by Rowan Kavner
Dustin May received the answer to one of the biggest storylines of Spring Training when the Dodgers arrived in Anaheim for the start of the Freeway Series.
Throughout Cactus League play, May along with fellow 2016 draftee Tony Gonsolin and former Cy Young Award winner David Price were options for the final spot in a stacked Dodger rotation. The Dodgers waited as long as they could to make their decision, building each pitcher up as starters.
May looked sharper and sharper as spring progressed. The body control, mechanics and synced-up delivery he was searching for looked more aligned the closer the season got. In his final start before the Dodgers left Arizona, May struck out six batters and allowed one run in five innings while pumping triple-digit heat.
And then he got the news: He earned the fifth spot in the rotation.
“I was super excited,” May said. “I feel like I’ve worked super hard.”
May finished a standout second season in the Majors in 2020 with a 3–1 record and 2.57 ERA. He allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his 12 regular season appearances and made seven appearances in the postseason, including two in the World Series.
But the version of May that will get the ball Monday night in Oakland in his first start of the 2021 season could offer more.
Last year, opponents had a .156 batting average and struck out 16 times against his curveball. But May, primarily a sinker-cutter pitcher, only threw the pitch 13.4 percent of the time. He also only threw his four-seam fastball 5.5 percent of the time. Despite May’s success — and averaging 97.9 mph on his sinker — he had the third-lowest whiff percentage among Dodger pitchers.
Manager Dave Roberts said getting a feel for the breaking ball is the next step for May. As May works to be a more complete starting pitcher, Roberts believes the 23-year-old right-hander will be less predictable in 2021.
“Considerably,” Roberts said. “If you look at last year and his track record through the minor leagues, everything was hard. It was upper-90 fastball and a hard cutter and didn’t really use the breaking ball or the changeup. Now, the change and the curveball are part of his arsenal. He feels comfortable and confident, and the ability to get guys off the heater is really important — especially when you’re trying to get hitters out two, three times through the order.”
May worked on pitch development early in camp, trying to get a better feel for his pitches and get his body more direct toward home plate, which in turn would keep his pitches closer to the zone.
Throwing his breaking ball for strikes and his four-seamer up in the zone were also priorities. The results were encouraging this spring, though they remain a work in progress. In his final start this spring in the Freeway Series, May said he felt like he was “babying” his breaking ball.
“I’ve just got to keep telling myself I’ve got to rip it over, and it’s going to do what it’s going to do,” May said.
May said it’s still a boost to look at the radar gun and see triple digits. His velocity has earned him spots on highlight reels and taken most of the headlines. But that’s not his focus as he takes the mound in 2021.
He knows if he can successfully incorporate more of his mix to go along with his fastball velocity, a more complete version of himself is ahead.
“We’ve been talking about it for a while,” May said. “The way that I’ve been spinning the ball for my four-seam and the way it’s coming out of my hand is a lot better than it has been in previous years. Being able to stay behind the ball is what I’ve been working on in the past year, it just hasn’t really clicked. I feel like I’ve taken huge strides forward this spring with it, so we’re going to run with it.”
"may" - Google News
April 06, 2021 at 08:35AM
https://ift.tt/31Qi2Lq
Dustin May looks to take the next step as a starting pitcher in 2021 - mlblogs.com
"may" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3foH8qu
https://ift.tt/2zNW3tO
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Dustin May looks to take the next step as a starting pitcher in 2021 - mlblogs.com"
Post a Comment