Kyle Wright Builds On Adjustments For Big Developmental Step
At the risk of overkill when writing about Kyle Wright, I’m offering another observation post on his second outing since returning from the alternate site. I wasn’t planning on this Monday post focusing on Wright, but he stood out so much and looked so different against the Nationals on Sunday, he forced my hand.
As I wrote on Twitter after his start, this is the Wright whom I’ve projected for a couple years now. Will it continue past this start? I don’t know. He still has to prove he can repeat everything over the course of five-plus innings on a start-by-start basis, which is no small task. But Wright was different Sunday. He’s never looked this good or this close to complete on a major league mound.
For frame of reference, I outlined his adjustments and pitch usage changes after his first start since returning, while also offering a possible explanation for why his command leaves him after the second inning. It comes down this:
He’s moved to the extreme first base side of the rubber instead of his previous placement toward the middle. This creates angle for his two-seamer working inside on the hands of right-handed batters.
He’s noticeably working to establish his fastballs early and often. He threw his four- and two-seamer 63 percent of the time in his last start. He threw them 51 percent of the time in this start. These are clear increases for him. He’s not abandoning the pitch in tough spots, either.
In the past, he has lost his release point after the second inning as a result of failing to sync his body with his arm. It showed in the inning-by-inning release point map I provided in the post linked above. This is a possible explanation for why his command and control would leave him between the third and fifth innings.
Wright showed positive signs in his return start this past Tuesday, but he still fell out of sync and was gone after four innings. I wrote that the adjustments are fine, but at some point the guy has to prove he can repeat his motion. The start Sunday was important in that regard.
And prove he did. Despite an occasional hiccup, Wright had by far his best start mechanically on a major league mound. He stayed in sync for the most part over six innings, beared down in big spots, bounced back from adversity, and overall had his first real complete start.
As I said, Wright combined for 51 percent fastballs. He established them early and continued to show excellent bite on the two-seamer’s sink. The four-seamer was again an occasional trouble spot when he couldn’t get it above the barrel or on the corner, but it was overall more effective than last outing. The two-seamer was a plus pitch when located arm side on the hands of right-handed batters, which he did very well, and he spotted several on the knees for weak ground balls in big spots. His location of the two-seamer was the best I’ve seen from him.
While the two-seamer was necessary and very effective, the slider was the difference-maker. He threw it 22 percent of the time and did an exceptional job of locating it down and glove side. The zone map shows the cluster of sliders spotted in that down and away quadrant. The pitch had strong downward tilt and tight, two-plane break, consistently living above average to plus. His combined called strikes and whiffs totaled 24 percent of sliders thrown, and he averaged a 75 mph exit velocity on the pitch.
I wrote the other day that the move to the first base side of the rubber could have been a reason for the lack of feel for the slider in that Tuesday start. He was getting on the side of it, and it was coming out horizontal with little bite. Wright made a great adjustment to gain feel for the pitch in his second outing, and it proved to be a weapon. This is a great sign.
A promising development last time out was increased usage and effectiveness of the changeup. That continued in this outing as he threw 13 changeups and maintained weak contact on it by keeping it down and playing it off the two-seamer well. The pitch is quickly becoming a solid third option behind the fastballs and slider, and I think much of this is because of the increased angle from the foot placement on the rubber and increased two-seam effectiveness. He also dropped in several solid curveballs for strikes as a change-of-pace pitch to round out his deep arsenal.
He started strong, as he almost always does, but the question was whether he would maintain his delivery as the start progressed. Instead of completely losing his release because of opening up early or rushing his arm and failing to regain it, there were only flashes of inconsistency in his motion. He held up his arm path and release point at a rate I haven’t seen from him in the majors.
This was especially noticeable in tight situations and in his responses.
In the fourth, he overthrew and lost his release against Juan Soto, resulting in a 3-0 double. The next batter, Asdrubal Cabrera, had ambushed a four-seamer on the plate in their first matchup. Wright located a curve and change away and Cabrera could only fly out. Kurt Suzuki could only beat a fastball on the knees into the ground for a groundout. After losing Eric Thames on a walk, Wright bounced back again by sawing off Carter Kieboom on a two-seamer inside for a weak popup.
The Nationals scored two in the fifth, but Wright made literally one bad pitch, a hittable fastball to Luis Garcia to start the frame. He destroyed Victor Robles’s bat on a slider down and away, he located a solid changeup to Adam Eaton that he bunted for a hit, he got Trea Turner to beat a sinker into the ground, and he got Cabrera to roll over a good curveball for a double play. He made several very good pitches in tough spots in that inning and kept his composure throughout.
Just as important, Wright came back out for the sixth, continued to look in control, and pitched around a couple two-out singles for a solid inning. That is what a complete performance looks like.
Wright made big strides as a major league starter in this outing. He applied his adjustments and was able to utilize them throughout because of a more consistent motion. The question now is whether he can show up in five days and build on it. That’s the difference between this being another flash of promise or a huge moment in his development as a starting pitcher.