{"id":58607,"date":"2023-06-04T14:00:50","date_gmt":"2023-06-04T18:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=58607"},"modified":"2023-06-06T18:23:38","modified_gmt":"2023-06-06T22:23:38","slug":"jose-berrios-pitching-improved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2023\/06\/04\/jose-berrios-pitching-improved\/","title":{"rendered":"Jos\u00e9 Berr\u00edos Is Making All the Right Adjustments"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Jos\u00e9 Berr\u00edos has been on one of the most consistent stretches of his career. Yesterday, he held the\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2023\/06\/03\/2023-mlb-rookie-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">New York Mets<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to a run on four hits and a walk with six strikeouts over six innings. Berr\u00edos has a 2.48 ERA in his last 10 outings, the second best-ERA over a 10-start span since his MLB debut. He&#8217;s throwing at five innings each time out on this stretch. Berrios finally feels confident, finding his game that made him so effective earlier in his career. If he can keep it up, his 2023 season will overshadow last season. It could be an actual bounce-back campaign for someone who deserves it.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Enduring a rough 2022 and 2 rocky starts to begin his 2023, Jose Berrios has settled down quite nicely ever since as he delivered 5.2 scoreless IP in Sunday&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BlueJays?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@BlueJays<\/a> win vs MIN. As this shows, he&#8217;s been one of the most durable and reliable arms in the AL for well over a month <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oRoxrn0QjI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/oRoxrn0QjI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/StatsCentre\/status\/1663057765395312640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 29, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Jos\u00e9 Berr\u00edos Bounce Back<\/h2>\n<h3>2022 Was Forgettable<\/h3>\n<p>2022 was not very kind to Berr\u00edos. He had big expectations, as he got the ball on Opening Day 2022 and never really found his footing after that. He tied with Germ\u00e1n M\u00e1rquez for the major league lead in earned runs allowed with 100. But that&#8217;s not all, as he allowed the most hits in the American League with 199. Posting a 5.23 ERA in the first year of his seven-year contract extension was ideal. The setback would be one for Berr\u00edos to rework his game in the offseason, eventually paying off in Spring Training.<\/p>\n<h3>Lowering Velocity on Breaking Ball<\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"fi\">Jos\u00e9 Berr\u00edos, Nasty 84mph Breaking Ball. \ud83d\ude28 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vxwKY9VRyv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/vxwKY9VRyv<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PitchingNinja\/status\/1665101170199633921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 3, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Berr\u00edos has been fine-tuning his arsenal, including tweaking his breaking ball. He&#8217;s taken a few mph of his breaking ball, which has helped him command more effectively. When he throws it to the arm side of the plate, he lands it on the edge of the strike zone. What helps him even more, is when he throws it to the glove side as he tries to get swing-and-miss stuff from opposing batters. It&#8217;s been an interesting adjustment for Berrios; he&#8217;s throwing his breaking ball as slowly as he threw back in 2019.<\/p>\n<h3>\u00a0Changeup Improvements<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1000\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-58608\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/06\/8fb11967-ef57-4515-bdf6-e43710a8f901.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/06\/8fb11967-ef57-4515-bdf6-e43710a8f901.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/06\/8fb11967-ef57-4515-bdf6-e43710a8f901-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/06\/8fb11967-ef57-4515-bdf6-e43710a8f901-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/06\/8fb11967-ef57-4515-bdf6-e43710a8f901-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Developing his changeup into a more swing-and-miss weapon is working well. In the past, his misses with the pitch were off the plate away, easy takes for the batter to hit. Now, Berr\u00edos goes right after the zone, letting the pitch&#8217;s movement go to the corner. Those misses are below the zone where batters are still tempted to chase after it. His 24.3% whiff rate on the change last season is now 38.8%.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"fi\">Jos\u00e9 Berr\u00edos, Dirty 81mph Changeup. \ud83d\udc4c <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JLqKkF4sMq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/JLqKkF4sMq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PitchingNinja\/status\/1647015445176655873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 14, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A substantial increase for one of his most effective pitches. It hasn&#8217;t helped opposing teams place southpaw hitters against Berr\u00edos. Changeups move down and away, out of the danger zones. Plus, the off-speed will sometimes keep batters sitting on his two fastballs. It&#8217;s been a good pitch for Berr\u00edos; he wasn&#8217;t using it effectively.<\/p>\n<div class=\"m-detail--body-item m-detail--body-item-inline\">\n<figure class=\"l-inline tml-image m-detail--tml-image--inline\"><a><picture class=\"is-loaded\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cvc_auto%2Cw_380\/MTk3MzE5NzkzMTE4ODE1NTA5\/ezgif-4-6656ae2328.mp4 380w, https:\/\/www.si.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cvc_auto%2Cw_600\/MTk3MzE5NzkzMTE4ODE1NTA5\/ezgif-4-6656ae2328.mp4 600w\" type=\"video\/mp4\" sizes=\"(min-width: 600px) 600px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_380\/MTk3MzE5NzkzMTE4ODE1NTA5\/ezgif-4-6656ae2328.webp 380w, https:\/\/www.si.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_600\/MTk3MzE5NzkzMTE4ODE1NTA5\/ezgif-4-6656ae2328.webp 600w\" type=\"image\/webp\" sizes=\"(min-width: 600px) 600px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_380\/MTk3MzE5NzkzMTE4ODE1NTA5\/ezgif-4-6656ae2328.gif 380w, https:\/\/www.si.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_600\/MTk3MzE5NzkzMTE4ODE1NTA5\/ezgif-4-6656ae2328.gif 600w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 600px) 600px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" \/><\/picture><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Chemistry in the Rotation<\/h3>\n<p>A big reason for Berr\u00edos having success is the starting rotation. Much of that chemistry was developed last season, but adding Chris Bassitt has further solidified it. The fondness of the five starters is on full display at ballparks. They watch each other&#8217;s bullpen sessions, and after the starter warms up, the pitchers on their off-day walk with him from the bullpen to the dugout. Having a tight-knit group like what the Blue Jays have for their rotation will go a long way to trusting and supporting each other.<\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit: \u00a9 Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n<p>Players mentioned:<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/berrijo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-06-04_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jos\u00e9 Berr\u00edos<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/marquge01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-06-04_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Germ\u00e1n M\u00e1rquez<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bassich01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-06-04_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chris Bassitt<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jos\u00e9 Berr\u00edos has been on one of the most consistent stretches of his career. Yesterday, he held the\u00a0New York Mets to a run on four hits and a walk with six strikeouts over six innings. Berr\u00edos has a 2.48 ERA in his last 10 outings, the second best-ERA over a 10-start span since his MLB [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3686,"featured_media":58610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2,1071],"tags":[6376,6377,2835,4223,1043],"class_list":["post-58607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bluejays","category-featured","category-mlb","tag-blue-jays-pitching","tag-breaking-ball","tag-changeup","tag-chris-bassitt","tag-jose-berrios"],"modified_by":"Matt Graves","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3686"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58607\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}