Austin Adams threw the next share of sliders than any pitcher in baseball final season. In 56 aid outings comprising 41 1/3 innings, the 33-year-old right-hander relied on his signature providing 73.8% of the time. The heavy utilization wasn’t an outlier for Adams. Since breaking into the large leagues in 2017, his 77.2% slider share is tops amongst hurlers to throw no less than 100 innings.
His general numbers have been strong. Pitching for 5 groups, together with the Athletics final yr, Adams has a 4.10 ERA, a 3.98 FIP, and a 31.6% strikeout charge over 155 2/3 profession innings. He’s difficult to sq. up constantly, and he’s held opposing batters to a .199 batting common. Command has been the fly within the ointment, and never simply due to his higher-than-ideal 13.9% stroll charge. Adams plunked 13 batters final season, and in 2021 with the Padres, he outlandishly logged 24 HBPs in 52 2/3 frames.
Now in huge league camp with the Purple Sox after signing a minor league deal in January, Adams sat down to speak about his slider(s) at Boston’s spring coaching facility in Fort Myers.
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David Laurila: You throw a ton of sliders. Why?
Austin Adams: “The rationale I throw so many sliders is as a result of I take pleasure in having a job in baseball. It’s my finest pitch. I attempt to take every one in every of my pitches, individually, in a vacuum. For me, it’s not essentially about setting issues up. I’m not saying that’s not a factor. What I’m saying is that it’s tougher to quantify. My highest-graded pitch is my slider — metrically it’s a very good pitch — so I’m going to throw it the vast majority of the time. It’s what provides me the most effective alternative to get outs.”
Laurila: What are the metrics in your slider?
Adams: “Oh, man. I believe the most important factor that drives that pitch is the variability of shapes. Yesterday there have been instances the place it was getting nearly the form of a slurve, and there have been instances the place it was extra like a real sweeper; I used to be getting round 13 inches of horizontal.
“In the event you have a look at the spin, what’s ended up taking place is the seam orientation… like, I’m tilting the axis up. That’s what’s getting the ball to go left. And if I wish to get extra depth on it, I simply attempt to tilt the axis down. However the spin just isn’t essentially like what you’d see on some sweepers, the place it’s that one seam. That’s why I don’t seize a ton of the particular spin. I spin it extremely excessive, however I don’t seize the spin to get the overall motion that I believe it might get. It’s extra like a seam-shifted slider.”
Laurila: You throw plenty of sliders, however not all the time the identical slider…
Adams: “[It’s] the variability. So, up to now few years it’s been wherever from 75% to 90% [usage]. The ball-tracking information says, ‘This can be a slider,’ however the pitching plot on my slider may very well be on the road [at] zero, all the best way out to fifteen. It’s additionally a pitch that may be on the vertical line at -8 to -10. There’s a ton of variability. I’m manipulating it based mostly off of wrist placement and what I’m doing once I’m throwing it.
“What I’m making an attempt to be taught now could be learn how to truly leverage seams in order that I’m getting a seam impact as a substitute of simply manipulating my wrist to get a form. I believe that’s the factor. In 2019 with the Mariners, earlier than I tore my ACL, I obtained actually snug with getting a brief slider within the zone early, and a very huge slider, nonetheless the identical miles per hour, later within the depend. However I form of misplaced the texture for that after I tore my ACL. I’m making an attempt to get it again. Whereas I’ve had some success with throwing [a slider] the vast majority of the time, I really feel like my finest years are forward of me. As soon as I discover ways to leverage seams, the consistency of the 2 totally different sliders will likely be higher.”
Laurila: How does one go about studying learn how to leverage seams?
Adams: “You employ Edgertronic. You employ line balls. I believe you simply keep on high of it… however you may’t simply have a look at ball-flight information and say, ‘These are the best numbers I wish to get.’ You need to have a look at the precise form of the pitch [and] the precise spin you’re getting. It must be, ‘All proper, is that this going to be efficient for me each day?’ If I don’t tilt the axis up completely, it’s not going to catch the best means. If I get the seams the place I have to, it’s going to be a extra constant pitch.”
Laurila: That may make one in every of your two sliders a greater pitch…
Adams: “I truly throw three totally different sliders. I throw a cutter factor, a very laborious sweep, after which my actually depth-y one.”
Laurila: Is there one you are likely to desire over the others?
Adams: “I’m most likely nearer to zero vert to adverse vert than I’m to the optimistic verts, The optimistic verts are those I believe are my finest. These are those I’m ready get swings-and-misses on. The adverse ones form of go into what the batters are used to seeing. They’re seeing that spin, in order that they’re pondering, ‘Hey, that is going to drop; I have to get on aircraft for this pitch.’ But when I’m capable of tilt the axis up and get extra induced vertical break than your typical slider, I’m sometimes lacking the barrel. They’re getting beneath it.”
Laurila: Is there something value noting about your fastball?
Adams: “I believe the most important factor is that I have to throw it tougher. I’m round 93-94 [mph], so I’m under common for a right-handed reliever. The four-seam is rarely going to be a driving pitch for me; it’s extra a pitch that I’m going to wish to throw to a location. I’m additionally studying a two-seam proper now, which goes to assist as nicely.”
Laurila: Any closing ideas?
Adams: “Actually, like I mentioned earlier, I really feel like my finest years are forward of me… I imply, I don’t know many guys who’re capable of go on the market with only one pitch 90% of the time and have some type of success on the huge league stage. I’m nonetheless studying. Even with me being within the huge leagues for shut to 6 years now, I’m nonetheless studying.”
