe a holdover from his minor league career that Curt Young has changed? On some games here aren't enough pitches from that point to suggest it's only from the stretch (though there are always a few).

*pitchFX data for 4/28 missing

The following is an overlay of Brett's last 6 starts. His release point is much more consistent and I would guess he's getting on top of the ball more. I think this adjustment, more than the extra rest, has given his fastball (and secondary pitches) that extra velocity.

To give you another view of the difference, here's the last chart, a full season of data on Brett's release points.

Here are some before/after statistics for ya'll:

Brett Anderson's first 9 starts (4/10–5/30)

213 Total Batters Faced
12.7% K/PA
9.4% LD rate
39.9% GB rate

Brett Anderson's last 6 starts (6/4–7/6)

149 Total Batters Faced
22.8% K/PA
12.8% LD rate
30.2% GB rate

Changes in his pitch movement were also something I looked for, but I didn't notice anything striking. The uptick in fastball velocity makes changing speeds with the pitch more effective, and seems to be leading to more strikeouts. If he can get his ground ball rate back up (a location issue?), he may be even more effective.

One more tidbit about release points. At a cursory glance, here's how I'd rank the A's young pitchers' release point consistency:
(in order of most consistent to least consistent)

Outman/Mazzaro...Braden...Anderson......Cahill

Cahill doesn't exactly surprise, but I thought Outman and Mazzaro being more consistent than Braden was interesting. If Anderson maintains his current adjustment, he'd probably leapfrog Dallas too.

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Very interesting.

Let’s hope that he can keep up his good work.

by LoneStranger on Jul 9, 2009 11:10 PM PDT reply actions

The first graph isn't a difference between release points in the stretch and in the windup

It’s the difference of release points when he faces a RH or a LH. Some website (maybe Fangraphs or BtB or maybe even here on AN) did a writeup about this a while back at the beginning of the season. If his recent success stems from more consistency, then I hope he keeps it up, as well.

by NateHST on Jul 9, 2009 11:45 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

When I saw first graph ..

first thing I thought was he switched what side of the rubber he pitches from vs leftys and rightys.

"Their Triple-A rotation, led by Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson, could be better than some big-league rotations; Michael Ynoa is the best Latin American prospect of the decade; 2008 draftees Jemile Weeks and Rashun Dixon bring much-needed tools to an advanced group of hitters." - BaseballProspectus.com

by Syphon on Jul 9, 2009 11:48 PM PDT up reply actions

Ah, that makes sense. I wonder if he's less effective against lefties now.

Baseball isn't magic.

by rebus on Jul 10, 2009 3:50 AM PDT up reply actions

Not more than a year ago he was a 89-91 MPH guy.

Now hes 94ish. Its a very large jump in a small about of time.

by Syphon on Jul 9, 2009 11:50 PM PDT reply actions

And we like it!!!!!!!

Go Brett!

Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox

by mrod on Jul 10, 2009 12:29 AM PDT up reply actions

I like it, of course

but the innings jump just became an even bigger concern.

"You end up with a name like ‘Outman,’" he said last week. "What else are you going to do? You’re going to get people out, man." ~ Dallas Braden

Free Travis Buck.

by Blicks on Jul 10, 2009 7:54 AM PDT up reply actions

This is great work...

and a really interesting conclusion. Considering that Anderson was supposed to be extremely mechanically sound the varied release points in his early starts give one pause, and a change and more consistency in release (along with the accompanying velocity increase) would suggest an improvement that isn’t just a flash in the pan.

In play, run(s)! Talk dirty to me gamecast, talk dirty. - Nevermoor on FK

by designatedforassignment on Jul 10, 2009 9:07 AM PDT reply actions

What it is,

is that early in the season Anderson worked on one side of the rubber against lefties and another against righties, and now works from the same spot against all hitters.

That explains the release points but not the increased velocity, which I assume is mostly fatigue and slight soreness followed by increased rest.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Jul 10, 2009 9:49 AM PDT reply actions

Makes me wonder

how do we deal with his (and Cahill’s and Mazzaro’s, and maybe even Gonzalez’s) jump in innings pitched this year?

"True fact: In a global thermonuclear war, the only human who would survive would be David Eckstein" -PT

by travdog6 on Jul 10, 2009 12:46 PM PDT up reply actions

Mix and match while skipping starts.

Mazzaro might be okay until September call ups, so I’d pencil in him with Braden and Gio. For spots 4/5, they’ll have to put a few starts together from Eveland, Edgar Gonzalez, and hopefully James Simmons if they think he’s throwing well enough. Things could get interesting if the A’s get really hot for the rest of July, but I won’t hold my breath.

Baseball isn't magic.

by rebus on Jul 10, 2009 1:21 PM PDT up reply actions

I would have liked a 6-man rotation all year

Maybe if Duke and Gallagher hadn’t both imploded that would have been considered. Probably not, but at least then I could have complained that it should have happened.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Jul 10, 2009 4:12 PM PDT up reply actions