Laurila: Q&A with Lance McCullers on spin, angles, and embarrassing batters
From SABR member David Laurila at FanGraphs on June 3, 2016:
Lance McCullers puts a lot of thought into his craft. The 22-year-old right-hander fashions himself a bulldog — understandably so; his father was a big-league closer — but in between starts he puts on his pitching-theorist hat. In many respects, he fits the analytic Astros’ paradigm to a tee.
Selected 41st overall by Houston in the 2012 draft, McCullers features a mid-90s fastball and a killer curveball. His lack of a consistent changeup has been a cause for concern, but to this point he’s thrived with the two plus pitches. Twenty-six games into his big-league career, McCullers has a 3.44 ERA and has averaged over a strikeout per inning.
McCullers talked about his pitching approach, which focuses more on spin than location, following a mid-May outing in Boston.
Read the full article here: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/lance-mccullers-on-spin-angles-and-embarrassing-batters/
Originally published: June 3, 2016. Last Updated: June 3, 2016.