Step into the MLB Pipeline Pitching Lab archives
Pitching is both an art and a science.
There's the art of pitch selection and location. (We call it painting the corners after all.) There's the science of movement profiles, spin rates and pure velocity. In essence, pitching is one of the most demanding tasks in all of sports, and no one talks about pitching better than pitchers themselves.
As part of the MLB Pipeline Game of the Month package, we've chatted with top pitching prospects from all over the country about their complete arsenals in a series we call the Pitching Lab. Links to each Lab story can be found below, along with its run date.
Noah Schultz, LHP, White Sox (Sept. 19, 2024): The 6-foot-9 hurler ends the 2024 season as MLB Pipeline's top left-handed pitching prospect because he has the stuff to lead future Chicago rotations with his mid-90s sinker, plus-plus slider and steadily improving changeup. More ?
Jonah Tong, RHP, Mets (June 20, 2024): The 2022 seventh-rounder was one of the breakout prospects of the 2024 season with K-heavy performances across three levels. Tong showed off how he's able to generate so much rise on his fastball and play off the heater with a curveball, slider and changeup. More ?
Carson Palmquist, LHP, Rockies (June 13, 2024): The Rockies southpaw has some funk in his delivery thanks to a low arm slot and his extreme positioning on the mound. Palmquist talked about how those affect the four-pitch mix that had him racking up strikeouts by the dozens in Double-A to begin the 2024 season. More ?
Paul Skenes, RHP, Pirates (May 8, 2024): Before dominating the Majors as a Pittsburgh rookie, the 2023 No. 1 overall pick walked MLB Pipeline through his five-pitch arsenal and gave an inside look at the splinker that would become one of the best individual pitches in The Show. More ?
Jackson Jobe, RHP, Tigers (Oct. 25, 2023): MLB Pipeline's No. 54 overall prospect is known for the killer spin rates on his slider and shows three other potential plus pitches in his fastball, changeup and newfound cutter. Detroit's top Minor League arm showed how he makes it all work from his assignment in the Arizona Fall League. More ?
Blade Tidwell, RHP, Mets (Sept. 14, 2023): The 2022 second-rounder remade his secondary pitches in pro ball, leading to a strong strikeout rate at High-A and Double-A in his first full season. At the tail end of that campaign, the former Tennessee star took us through what's changed and what works for him now. More ?
Robert Gasser, LHP, Brewers (Aug. 21, 2023): Milwaukee's No. 6 prospect has been a strikeout machine at Triple-A Nashville all season long and brings as many as five different pitches to the table. The 24-year-old left-hander talked through how he uses multiple weapons to keep hitters off-balance. More ?
Andrew Abbott, LHP, Reds (May 22, 2023): Before starring in the Majors with the Reds, Abbott was leading the Minors in strikeouts with Triple-A Louisville. The 2021 second-rounder detailed his full arsenal and what made him one of this year's breakout prospects. More ?
Owen White, RHP, Rangers (May 11, 2023): White made some adjustments to allow him to stay healthier after recovering from a variety of early-career injuries. The 2018 second-rounder went over those changes, as well as his five-pitch mix. More ?
Taj Bradley, RHP, Rays (Sept. 27, 2022): The righty added pitches to his arsenal in recent years, which helped him become one of the 25 best prospects in baseball before his ascension to St. Petersburg. Bradley spoke with MLB.com before making his Triple-A debut. More ?
Mike Burrows, RHP, Pirates (Aug. 24, 2022): The right-hander quickly improved his stuff since Pittsburgh drafted him in 2018, and his results followed suit as he became an organizational Top 10 prospect before he underwent Tommy John surgery in spring 2023. Burrows detailed how he maximizes his three-pitch mix. More ?
Ken Waldichuk, LHP, Yankees (May 10, 2022): Before he was traded to the A's at the 2022 Trade Deadline, Waldichuk talked to MLB Pipeline about a pitch mix that was helping put him on the map in the New York system. More ?