Bud Black on how Bryan Shaw can rediscover his trademark pitch

DENVER – Colorado Rockies reliever Bryan Shaw keeps a football in his locker, saying he feels at times like throwing it around can help him find the feel for his trademark cutter.

Unfortunately for Shaw so far in 2018, his go-to pitch—as pointed out by Manny Randhawa on a recent BSN Rockies Podcast—is being hit hard (95 mph or greater exit velocity) 44 percent of the time, up dramatically from the 29 percent rate it saw a year ago.

This has naturally led to a huge increase in ERA, posting a 5.92 so far this season. He is a career 3.27 ERA pitcher in his time with Cleveland and Arizona.

This manifested most recently on a nine-game road trip in which he played a part in swinging two games from the win column to the loss column.

I asked Bud Black if he has been able to pinpoint any major differences between the resume they acquired and the player they’ve had so far.

“It seems to me that his tempo is a little quicker through his motion,” he replied. “We’re still getting to know Bryan a little bit, but I think if you look at his pitching from Cleveland to here, it’s probably just about location more than anything. I think in certain counts there could be a little more focus on where he wants the pitch to end up.”

A renewed focus on command should go hand-in-hand with the adjustment to slow down the delivery.

“The stuff is exactly the same as far velocity readout, as far as the breaking ball. Coming out of the hand, the stuff is exactly the same,”Black continued. This can be verified with publicly available information. In fact, his average fastball velocity of 95 mph is up a slight tick over the 94.5 it sat at over the last two years.

But Black says they are on the case.

“We’ve identified a couple things in his delivery that have been a little quick like I mentioned, that I see is a little bit different,” he said. “So we maybe just have to get back to that point where it’s maybe not as rushed. It looks a little rushed to me.”

When given any opportunity to point to the natural course of ups and downs seen in this game, Black will not hesitate to respond with one of his trademarks: “That’s baseball.” The Rockies manager didn’t do that in this case, pointing to something specific that his years of experience on the mound and on the bench suggest Shaw would be wise to take to heart.

It isn’t the stuff. It’s the spots. And slowing down enough to hit those spots could put Shaw back into his usual role as one of the more reliable relievers in baseball and the Colorado Rockies can get back to boasting one of the most fearsome bullpens in the National League.