In 2014, reliable all-star reliever Sergio Romo saw his ERA jump from 2.54 the previous season to 3.72. Part of the problem was poor location. Low and outside targets were missed and pitches were being left up in the zone, and getting crushed. Another reason for the problem was predictability. For the majority of his career, Romo has thrown primarily two pitches, a devastating no-dot slider which hitters have a hard time picking up and a very mediocre four-seam fastball which only averages about 87 mph. Despite the brilliance of the slider, hitters knew it was coming. The fastball was not something they worried about. Without movement and velocity, it was a fairly easy pitch to hit, even if a batter wasn't looking for it. This year, however, Romo has added another pitch to his repertoire, and it has been quite successful.
The two-seam fastball, also known as a sinker, is a pitch Romo has thrown before. San Francisco Giants fans might remember him throwing it and freezing Miguel Cabrera for the final strike in the 2012 World Series. But this year, Romo is throwing it with much more confidence and far more often. According to FanGraphs, Romo's sinker usage is up 9.5% from last year, while his four-seam fastball use has dropped from 23.7% last season to just 8.8%.
What's significant about this change is how effective the sinker is and how it complements the slider. While the slider runs to the left, the sinker runs to the right. Now a right-handed hitter can't just expect a pitch on the outside corner of the plate while a left-handed hitter now has to worry about exactly that. Not only does it mean Romo has a much better secondary pitch, it also means his less than stellar four-seam fastball does not have to be thrown as often. Now equipped with a two different types of movement and some unpredictability, Romo is once again a force to be reckoned with.
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