It was a steep price for them to part with Luis Arraez. After all, Arraez became a fan favorite and an excellent contact hitter. Batting Title Kings/ Short Kings get traded less often. Early in the season, many fans lamented missing out on that type of hitter, but it's hard to disagree that the Twins had a plan when they acquired Lopez from the Miami Marlins.
He said so himself.
"I'm extremely grateful for all the resources the Twins made available when it came to pitch developing and understanding the benefits behind why a pitch moving in that direction could give us the options we were looking for," Lopez told reporters after his final regular-season start. The right-hander said the organization gave him stats, facts, numbers, and information. These were very appreciated and embraced.
The Twins have a system that has grown quite good at identifying, building, and developing pitchers. Lopez was already a reasonably outstanding pitcher from outside of the organization. He was worth about two wins each season with Miami. The Twins, however, were able to tap into more.
Pablo Lopez said that with Miami, he concentrated on being a north-south pitcher, focusing on his fastball up in the zone, pairing it with his excellent changeup, and breaking ball down in the zone. The Twins offered a different path for Lopez - they saw he could be more of an east-west pitcher, getting hitters to chase on pitches running away from the strike zone.
The Twins could take what was an outstanding pitcher and build on it.
Let's start with the mechanics. Returning to Lopez's statement about deviating from being a north-south pitcher, we can see how he's altered his delivery to help add more east-west movement.
Unfortunately, the video breakdowns are for Caretakers only. We need to reserve this deep-dive content for Caretakers because these types of stories cost more to produce, and Caretakers support them. So if you're a Caretaker, just scroll down. If you're not, maybe consider becoming a Caretaker? There are lots of other benefits, like a free Winter Meltdown ticket and early access for guests, special callouts on the site, and lots more inside or in-depth content like this. So please consider joining our little club. The money is going to a site you love, to support coverage you love, and writers you value. Thank you so much.
If you're a Caretaker, scroll down for the rest of your exclusive content! And if you're not, maybe consider becoming a Caretaker? The best reason is it just feels good to support something you love, and you want it to be there for the next generation.
Plus, there are many other benefits, like a free Winter Meltdown ticket and early access for guests, special callouts on the site, and lots more inside or in-depth content like this. So please consider joining our little club. The money goes to a site you love, to support coverage you love, and to writers you value. Thank you so much.
Become a Caretaker
We love providing this level of deep-dive coverage, but it's expensive - too expensive to be paid for just by internet ads. So, we reserve the rest of this story for the Caretakers that make this kind of coverage possible.
It may be time for you to become a Caretaker. You'll love it. You'll get more meaty stories like this, plus perks like Winter Meltdown tickets and other special recognition. And you can join for as little as $4/month. You can read all about it and sign up here.
Become a Caretaker
The rest of this deep dive content is only available to Twins Daily's Caretakers. Our Caretakers take care of the site, and in return, we take care of them. That includes us investing in deeper dive stories, free Winter Meltdown tickets, acknowledgment in the forums, and other perks.
If you visit Twins Daily often, consider joining our Caretakers. We would love to have you join our little club, and you'll love being a part of it, too, and not just for the perks. Just click here to get started.
Become a Caretaker
We have arrived at the point of the content where things get a little meatier, but that content is reserved for Twins Daily Caretaker’s eyes only. Creating deep-dive stories like this is too expensive to be supported by ads alone, so we limit it to those Caretakers who support the site.
Fear not: You, too, can become a Caretaker for as low as $4/month. In addition to reading more in-depth stories like this, you get free Twins Daily publications, Winter Meltdown tickets, and other special recognition. Just start here.
Become a Caretaker
Only Caretakers get to read this whole story because they support the extra expense that stories like this cost. They also get:
- Exclusive deep-dive content on the Twins like this all year
- A free Winter Meltdown ticket
- Recognition in their comments on Twins Daily
But best of all, they know they're supporting a community and coverage for the next generation of Twins fans. Join us now by becoming a Caretaker.
Become a Caretaker
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now