Jake Irvin added a slider this offseason, and I think it could be a gamechanger
Over the offseason, Jake Irvin added a slider to his repertoire. This was actually something I suggested when I wrote about how Irvin could build off his 2024 campaign back in January. It felt like a pitch Irvin really needed to take the next step.
After a strong start to 2024, where he had a real case to make the all-star game, Irvin struggled down the stretch. In his last 15 starts, Irvin posted a 6.50 ERA. Hitters had figured out Irvin and had adjusted to his arsenal.
The issue was that Jake Irvin had become too predictable. He was either going to throw some sort of fastball in the mid 90’s or a curveball in the low 80’s. That made up nearly 90% of his arsenal. He desperately needed a pitch in between the fastball and curveball. Everything was either very hard or very soft, there was nothing in between.
In 2024, he tried to solve that with a cutter. He threw the pitch almost exclusively to lefties, and it was not very good. It was also right around 90 MPH, which is also on the harder side. Irvin needed to find something right in between his 94 MPH fastball and 81 MPH curveball. This graph visualizes the problem.
The slider always felt like the perfect pitch to solve this conundrum. Its velocity range is right in between a fastball and curveball. A slider would also be a weapon against right handed pitching. Irvin threw a fastball or curveball 97.7% of the time against righties. That is just too predictable for a starting pitcher who wants to go deep into games like Irvin does.
Having recently turned 28, Irvin is not that young anymore, but he is still learning the big league ropes. This will be his third season in the show and Irvin is looking to build on the first half of his 2024 season. After his dominant July 4th start, Irvin’s ERA sat at 2.80. However, he finished the season with a 4.41 ERA. Irvin got tired as he logged more innings than ever before and also got predictable.
Jake Irvin has good stuff, but it is not elite. He needs to keep hitters off balance to have sustained success. Adding a slider help out with that. There is a reason that sliders are the most common secondary pitch. They are harder to pick up for a hitter than a big overhand curveball. It adds deception and mirrors the fastball.
Irvin now has another weapon at his disposal. Even if the slider isn’t a Max Scherzer style wipe out pitch, it will make his whole arsenal better. The slider will help his sharp curveball because hitters will not be keying in on it as much. Having pitches in three different velocity bands makes each pitch harder to pick up because they play off the other pitches.
I truly believe that this tweak will help Irvin reach his mid-rotation upside. Irvin has all the makings of a middle of the rotation innings eater who can log 200 innings with solid rates. That pitch to bridge the gap between his fastball and curveball is all that was missing.
I am excited to see what Irvin can do this season. He has the capability of pushing for 200 innings while having a sub 4 ERA. This slider could be what takes him to that level.