The Mariners front office claimed Tayler Saucedo of waivers from the Mets in January 2023 and it turned out to be a tremendous move. The 6″4 lefty had a tremendous season out of the Mariners pen and will be an important piece of this strong looking bullpen this year. The 30 year old from Honolulu, had by far his best year of his major league career, pitching a career high 47.2 strong innings. And while you could think he would decline, I beg the difference looking into the numbers.
Saucedo pitched to a strong 3.59 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 3.82 FIP over those 47.2 innings. His walks were his main issue, but overall he kept his run prevention fairly low. So, how was Saucedo able to do that?
Getting ground balls!
Saucedo was in the 96th percentile in ground ball percentage at 58.5 percent. Amongst pitchers with at least 100 PA (Plate appearances), Saucedo was 24th in the majors in ground ball rate.
However, getting ground balls alone doesn’t get you the success you need. So, not only did Saucedo get his ground balls, he also limited the exit velo on balls in play. Saucedo, average exit velo was 85.8mph, which was in the 94th percentile.
So, how does Saucedo get so many ground balls?
It starts with his pitch arsenal. He throws his sinker 39.9% of the time. He compliments the sinker with the slider (26.1%) and change-up (25.9%). Occasionally he throws a curve and 4 seamer, but both are under the 6% in pitch usage.
His best pitch the sinker, Saucedo made some good adjustments on that pitch, to make it a solid weapon. Since 2021, Saucedo added 2.1 inches of drop on his sinker. He improved to 3.9 more inches of drop more then the average sinker, which was one of the better vertical movement in the majors on a sinker. But not only did he collect more vertical movement, his also added his horizontal movement.
From 2021, he added 3.1 inches of horizontal movement on the sinker. His Sinker now has 2.5 more inches of break more then the average sinker. Like the vertical movement, his horizontal movement is also amongst the league best!
Saucedo got a ton of success with his sinker due to his adjustments. He collected a plus 5 run value on the pitch with a .236/.312/.278 slash line against. It showed in his run value as he was 34th in run value per 100 pitches on his sinker.
These adjustments were huge for Saucedo and the Mariners. As Saucedo will be an important piece for the bullpen, being the lone lefty in the pen besides Gabe Speier. The Mariners will hope that his renewed sinker getting the same amount of success in 2024.
