Drew Rasmussen Developed a Two-Seam Runner Because of Bo Bichette

Arsenals that embody three variations of a fastball — four-seamer, two-seamer, cutter — are more and more frequent in right this moment’s recreation, and Drew Rasmussen is among the many pattern’s success tales. Relying closely on a triad of heaters, the 30-year-old Tampa Bay Rays right-hander boasts a 2.96 ERA and a 3.65 FIP over 249 1/3 innings throughout the 2025-2026 campaigns. Furthermore, he simply represented the Rays on the American League All-Star group for a second yr working.

How Rasmussen turned three-heater reliant (simply over 80% mixed utilization) isn’t itself atypical. The way in which he tells the story of the way it occurred is atypical… if not a bit curious. In explaining the arrival of his most up-to-date — and most impactful — fastball addition, he pinpointed a hitter towards whom he’d struggled far lower than his telling would counsel.

Rasmussen sat down to speak fastballs when the Rays visited Fenway Park over the weekend. As his responses had been expansive — followup questions had been few and much between — what he shared is being offered in monologue type.

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Drew Rasmussen: “Once I bought traded right here [in May 2021], I used to be four-seam and gyro slider — that’s mainly what I used to be throwing in Milwaukee — after which I had a curveball that was very low utilization, in addition to a nasty, unhealthy changeup. Over right here, once they transitioned me from the bullpen into the rotation, we discovered that I can manipulate the gyro slider just a little bit to create just a little extra elevate and provides it extra of a real cutter profile. I may manipulate it to get some depth and preserve a real slider profile, which supplies me the chance to select and select shapes relying on what I’m in search of. Situationally, what do I need to throw?

“They noticed the motion profile of my changeup, so we scrapped that fairly fast. From there we began growing a sweeper — I’ve the flexibility to supinate via every thing — and that labored fairly properly for me in 2021. Then, in 2022, I saved working into Bo Bichette. I had nothing to get him out with. Nothing. I imply, he’s good at hitting balls the opposite manner, and staying on every thing. However should you missed in with a breaking ball, he might do pull-side injury. I’d be on the market annoyed, as a result of the one factor I needed to go in on him with was a four-seamer. And on the time, I used to be slicing it anyway.

“We began enjoying round with issues. As a result of I had nothing that will work [inside] to him, we’d take a shot with a four-seam up and away and he would hit a double into the hole. We’d take a shot with a gyro slider down and away, and he would hit it via the 4 gap. We’d go sweeper and he’d shoot one thing down the road. I’d attempt to bounce a curveball and he would hit a line drive up the center. All the things I threw labored proper into his consolation zone, mainly.

“I talked with Kyle Snyder, our pitching coach, and was like, ‘I’ve bought nothing to get this man out.’ Principally, my finest guess is to throw any pitch kind middle-middle and hope that he pops it up or hits it straight into the bottom. In some unspecified time in the future, inevitably, I’m going to need to make a pitch to that man with runners in scoring place, and I don’t have the arrogance to get him out with something.

“That’s once we began growing… the board will inform you it’s a sinker, however it’s actually only a two-seam runner. It’s bought some depth relative to my four-seamer, however for probably the most half it’s simply straight run. This was towards the top of 2022, going into 2023. We found out a manner. I imply, our guys are so sensible. They know a lot extra concerning the human physique — biomechanics; physics, frankly — than I do. Like I mentioned, I supinate via nearly every thing, so the one manner I can create arm-side [movement] is by discovering some method to seam-shift and drive the ball to go that manner.

“We discovered a method to put a two-seam grip in my hand and create arm-side run. Basically, we oriented the seams in a manner that the spin is working to the place… I truly throw my cutter and my two-seam out of the very same hand positioning, and very same wrist positioning at launch, however the seam orientation permits for one to chop and the opposite to have the seams catch with the air resistance forcing it arm facet. I’ve the identical thought course of, the identical finger and wrist positioning, however one goes proper and the opposite goes left.

“Certain sufficient, the very first time I confronted Bichette with it, we bought ourselves deep right into a depend. He had fouled off a four-seamer and a slider, then we ran one in on him. It stayed on the plate, however we had been in a position to lock him up as a result of it was one thing so completely different than what he had seen from me. It was a state of affairs the place I had a brand new little toy to make use of towards him. Now I’m comfy throwing it to each right-handed and left-handed hitters. It’s turn into a real weapon and a real a part of my arsenal, and it began with the concept of how I might get one man out.

“The sinker, the two-seam runner, that we had been in a position to create with our analytics group and the teaching workers, is likely one of the first transitions I needed to make on the large league degree to get guys out constantly. It actually is… I imply, the toughest factor to cope with as a hitter is velocity. That’s why there may be such a premium on it at this degree. It provides you the least quantity of response time. Hitting is all about timing, and the least quantity of response time is the one hardest variable to cope with. It’s no secret as to why should you throw an 84-mph slider and a 90-mph slider with the very same motion profile, they usually’re situated the identical, the 90-mph slider will produce the higher outcomes. Identical with a fastball. For those who throw a 92-mph four-seamer with good carry, and a 98-mph four-seamer with good carry, the 98 goes to supply higher outcomes than the 92. For those who shorten response time, you have got a greater likelihood of getting an out.

“That’s why throwing three fastball variations is so efficient. They’re all comparatively the identical velocity-wise, however they’re transferring in numerous instructions. One other factor it has finished for me is give me the liberty to… say, if on a sure day I’m not staying via my four-seam properly, [and] the carry is down. I nonetheless have these different two choices that I can lean on. Or, on a day that my cutter command is unhealthy, I’ve two different choices in the identical velo vary with two completely different motion profiles. In actual time, the hitter has simply milliseconds to decipher which motion profile he’s getting, with all of them coming in at about the identical velocity. Having all three provides you that benefit.”