A quick look at Vazquez's pitch selection

Yesterday, Javier Vazquez, tonight’s starter, noted that he has “learned how to pitch a little bit more” since his last go-round in New York. What does this mean, exactly? Perhaps we can gain insights by looking at what Vazquez has thrown over the years. The following is a detailed chart of his pitch selection since 2002, courtesy of FanGraphs.

There are a few patterns of note here. Over the years, the slider has certainly increased in its usage while the curveball and the changeup have been used less (for the most part). Interestingly though, last season, Vazquez’s curveball usage experienced an uptick rather than a downturn (or a plateau in use), while he used his fastball a little less than in previous years. It will be interesting to see how Vazquez pitches this season, as it is difficult to peg what he will do, exactly. If I had to guess, I think we could see Vazquez’s fastball percentage drop further this year – two percentage points or so – with his curveball and changeup percentages going up a bit as his slider use plateaus.

Photo by the AP