When Braves fans saw the announcement about the team signing Reynaldo Lopez to a three-year deal last winter they immediately thought the flamethrowing righty would be attacking hitters as a high-leverage reliever. Instead, Atlanta shocked us all by converting Lopez back to a starter and letting him hit the 25 games started mark for the first time since 2019.
However, that bullpen attack mode mentality never left Lopez and it was a key reason why he enjoyed an All-Star season in his first year with Atlanta. The key to that...his big time fastball.
Reynaldo Lopez established his fastball with a ton of success last season
Most pitchers will tell you working ahead in the count is the best formula for success at the big league level. Doing so often means having command and trust in your fastball. And Reynaldo Lopez may have had more trust in his fastball than anyone else in baseball last season.
Recently, an insane stat from the folks at Codify Baseball showcased just how much Lopez was on attack mode last season. According to them, Lopez threw 125 fastballs that qualified as middle-middle last season and miraculously none of them were hit for extra bases.
Reynaldo López threw 125 middle-middle fourseamers this season and none of them were hit for extra bases. pic.twitter.com/D3WwkqoZ6M
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) November 5, 2024
Yes, the "most hittable pitch in baseball" was thrown in the heart of the plate over 100 times by Lopez, and not a single one turned into an extra-base hit.
Lopez threw his four-seam fastball 55.2% of the time last year, and averaged 95.5 mph with that pitch. Despite throwing that pitch so often, Lopez was able to limit opposing hitters to a .369 slugging percentage and allowed just two home runs against his four-seamer.
However, his heater didn't generate a ton of swing and miss. Last season Lopez's four-seamer produced just a 16.5 whiff rate. Incredibly, Lopez still ended the season with a +19 run value on his four-seamer via Baseball Savant. That mark tied soon to be AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal of the Tigers, and only trailed Hunter Green (+20 run value) and reliever Cade Smith (+28 run value) for baseball's highest run value on a four-seam fastball.
Simply put, Lopez establishing the fastball in the zone was a huge part of his success last season. The reason he "got away" with so many fastballs in the heart of the zone is because of how amazing he was with his secondary pitches last year.
Reynaldo López's 8th K pic.twitter.com/u37YlvOxO8
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 13, 2024
Lopez's run value on breaking balls ranked in the 99th percentile last season. Batters are suspect to get locked up by a 96 mph middle-middle fastball when they are thinking it's another devastating slider about to break off the plate for a ball.
His 2024 performance is exactly why the Braves have rewarded Lopez with a new contract to begin this offseason. Hopefully the injury stuff down the stretch subdues next season, and fans get a lot more Reynaldo Lopez starts to enjoy in 2025.