Fansided

MLB awards watch: AL Cy Young race

By William Schneiderhan

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - APRIL 10: Starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow #20 of the Tampa Bay Rays delivers the ball against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on April 10, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - APRIL 10: Starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow #20 of the Tampa Bay Rays delivers the ball against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on April 10, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
TORONTO, ON – APRIL 14: Marcus Stroman #6 of the Toronto Blue Jays delivers a pitch in the first inning during MLB game action against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre on April 14, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – APRIL 14: Marcus Stroman #6 of the Toronto Blue Jays delivers a pitch in the first inning during MLB game action against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre on April 14, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

4. Marcus Stroman, RHP Toronto Blue Jays

1-3, 29 strikeouts (T-11th), 1.24 WHIP (T-24th), 0.9 WAR (10th) and 1.76 ERA (4th).

Yes, Marcus Stroman has some weird numbers when you take a quick look at them. He has allowed a lot of traffic on the base paths, which can be directly linked to his 12 walks allowed and 26 hits in 30.2 innings pitched.

But at the same time, Stroman is stranding those base runners and getting out of jams. So, what has he done differently this season?

Stroman has been getting more outs in the air, but that hasn’t hurt him yet as he hasn’t allowed a home run over his first five starts. Also — and this is where there is a massive difference — his pitch usage has changed drastically.

Stroman’s fastball usage has dropped over 10 percent from 49.2 last year to 38.5 this season. He has essentially canned his slider, as he has only thrown it 3.4 percent of the time. So, what is he throwing instead? His curveball, which has jumped in usage from 13.7 percent to 34.2 percent.

The sudden change in pitch usage seems to be the reason Stroman has found more success to begin this season. Also, it could explain why he is often working with base runners as he attempts to get a feel for his reinvented style.

Home/MLB