SHIFT: Slade Cecconi’s NEW Pitch Mix Intrigues in Cleveland Guardians Rotation | Prospects 30-21

Spring training sparks intriguing change for the Cleveland Guardians: Slade Cecconi looks to have a revamped pitch mix, emphasizing a sharp cutter and sweeper to overcome last season’s fastball woes. Could this be the key to sustainable success on the mound? Hosts Justin Lada and Jeff Ellis discuss Cecconi’s new approach while focusing on the importance of adaptation for pitchers in today’s game. Angel Martinez crushes his hardest-hit ball to date, fueling debate about his fit with Chase DeLauter and Steven Kwan. We start with our prospect rankings 31–21. We go through names like Kahlil Watson, Dean Curley, and Will Hynes. Plus we go over the impact of Austin Peterson’s injury and Peyton Pallete’s debut.

00:00 Slade Cecconi New Cutter & Mix
04:39 “Slade Cecconi’s Underlying Metric Warnings
07:24 Pitcher Evolves with New Strategy
12:19 Angel Martinez’s Spring Surge
13:05 Platoon Strategy for Chase DeLauter
26:41 Cautious Reliever Rankings
29:31 Statline Scouting and Adjustments
32:54 Ranking Debate and Misses

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16 comments

  4. I really appreciate the breakdowns of pitching that you guys do on your podcast.
    With Flukey's injury, he is a perfect slide down draft candidate for the Guardians.

  7. I love Slade. He is a competitor. Really smart player. His FB shape isn’t great, but he can adapt and make it serviceable to his off-speed pitches. His spin rates are up from last year, his tunneling appears more effective. I think people are sleeping on him

  8. We simply have no right handed hitters but we shouldn't allow another lh at bat from Angel and frankly I would tell him so. Certainly not the crazy amount he got last year just as we watched mediocre Jones adnauseum. The team we roll out against lh pitchers isn't going to be pretty. We can only hope some left hand hitters we have turn positive or reasonable splits.

  10. If Angel can be an average contact hitter he will be a valuable piece on this team. On an ideal lineup Id love to see him bat 9th with Kwan hitting after.

  11. How has Trevor Stephan looked? His box scores have looked good but how is his stuff looking and is there a chance he could impact this team again or is he washed

  12. As someone who loves looking at prospects, I wish the prospect ranking that you guys did wasn’t so rushed.
    Perhaps you can give more time to it on the next two tranches?

  13. To answer Jeff’s question, Fairchild is the other option if AMart flames out.
    I’m still leaning towards an all LHH OF to open but if Nolan continues to struggle and AMart continues to hit, that could force a move. And if Nolan picks it up and Angel stays hot then Valera could get squeezed to Cbus while they run the typical 40-50 game make good period for them. Fry, and even Arias (if he makes the team) could provide RHH OF options as well.

  14. Nice job gentlemen. With Martinez and Schneemann stock up, starting to think Arias might be the guy on the outside looking in.

  15. I’m still an Angel believer. He is what Jose Ramirez was supposed to be, a super utility player. I had the same good feelings about Jose in 2016 as I didn’t think he would become a superstar power hitter. Angel is only 24, who says he can’t improve a little bit. Develop some consistency, improve his plate approach a little bit. I think he will be a useful and solid MLB player. I thought he was ok in CF but wasn’t he brought up to be a middle infielder throughout the minors? You could be right about Angel as you guys know more than me with the analytics. I’m more about eye test and feel!

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