RADIO
Zac Gallen 2025 Outlook: Mysterious Fastball Issues Say Stay Away from Former Ace
2 days agoZac Gallen had a down 2024 relative to his track record, going 14-6 with a 3.65 ERA, 3.62 xFIP, and 3.94 xERA over 148 IP. His 25.1% K% was a career-worst, largely because his fastball went from above-average in 2023 (7.3% SwStr%, 59.7% Zone%) to below-average in 2024 (4% SwStr%, 53.7% Zone%). Gallen's velocity was slightly up year-over-year, averaging 93.7 mph last year and 93.5 the year before. Similarly, it had virtually identical spin rates (2,291 RPM last season, 2,296 in 2023). He largely ditched his cutter (8.7% SwStr%, 44.3% Zone%), which wasn't great as a standalone pitch but may have helped his fastball play up. The rest of Gallen's arsenal plays off his heater, as he needs to be ahead in the count for his signature knucklecurve (19% SwStr%, 48.2% chase rate but 28.5% Zone%) while his changeup lost three points of SwStr% last season (13.7% vs. 16.3%). Arizona should contend in 2025, but Gallen won't be worth his ADP of 118.10 without fixing his fastball and improving his ERA and K%.
