Logan Webb was my choose for NL Cy Young final season, and whereas the prediction didn’t come to fruition, the San Francisco Giants right-hander did come near capturing the dignity — this regardless of an 11-13 report. (We’ve come a good distance, haven’t we?) He completed second within the voting to Blake Snell, who’s now his rotation mate, and whereas Webb’s main league-leading 216 innings definitely captured the eye of the voters, lots of his different numbers stood out as effectively. He ranked fourth amongst certified Nationwide League pitchers in each ERA (3.25) and FIP (3.16), and his 1.29 walks per 9 innings was second to none. Furthermore, his 62.1% groundball charge was the very best in both league.
He hardly got here out of nowhere. Webb was already good, as his stats over the previous three seasons attest. For the reason that starting of the 2021 marketing campaign, he has a 3.07 ERA and a 3.00 FIP, and his signature sinker-changeup mixture has been answerable for a 59.9% groundball charge. A comparably humble 23.1% strikeout charge over that span (21.4% final yr) however, the 27-year-old worm-killing workhorse is among the finest pitchers within the sport.
Webb sat down to speak pitching at San Francisco’s spring coaching facility earlier this month. He’ll be on the mound later right this moment when the Giants open the common season in San Diego.
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David Laurila: How have you ever developed as a pitcher since coming to professional ball?
Logan Webb: “I’ve modified most likely 4 completely different occasions. I used to be a sinker man once I first began. Then I had Tommy John, and once I got here again, so did the velo — it was again to the explanation why I used to be drafted.”
Laurila: You had been drafted [by the Giants in 2014] since you threw onerous?
Webb: “It was a part of the explanation, for positive. I used to be wherever from 93 to touching 96 — that was out of highschool — however after I received to professional ball, my elbow wasn’t working the fitting manner. I wasn’t throwing that [velocity], so I needed to throw some sinkers. Actually, that taught me the way to pitch.
“Like I mentioned, I got here again from TJ and was throwing just a little bit more durable. They really moved me up. They stored telling me they needed me to throw like Tyler Glasnow, Walker Buehler, and a bunch of those guys. So I moved [my arm slot] up, and I couldn’t do it. After I received referred to as up [in 2019], I used to be nonetheless possibly excessive just a little bit an excessive amount of.
“Then we employed [director of pitching] Brian Bannister. He referred to as me and mentioned, ‘We’re going to drop you down.’ This was on December 26 or 27, going into 2020. They had been going to have me throw like Chris Sale and Corey Kluber. I used to be just a little shocked at that.”
Laurila: I assume you requested why?
Webb: “I did ask why. They thought that was my pure arm slot, and with the best way my hand comes by means of it could be a very good factor to maneuver down. So I did that. It was an enormous studying curve. It took me a few yr to actually determine it out. After that, it’s simply been type of refining it, maintain making an attempt to get higher and higher at it annually.”
Laurila: Are you able to elaborate on why it’s a very good arm slot for you?
Webb: “The best way my hand comes by means of… I’m a heavy supination pitcher. After I drop down and throw that supinated pitch, it creates the seam shift for every thing — the two-seam and the changeup. I didn’t find out about any of this till I received with [Bannister] in spring coaching. He type of confirmed me the way it labored. Like I mentioned, it took me a very long time to determine it out, however I’m completely happy I did that.”
Laurila: What’s the motion profile of your sinker?
Webb: “It’s normally round 15 [inches] horizontal and wherever from 4 vertical to negative-two vertical. That’s arm aspect.”
Laurila: Are you ever chasing extra motion?
Webb: “I’ll possibly chase motion just a little bit in bullpens, however as soon as I’m within the sport I don’t attempt to chase something. I’m simply making an attempt to compete, throwing as many strikes as I can.”
Laurila: Pitchers used to routinely inform me that they’re making an attempt to induce weak contact, and that’s developed to the place it’s widespread for them to say they’re making an attempt to overlook bats. What about you?
Webb: “For me, it’s extra that I simply need them to hit it on the bottom. I wouldn’t say that I get the weakest contact — nor plenty of swing-and-miss — but when it’s on the bottom, I’m giving myself an opportunity. I’ve a protection behind me, so I satisfaction myself on getting floor balls, no matter how onerous they’re hit. Throwing plenty of pitches close to the underside of the zone helps me try this.”
Laurila: Quite a lot of these pitches aren’t sinkers. How usually do prefer to throw your changeup? [Webb threw his changeup a career-high 41.6% of the time last season.]
Webb: “Often, I prefer to be round 30%, however there are video games the place I’ll be 50% changeups, and even 60%. Some days it feels good and the catcher desires it, so I type of go along with it.”
Laurila: How completely different are your sinker and changeup? I imagine the speed distinction isn’t all that nice. [Webb’s sinker averaged 92.3 mph last year, his changeup 87.4 mph.]
Webb: “I would like my sinker to go extra horizontal, and I don’t need my changeups to be straight down. If I can maintain my changeup 10 horizontal or under, however have the depth there, that’s a very good changeup. It’s not a very good pitch if the motion is simply too near my two-seam, as a result of sure, I don’t have sufficient of a velocity differential. For those who take a look at the plot map, and my two-seam is over right here, I would like my changeup over there, extra in the direction of the center plot. In the event that they’re all type of clustered, that’s once I get in bother.”
Laurila: Wanting the horizontal, it feels like your fastball is extra of a two-seamer than a traditional sinker…
Webb: “Sure and no. It’s extra concerning the motion of the pitch. I’ll throw 20-inch two-seams, however I’ll additionally throw a 12-inch two-seam. I’ve to catch the seam. The seam-shift wake… if I catch it the fitting manner, it doesn’t matter what the horizontal is. It’s the late motion. It’s going to look to the hitter prefer it strikes greater than the opposite one.”
Laurila: Have hitters advised you that you simply’re misleading?
Webb: “Not essentially misleading. They are saying that it simply will get on them just a little bit. I’m up there extension-wise [91st percentile last year], so my 92 would possibly appear like 94 as a substitute of the 92 it really is.”
Laurila: We must always contact in your slider. What are you able to inform me about it?
Webb: “After I first got here up, it was most likely my finest pitch. In 2021, it was my finest pitch. I’ve type of been chasing it ever since then. I believe the extra I’ve thrown my changeup and my two-seam, that type of modified my arm motion and the best way the ball comes out of my hand. It was sharper and extra down, and the final two years it’s been extra type of spinning sideways. I’m looking for that candy spot once more. I would like it to maneuver, clearly. I’d name it a sweeper; it truly is a sweeper. I would like it to maneuver that manner, however I additionally need it to remain beneath the zero.”
Laurila: How a lot horizontal are you getting?
Webb: “It’s most likely round 10 to 12. Typically I’ll get 16 or 17, however my candy spot is 10 to 12, or 13.”
Laurila: Have you ever ever tinkered with a gyro?
Webb: “I’ve, and for some motive it doesn’t work. I’ve tried it for 3 years. I’ve tried to throw a cutter and I’ve tried to throw gyro. They simply aren’t excellent.”
Laurila: Any remaining ideas?
Webb: “Possibly I might be throwing a pair extra four-seams. I threw extra four-seams in 2021, and searching again on the previous three years, that’s most likely the perfect I’ve felt out of ’21, ’22, and ’23. I believe that throwing extra four-seams on the prime helped open up the underside just a little bit extra. That’s clearly the place I get most of my outs, down on the backside of the zone.”
