Sunday Notes: Tarik Skubal Sees a Trend in Multiple-Fastball Repertoires

What has Tarik Skubal been thinking about lately? The obvious answer is where he will be playing once the trade deadline passes, but that wasn’t how I posed the question to him a few weeks ago. What I was interested in were his thoughts on pitching as a whole.

“The evolution of the fastball,” replied Skubal, whom the Detroit Tigers dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers late last night for a package of prospects. “What is a fastball and how guys pitch. In today’s game, more than ever, guys have two versions of the fastball. Maybe three. The cutter is still a fastball in my eyes, so cut-fastball, sinker, four-seamer. Lance Lynn was the guy who did it when I was first in the big leagues. He threw three fastballs. Now you see Cam Schlittler doing it, others guys doing it. The development of fastball offerings: just how much different it is now versus, say, 10 years ago? That’s something I would be interested to see.”

I dug up that info — more specifically, my colleague Jon Becker unearthed it for me — and we’ll get to that in a moment. First let’s hear more of what the always-insightful southpaw had to say.

“I think you almost have to have two different fastballs now, just to give them different looks,” Skubal told me. “Hitters are so good at covering one fastball, and if you give them two, that’s tough on them. I feel like that transition — multiple fastballs — is happening a lot right now.”

Skubal, whose arsenal is sans a cutter but includes an elite changeup, has thrown his four-seamer at a 36.5% clip this season, and his sinker at a 19.8% clip. The lesser used of his two fastballs isn’t great in a vacuum, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t an important weapon in his arsenal.

“My sinker isn’t analytically a beautiful pitch, but it’s just different enough from my four-seamer that it helps both of them,”the erstwhile Tiger explained. “And it also helps my changeup. My sinker and changeup look the same out of my hand. They have the same spin, but one is 98 [mph] and the other one is 89 with much more depth. Everyone wants to chase metrics and have 18 inches of vert on their four-seamer, but guys who have 12 inches have enough if it differs enough from their sinker. Again, that’s something we’re seeing more in today’s game, and a year or two from now two, fastballs maybe won’t be enough. I think more guys will have three. It will be interested to see how the numbers go on that.”

There isn’t an infallible crystal ball to predict the future, but we do know the past. Here are numbers from both this year and a decade prior, the parameters being 5% usage for the least used of a pitcher’s fastballs, and a qualified starter’s innings load.

2016: 355 pitchers threw both a sinker and a four-seam.
2026: 421 pitchers are throwing both a sinker and a four-seam.

2016: 73 pitchers threw all of a sinker, a four-seam, and a cutter.
2026: 170 pitchers are throwing all of a sinker, a four-seam, and a cutter.

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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS

Jeff Bagwell went 1 for 5 against Larry Andersen.

Danny Cater went 6 for 18 against Sparky Lyle.

Leon Durham went 7 for 17 against Bruce Sutter.

Lou Brock went 10 for 21 against Ernie Broglio.

Frank Robinson went 15 for 55 against Milt Pappas.

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Will Middlebrooks was the most recent subject of my Challenging Career Quiz series, that piece having run on Thursday. Left on the cutting-room floor from my conversation with the infielder-turned-broadcast-analyst were his memories of taking a legend deep.

“This is my Jeopardy question,” said Middlebrooks, who played for the Boston Red Sox from 2012-2014 and is now in the team’s radio booth. “Not many people are going to know who hit the last home run against Mariano Rivera, and the answer is me. This was in September 2013. I had a good series [8-for-17]. On Thursday, I took Iván Nova deep into the second deck at Yankee Stadium. On Friday, I took Andy Pettitte deep. I didn’t homer Saturday, but I did have a couple of hits. Then, on Sunday, I hit a home run off of Mariano to tie the game in the ninth inning. We ended up losing.

“When I came in after the game there was a 42 jersey hanging in my locker,” Middlebrooks continued. “I thought the veterans were messing with me, but Mariano had actually sent it over. There was a letter that said ‘I hope you always remember this home run; I always will,’ signed, #42, Mariano Rivera. I have the jersey saved in my house, along with a Derek Jeter jersey in the same shadowbox. I don’t want to have more than one Yankees box, because I feel that my house would spontaneously combust into flames if I had more than that. But I do have those two legends, who transcend the greatest rivalry in sports.”

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A quiz:

A reigning batting champion was once traded for a reigning home run champion, just days before the start of the season. Who were the players, and which teams consummated the deal?

The answer can be found below.

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NEWS NOTES

SABR announced that next year’s national convention — the 55th annual — will be held in Birmingham, Alabama from August 4-8. Further information will be released in early 2027.

Bob DiBiasio and Jim Folk were honored as co-winners of the 2026 SABR Roland Hemond Award, which recognizes a baseball executive(s) who has demonstrated a lifetime commitment to professional baseball scouts and scouting, and player development history. Both honorees are longtime members of the Cleveland Guardians organization. The release can be found here.

Ossie Blanco, a first baseman who played in 34 games for the Chicago White Sox in 1970, and in 18 games for the Cleveland Indians in 1974, died on July 23 at age 80. The Caracas, Venezuela native notched 20 hits — all of them singles — in 102 MLB at-bats.

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The answer to the quiz is Harvey Kuenn being dealt by the Detroit Tigers to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for Rocky Colavito on April 17, 1960. Kuenn won the AL batting title in 1959 with a .353 average, while Colavito clubbed an AL-Best 42 home runs the same year.

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Sandy Alomar Jr. played with Albert Belle from 1992-1996, a five-year span in which the latter averaged 123 RBIs annually. The now-Guardians coach shared an interesting anecdote about his former teammate at the just-completed SABR convention, which was held in downtown Cleveland. According to Alomar, the difference between Belle and Juan Soto is that Belle would swing out of the zone to get an RBI, while Soto would take the pitch to draw a walk. The famously-tempestuous slugger’s reasoning?

“Albert would always say that [in any given plate appearance], your batting average can go up or down,” recalled Alomar. “But your RBI total can only go up.”

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Mike Hargrove, who managed Cleveland from 1991-1999, also shared an Albert Belle memory, this one of a different ilk. Early in the moody outfielder’s career — he was known as Joey Belle at the time — he cost the team a run by making a lazy, poorly-executed play. Given Belle’s unpredictability and periodic anger issues, that was problematic for a young manager.

“He didn’t care or hustle,” Hargrove told the 500-plus conference attendees who were on hand. “I looked [at the team] and everybody had murder in their eyes. I did too. I didn’t say anything, but I got him in my office after the game. At the old ballpark, the clubhouse was real small… and even if someone burped in the [manager’s] office you could tell what color it was with the door closed. Jeff Newman was my third-base coach, and Jeff is a big man. I said, ‘I’m going to get Albert in the office and I’m going to leave the door unlocked. Stand right by the door, because I’m going to say things to Albert… so if you hear anything, get your ass in there.

“I called [Belle] every name I could thing of,” continued Hargrove. “I was screaming and hollering… Albert sat there and took it all in. It was just sort of ‘yes sir, no sir.’… From that point on, Albert and I had a pretty good relationship. I don’t know why.”

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Wes Benjamin has tossed 90-and-two-thirds innings and leads KBO pitchers in both ERA (2.48) and FIP (2.78). The 33-year-old Doosan Bears right-hander appeared in 21 games for the Texas Rangers across the 2020-2021 seasons.

Jeong Bin Moon is slashing .317/.404/.659 with 10 home runs and a 174 wRC+ in 146 plate appearances for the LG Twins. Earlier this season, the right-handed-hitting 22-year-old corner infielder launched a 485-foot round-tripper that was reportedly the longest in the KBO in nearly 10 years.

Haruto Takahashi has a record of 11-1 to go with a 1.78 ERA and a 1.81 FIP over 111-and-a-third innings for NPB’s Hanshin Tigers. The 30-year-old southpaw has fanned 107 batters while surrendering just 11 walks and 79 hits.

Robinson Canó has 15 home runs to go with a .298/.351/494 slash line in 376 plate appearances for the Mexican League’s Diablos Rojos del Mexico. The 43-year-old erstwhile MLB All-Star now has 3,773 professional hits, including 800 doubles and 431 homers.

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Blake Butera addressed the forthcoming trade deadline when he met with a small group of reporters, including yours truly, a handful of weeks ago. Despite this being his first year at the helm of a big-league club, the Washington Nationals manager has experience with the anxiety-inducing situation.

“I’ve been involved in it on the minor league side,” said Butera, who managed down on the farm and also served as a director of player development. “I’ve had to tell a lot of people they were being traded, or call players we had just acquired. I’m very familiar with the emotions and the feelings that go around with this.”

How he is handling the uncertainty that exists in various corners of the clubhouse?

“I’m not aware of everything that is on social media to the extent they are,” Butera said. “I’m sure if their name pops up somewhere, they’ll probably see it — and maybe I won’t. So, it’s more just going around and making sure that everyone is in a good spot mentally [and] talking through those things as we get closer to the deadline. There are always rumors, and names, going around.

“At the end of the day, it’s never easy getting traded,” Butera went on to say. “It’s really hard to go play this game, and it’s even harder when you’re worried about playing this game and not knowing where you’re going to be tomorrow or the next day.”

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Torey Lovullo changed teams multiple times in a playing career that spanned parts of eight MLB seasons. The first of those moves came in March 1991 when the now Arizona Diamondbacks manager was dealt from the Detroit Tigers to the New York Yankees in exchange for Mark Leiter. I asked him about the experience prior to yesterday’s D-Backs game in Cleveland.

“Getting traded is a very difficult thing,” Lovullo told me. “It kind of rattles your world. When it actually happens, you’re like, ‘Well, I’m out of this clubhouse and in another one.’ Your first team is always the most special. I got drafted by the Tigers, so I feel very connected to the Detroit Tigers, and grateful for them. My time with Sparky Anderson was unforgettable. But that first trade, it kind of rocks your world a little bit. It’s a real emotional swing. It’s not as simple and easy as people might think.”

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FARM NOTES

Eliazar Dishmey is 5-2 with a 2.87 ERA, a 3.62 FIP, and a 32.9% strikeout rate over 78-and-a-third innings between High-A Beloit and Double-A Pensacola. The 21-year-old right-hander is currently ranked 45th in the Miami Marlins system with a 35+ FV.

Caden Hunter is 4-1 with a 1.32 ERA, a 2.56 FIP, and 38.4% strikeout rate over 75 innings across three levels, his latest stop being Double-A Chesapeake. A sixth-round pick in last year’s draft out of the University of Southern California, the 22-year-old left-hander is currently unranked in the Baltimore Orioles system.

Austin Overn has 46 stolen bases in 50 attempts to go with a .303/.385/.526 slash line, 12 home runs, and a 140 wRC+ in 266 plate appearances for Double-A Montgomery. Acquired by the Rays from the Orioles in this past offseason’s Shane Baz trade, the 23-year-old outfielder is currently ranked 47th in Tampa Bay’s system with a 40 FV.

Braylon Payne is slashing .295/.390/.587 with 20 home runs and a 141 wRC+ in 307 plate appearances for High-A Wisconsin. Drafted 17th overall in 2024 out of a Missouri City, Texas high school. the 19-year-old outfielder is currently ranked 15th in the Milwaukee Brewers system with a 45 FV.

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A random obscure former player snapshot:

Hal Breeden has the distinction of having been dealt for 48-year-old Hoyt Wilhelm, a deal that made the latter the oldest player ever to change teams via trade. The November 1970 transaction sent the Hall of Fame knuckleballer to the Atlanta Braves, while the yet-to-play-in-the-majors first baseman moved over to the Chicago Cubs. That wasn’t the only noteworthy event in Breeden’s relatively unaccomplished MLB career. The brother of fellow-big-leaguer Danny Breeden went on to become one of just two players — Joe Cronin is the other — to crush pinch-hit home runs in both ends of a double-header, and he was also the last to hit a fly ball caught by Willie Mays.

All told, Breeden recorded 148 MLB hits, including 21 home runs, while playing for the Cubs in 1970, and for the Montreal Expos from 1972-1975. A move to Japan yielded far better numbers. Breeden launched 40 home runs for the Hanshin Tigers in 1976, and he followed that up with 37 in 1977.

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

Howard Bryant isn’t a fan of Dave Roberts’s decision to visit the White House. He explained why on his Substack.

Harrison Bader was injured in a scooter collision in the predawn hours in San Francisco’s Cow Hollow neighborhood. Andrew Baggerly delved into the debacle for The Athletic.

MLB.com’s Matt Monagan wrote about the time a player was traded for 60 cases of beer, then quit.

Should the Seattle Mariners replace manager Dan Wilson? Ryan Blake addressed that question at Lookout Landing.

City of Palms Park, the Fort Myers, Florida facility where the Boston Red Sox played spring training games from 1993-2011, is in the process of being torn down. Mike Walcher has the story at WGCU News.

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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

When Elly De La Cruz swiped his 20th base of the season on Thursday he became the first player in Cincinnati Reds franchise history to steal 20 or more in each of his first four MLB seasons. The toolsy shortstop has 159 career thefts.

The Baltimore Orioles have drawn at least one walk in each of their past 102 games. It is the third-longest single-season streak in Orioles history (since 1954), topped only by 112 games in 199, and 104 games in 1975.

Recently DFA’d Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers (now with Baltimore) has made three pitching appearances this season, allowing three hits and no runs, with three strikeouts, over two-and-a-third frames. For his career, Rogers has taken the mound eight times to the tune of three runs over seven innings.

Per a SABR conference poster presentation by Chicago-based historian Chuck Hildebrandt, MLB history includes 295 players whose fathers also played in the majors. The number of fathers contributing to that total is 278.

Willie McCovey hit the first of his 521 career home runs on today’s date in 1959. The Hall of Famer’s blast helped lift the San Francisco Giants to a 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Seals Stadium.

Frank Tanana recorded his only career save on today’s date in 1990. A southpaw who made 616 starts and threw nearly 4,200 innings while pitching for six teams from 1973-1993, Tanana retired the only batter he faced in a 14-inning, 6-5 Detroit Tigers win over the New York Yankees.

Players born on today’s date include Bombo Rivera, an outfielder from Ponce, Puerto Rico who played for the Montreal Expos in 1975 and 1976, the Minnesota Twins from 1978-1980, and briefly for the Kansas City Royals in 1982. The first of his 10 big-league home runs was noteworthy. On June 26, 1976, Rivera hit an inside-the-park grand slam off of Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Jerry Reuss.

Also born on today’s date was Roger LaFrancois, who holds the distinction of being the last position player to bat .400 while spending the entire season in the big leagues. Serving as the third-string catcher for the Boston Red Sox in 1982, LaFrancois went 4-for-10 while appearing in eight games. It was the Norwich, Connecticut’s only MLB campaign.