Ryu Hyun-jin, 36, of Toronto, has been successful in the majors despite not having the fastest velocity in the game because of his changeup, which is a “plus, plus” pitch.
He would jab his low-90s four-seam fastball toward the right-hander’s body to distract them, then throw a changeup that dropped outside to induce a lot of false swings and misses. The changeup, which he knew he couldn’t make contact with, was a top-of-the-line pitch in the majors for years.
But the changeup wasn’t the only pitch he had in his arsenal: his curveball. In fact, it wasn’t a pitch he threw much in the first place. In 2013, his first year in the majors, Ryu threw his curveball only 9.8% of the time. He threw it less often than his changeup (22.7%) and slider (13.9%). But he did a pretty good job of taking away timing.먹튀검증
That percentage of curveballs has steadily increased as they’ve moved beyond relief and into occasional deciding pitches. In 2014, it was 13.4%, in 2017, 15.7%, and in 2018, 18.2%. And last year, before his injury, it was 21%, the highest of his career.
Ryu’s curveball isn’t the fastball that some pitchers in the major leagues throw, which is more of a traditional curve around 70 mph. Instead, it has a large angle. Opposing hitters will inevitably focus on his fastball, changeup, or cutter. But when you have to throw a fastball or a deciding pitch, it’s hard to get a good look at a slow curveball.
That’s why curveball swing rates tend to be higher than changeups. In 2019, when Ryu had his breakout season, his curveball had a 40% swing rate. In 2020, it was 32.3%, and in 2021, it was 35%, which is higher than the changeup. Ryu is now confident in his curveball.
This was evident in his return to the major leagues after elbow surgery against the Baltimore Orioles on April 2. In the first inning of the game, Ryu was struggling with his fastball, and his changeup’s drop angle was flat. Recognizing this, Ryu and Danny Jansen began to utilize their curveball more in the second inning. The curve was working, and it was relatively new to Baltimore hitters.
Ryu’s curveball percentage on the day was 25 percent, but he was using it mostly for strikes and deciding pitches. In fact, it was more prominent than his changeup (27.5%). He went 2-for-7 with it, and his swinging strike rate reached 35.7%.
The curveball’s drop (70) was actually better than last year’s (68), and its revolutions per minute (2608) were also much higher than last year’s (2530). It was enough to give the impression that the curve was falling with power.
The Canadian Sportsnet crew, who were in charge of the game, also commented positively on Ryu’s curveball drop between innings. “Look at this breaking ball. The curveball dropped very well. He’s doing a good job against younger hitters with it,” and “He had a good curveball against Westberg earlier, and Urias had a big break on his curveball.”
Rob Friedman, who runs the pitching analysis site Pitching Ninja, also posted a video of Ryu’s curve on social media, saying, “Ryu’s 70 mph curve was nasty.”
Of course, his changeup wasn’t in great shape that day, so he put his curve to the forefront. But now, Ryu has become a more demanding pitcher, giving the impression that he can throw his curveball at any time, and throw it well. If he can get his fastball, cutter, and changeup back in shape, he’ll have a very potent repertoire.
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