Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: Pitching Concerns (Minor/Wood)?
Alex Wood (40) pitches during the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Alex Wood Concerns?
JOHN HARMON / ATLANTA BULLPEN.COM
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Braves starter Alex Wood hasn’t been sharp so far this season, walking 6 batters in 11 innings, while registering a 3.86 ERA. He struggled Sunday against the Mets, giving up 8 hits and 3 walks in 6.2 innings.
Wood was able to limit the Mets to 3 runs, he hasn’t lost his ability to battle when in trouble. If he keeps struggling to throw strikes, though, he’s going to be battling a lot this season.
But what really concerns about Wood is his drop in velocity. According to FanGraphs.com, when he came up to the Braves in 2013, Wood’s velocity with his 4-seam fastball was 91.7 mph. Last season he threw the same pitch at 89.8 and this season he is down to 89.4. I watched the radar gun closely at yesterday’s game, he only touched 90 once. Although admittedly I did get distracted and missed some pitches.
When Wood came up to the Braves in ’13, he was throwing his 2-seam fastball at 93.8, he hasn’t used his 2-seamer since according to FanGraphs, so we can’t compare that velocity to now. But why isn’t Wood using the 2-seamer, if for no other reason to use it as a waste pitch and keep batters off the plate?
[ Ed. note: this is the only reference I’ve found making this point, but it’s also a fair one. I have seen sudden increases in velocity be pre-cursors to a UCL injury, but velocity drops can be indicative of a myriad of other concerns as well… and many have been pointing to Wood’s unorthodox style as an injury just waiting to happen anyway. Will have to keep an eye on this going forward. ]