Justin Steele has arguably been the Chicago Cubs ace over each of the past three seasons. Since 2022, he has posted ERA’s of 3.18, 3.06, and 3.07 while making at least 24 starts in each of those years. A heavy fastball-slider combination has been his bread and butter, but this year he is striving to elevate his game by gaining confidence in his changeup.
How frequently has Justin Steele thrown a changeup in the past?
In regular season contests, Steele has thrown just 157 changeups since 2021. All but three of those instances have come when facing right-handed hitters. Last year, he used the changeup 3.3% of the time, which was the highest usage rate of his career (67 pitches).
Chicago Cubs catchers are calling for the changeup this spring
During Steele’s most recent spring training outing, he threw three changeups in total. He got two check swings on the pitch and the third was thrown in the dirt. Steele told the Marquee Network that, “It’s something I’m definitely striving for results with. I want to get good results so that way I build the confidence going into the season.”
What would be the impact of successfully adding a changeup?
Generally speaking, left-handed pitchers use changeups in match ups against right-handed batters. Having this off-speed pitch resemble a low and outside fastball, but then come in much slower speed and drop, is one of the most effective pitches in the game. This pitch is usually avoided in lefty-lefty match ups because if the pitch is left hanging, it is an easier pitch for hitters to turn the bat head on and get good results.
With the fast majority of hitters that Steele faces in a season being right-handed, even elevating this usage to 5% or so would give hitters another thing to think about. This would potentially elevate his game even further, which is saying something because he already has been one of the best.
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