No fastball but 97-99mph velocity

[gadorg]

I have a pitcher with two pitches (sinker/curve), his velocity is 97-99mph. Is it safe to assume his sinker is the pitch that goes 97-99mph? Not sure if I've ever seen a pitcher throw a 97mph sinker : )

[GlennCraven]

I've wondered this, too. I could see a guy with 84-86 velocity practically never throwing a straight fastball, though I'd have thought the get-me-over fastball would be part of every pitcher's repertoire.

But how does a guy who can hump it up there 97 have no fastball in his repertoire?

[s0ni42]

Johnny Venters for the Braves is a lefty who throws a 97-99 MPH Sinker. He was just pitching on ESPN, but has stunk due to bad control this year. Last year he was unhittable.

[uabfan]

Originally Posted by s0ni42

Johnny Venters for the Braves is a lefty who throws a 97-99 MPH Sinker. He was just pitching on ESPN, but has stunk due to bad control this year. Last year he was unhittable.

This. It's not common, but there are plenty of pitchers who have the mechanics to reach the upper 90s but cannot throw a fastball period (usually due to grip). As long as the player masters what he can throw and no one tells him he MUST throw a fastball, he can be pretty dominant. This is off the top of my head, but doesn't Mariano Rivera throw just a cutter and a sinker with both in the mid-90s?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[cblacker]

Think of a "Sinker" as a two-seam fastball.

[GlennCraven]

Originally Posted by uabfan

This. It's not common, but there are plenty of pitchers who have the mechanics to reach the upper 90s but cannot throw a fastball period (usually due to grip). As long as the player masters what he can throw and no one tells him he MUST throw a fastball, he can be pretty dominant. This is off the top of my head, but doesn't Mariano Rivera throw just a cutter and a sinker with both in the mid-90s?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Fastball and cutter to my knowledge. But by far more cutters than anything.

[Cryomaniac]

IIRC in OOTP the velocity is what he would throw if he threw a 4 seam fastball.

[GCCWolverine]

What Cryo said - the velocity is what it would be if he threw a four-seam fastball. Everything else is related to that. So someone who could only throw 90-92 with a sinker would throw it 85-87, and someone who throws 97-99 would get into the 92-94 range with it.

[henry296]

What does it mean if a pitcher can throw a 4 seam fastball 97-99 MPH but has no fast ball rating? Does it mean they won't throw or if they throw it they have no idea where it is going a la Charlie Sheen in Major League.

[kingcharlesxii]

It basically means the fastball isn't a quality pitch and would rate a 0. Think straight as a string and very hittable. That's why it isn't listed in the pitcher's arsenal - it's so bad that he should never throw it.

[BIG17EASY]

Originally Posted by cblacker

Think of a "Sinker" as a two-seam fastball.

Exactly. A sinker is basically a two-seem fastball that has some sink. It's mostly natural movement based on arm angle, but there are ways to manipulate a two-seam grip to get the ball to sink some.

It would be interesting to take one of the pitchers with no fastball rating but a high velocity and play out a game with that pitcher and see what velocity the sinker is coming in at. You can see that in the game screen or BBN broadcast screen.