What makes Small so deceptive?
- Thread starter Shamoan
- Start date
I think he just pitches all over the place that he gets guys set up because they don’t know if it is up, down, in, out, strike, ball. Course that I why his pitch count gets so high too.
He works both the bottom and the top of the zone with equal effectiveness. Lots of movement on his fastball with all the spin he generates, and the oddly timed delivery just makes batters really uncomfortable.
Thinking about it more, it reminds me of a pitching machine we used to use. On most of them, either you could see the ball drop into the slot, or a coach would hold the ball up in the air so you could get your timing down before swinging.
However, we had this one setup that was designed so you couldn’t see the ball at all before it came firing out of the chute. We could set it to 90+ MPH, but even at 80/85 MPH it was damn near impossible to get any timing down. You’d still be getting set and all of a sudden the ball came out and often with this weird spin. It was brutal but it made you learn to see the ball better.
I’d imagine that what it’s like trying to hit Small with that always-changing timing in his delivery. Batters just look so uncomfortable against him and their timing gets so thrown off that they just look lost.
However, we had this one setup that was designed so you couldn’t see the ball at all before it came firing out of the chute. We could set it to 90+ MPH, but even at 80/85 MPH it was damn near impossible to get any timing down. You’d still be getting set and all of a sudden the ball came out and often with this weird spin. It was brutal but it made you learn to see the ball better.
I’d imagine that what it’s like trying to hit Small with that always-changing timing in his delivery. Batters just look so uncomfortable against him and their timing gets so thrown off that they just look lost.
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Boomer White from A&M talked about how his high spin rate on the fastball makes it difficult to hit. He said they called it an invisiball because where you swung ended up being below the ball.
As others have mentioned, his spin rate plays a part in keeping the ball up longer than an average fastball. He also throws almost straight over the top, so one would think he imparts damn near 100% backspin on the ball, again helping it resist the force of gravity longer than average fastballs. Lastly, he gets down the mound well and with his long arms, he’s releasing the ball closer to home plate, reducing the hitter’s reaction time. All of that combined with his ability to place the fastball where he wants make his 90 mph fastball look like 95.
Since he can dominate with a fastball 80% of the time, hitters get geared up for it and that allows him to mix in a decent curveball and a plus changeup.
Since he can dominate with a fastball 80% of the time, hitters get geared up for it and that allows him to mix in a decent curveball and a plus changeup.