Griffin Canning Pitch Repertoire

[rafibomb]

Griffin Canning's arsenal has always intrigued me. What I noticed this year is that all of his pitches don't have much separation in terms of velocity. I was curious if his pitches were similar to his rookie year so I went to baseball savant to check for myself. It seems like the separation from his fastest average pitch and his lowest have narrowed from year one to year two.

Fastball Avg Velo/Spin-rate

2019: 93.9 mph/2,335

2020: 92.5 mph/2,337

Slider Avg Velo

2019: 88.9 mph/2,506

2020: 88.6 mph/2,371

Curveball Avg Velo

2019: 82.0 mph/2,425

2020: 86.0 mph/2,581

Changeup Avg Velo

2019: 89.1 mph/1,671

2020: 87.5 mph/1,806

There's a lot of interesting things going on in my opinion. For starters his average fastball velocity is down this year from 93.9 to 92.5 this season. Secondly, his velocity from his fastball is not much of a difference from his changeup at only about 5 mph in both 2019 and 2020. Lastly, he is throwing his curveball at a considerably faster velocity this year than last, from 82.0 mph last season to 86.0 mph this season. On the other hand his spinrate on his curveball has increased from 2,425 to 2,581. It also appears that his slider has lost considerable spin from year 1 to 2. All in all his separation from his average fastest pitch (92.5 mph) to his slowest (86.0) is only around 6 mph. Would he be more successful if his pitches were at a bigger velocity separation similar to last season? The closest comp I have found is Felix Hernandez in terms of his fastball and changeup velocity. Felix's average difference from his fastball to his changeup is generally around 4 mph. However, his curveball clocked in at around 80 mph. Would it not be easier for hitters to time his pitches when all of them are bunched around the same velocity?

Here are a couple of videos comparing his curveball from 2019 to 2020

 

 

Edited September 23, 2020 by rafibomb

[Vlad27Trout27]

I remember hearing that he made a few changes. Some have said that he dropped his slider for a cutter, which sounds about right. He also throwing a more tighter Knuckle Curve.

That decline in his Velocity is still concern, almost a 2 mph drop. It also may imply that he not fully 100% which can also explain the reason why he dropped his slider 

[Docwaukee]

the velo drop is a lot closer to 1mph than 2.  Remember, he hadn't been pitching in real games for almost a year.  

release point is more important than velo separation.  Someone could have a huge separation yet if the hitter can identify it more easily as it comes out of the pitchers hand then it doesn't matter.  It's the difference between Mike Morin and Trevor Hoffman.  Would Canning potentially be more effective with more separation?  Maybe, as long as that greater separation didn't tip off the hitter as to what's coming.  

Plus, there is also a difference if you have 4 pitches vs. 2 that you use regularly.  

[eligrba]

Location makes a difference., also. When Canning misses, as with most of the other Angel pitchers, it is usually either in the middle of the plate or way off of the plate.
 

Way back in the day, I had a coach try and teach how to have separation with the same pitch as well as with other pitches. I sucked at both....then my arm fell off.

 

[rafibomb]

I found this pretty in depth scouting report on Griffin Canning that's a pretty good read

https://churchbaseball.com/articles/f/922-scouting-report---griffin-canning

Quote

If Canning can figure out how to mix his 2019 slider with his 2020 curve, he has the potential to make the leap into the upper echelon of starting pitchers. Thrown alongside a four seam fastball with impressive rise and a firm change with armside fade, Canning could legitimately be a superstar if he were able to put it all together. 

 

[rafibomb]

 

 

 

 

Edited September 23, 2020 by rafibomb

[Warfarin]

7 hours ago, rafibomb said:

 

 

 

 

Only one start, but certainly a promising development.  I'll take any signs of progression.

It takes time for coaches to make an impact with players, and I think what we have been seeing the last month with Walsh, Ward, Canning, etc .. is the impact of these players working with their new coaches and adjusting.  Hopefully, they can work with Ohtani (and Adell) and help them both show signs of improvement next year.  

[DCAngelsFan]

1 hour ago, Warfarin said:

Only one start, but certainly a promising development.  I'll take any signs of progression.

It takes time for coaches to make an impact with players, and I think what we have been seeing the last month with Walsh, Ward, Canning, etc .. is the impact of these players working with their new coaches and adjusting.  Hopefully, they can work with Ohtani (and Adell) and help them both show signs of improvement next year.  

I think "health" probably plays a big part in him - not to be pedantic, but the effect of his injuries are probably as much mental as physical.

He velocity makes me feel optimistic for him improving his consistency next year - this short season might've been just what he needed.  

[Jay]

Nice outing for Canning. Looking forward to seeing more.