When the Orioles signed 34-year-old right-hander Albert Suárez to a minor league contract in September of last year, all signs led to it being a long shot that he would contribute at the major league level.
Suárez had not seen a major league appearance since 2017 with the San Fransisco Giants. But in a surprise pop-up injury that sent Tyler Wells to the 15-day injured list, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde turned to the Venezuelan native for the emergency start in the series finale against the Minnesota Twins.
For anyone who was able to watch this start, Suárez did not disappoint, pitching 5.2 scoreless innings that helped lead the O’s to a 4-2 win and sweep of Minnesota. Although he did not secure a decision, Suárez did collect four strikeouts and did not walk a batter while only giving up three hits.
Let’s take a look at three pitch metrics that led to his success for the Birds on this edition of Battery Breakdown:
1.) Fastball Velocity
When looking at the metrics, it was undeniable that Suárez has transformed his fastball since the last time he was in Major League Baseball.
In 2017, his fastball velocity sat at an average of 93.5 mph, with an average spin rate of 2,277. In Suárez’s debut, his average fastball velocity was 95.9 mph, with his spin rate sitting at an average 2,413.
This jump in numbers led to a whiff rate increase from 15.4% to an impressive 41% in this outing. These numbers were good for 63% pitch usage for the day.
Now, could this be first game adrenaline? Some will say yes. However, with a massive jump in spin rate that we saw this outing, this revamped fastball could very well be attainable.
2.) New Pitch Alert
From the time that Suárez left MLB to his return this season, he established a new pitch: A cutter.
In his first outing, Suárez threw this pitch 23% of the time. Based on the average decrease in the velocity of 9.1 mph from his fastball and 25 inches of vertical break in comparison to 13 inches for his fastball and 30 inches for his changeup, it seems to be a slight change of speed pitch that gives a little different look than his fastball.
But, boy, was it effective. The cutter led to a whiff percentage of 23% and a called + swing percentage (CSW% – the percentage of pitches that are called strikes plus swings and misses) of 35%. This pitch also led to his lowest average exit velocity off the bat of the game of 73.7 mph.
3.) Curveball Movement
We didn’t see it often, but the one pitch that mattered most dropped off the table.
If this is the normal, this thing is nasty. With an increase from 2017 of 75.9 to 83.5 mph, this pitch, like the rest of his arsenal, has been transformed into a max effort pitch.
We didn’t see enough of this pitch today to use advanced metrics. But if it continues to look like the pitch below, I say it will be a nice addition to his arsenal.
At 34 years old, Albert Suárez is not in the future plans of this team. But with three rotation pieces on the IL in Kyle Bradish, John Means and now Tyler Wells, I believe it’s safe to say we should see a few more starts from Suárez for him to try to solidify himself in this Baltimore pitching staff.
What did you think of Suárez’s start? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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