Jesus Luzardo Unveils New Pitch Thursday
4 years agoOakland Athletics left-hander Jesus Luzardo unveiled a new pitch he calls the Turkey Sub on Thursday, a funky 65 mph looping breaking ball to complement his mid-90s fastball. The 23-year-old hasn't thrown the pitch in a major league game, but he's been working to incorporate it into his arsenal this spring. He held the Rangers hitless and walked two in four scoreless innings with five strikeouts on Thursday. Luzardo's 59 K's in 59 frames last year were the second-most among rookies, but he felt the lack of a consistent breaking pitch led to him being unable to finish off hitters at times. The southpaw used the Turkey Sub as the putaway pitch on three of his five strikeouts. Luzardo relied heavily on his four-seamer (32.7 percent) in 2020, so a four-pitch mix should allow him to be more balanced. There's some injury risk, but Luzardo might have the most upside of any young pitcher heading into the 2021 season.
Source: MLB.com - Martin Gallegos
Source: MLB.com - Martin Gallegos