ANAHEIM — Whatever changes are coming to the Angels’ front office and coaching staff, one thing has become clear over the past couple of months.
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They should probably keep Tim Leveque as pitching coach and Michael Wuertz as bullpen coach.
While the overall improvement in their pitching production since the change has been well chronicled, an element within has been somewhat under the radar.
On the day the Angels fired pitching coach Mike Maddux last month, they had the worst walk rate in the majors, at 11.1%
Since then, they are fifth-best, at 7.7%.
“I don’t think there’s any secret sauce,” Leveque said. “I think a lot of it is just the mentality of attacking the zone, and understanding the advantages when you get ahead in the count. They’ve done an amazing job with it. They’ve done all the work, but it’s been pretty cool to see the walk rate go down.”
There have been five games this season in which the Angels didn’t issue a single walk, and four of them have been since Leveque took over on Aug. 11. Two of them have been in the last week.
Angels starters have issued zero walks in their last four outings, covering 23⅓ innings.
On Thursday night, right-hander Grayson Rodriguez had his first walk-free start of the season, pitching 6⅔ innings.
“I think as a staff everybody’s just trying to attack the hitters,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve pretty much got a lot of guys with some really good stuff and it plays really well. I think walks are the only thing that can kill us. The guys are just trying to throw strikes and and really challenge the hitters, I think it is what’s changed.”
Obviously, Maddux also wanted his pitchers to throw strikes. He was in his 24th season as a major league pitching coach, and you don’t get that far without being able to get your pitchers to throw strikes.
To Rodriguez, though, it’s just about the way Leveque knows how to push the right buttons with the pitchers.
“He’s just really good at building everybody’s confidence,” Rodriguez said. “Let them know what they’re good at. Something that’s definitely helped me in my bullpens and stuff. Just reassuring and letting you know the stuff is there.”
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Reid Detmers said it’s more tangible than simply giving pep talks to the pitchers. The Angels have been very intentional about refining the offerings of their pitchers, leaning in to the pitches they throw well and minimizing the ones they don’t.
“You throw your best pitches more often, and they’re your best pitches for a reason,” Detmers said. “You’re comfortable with them. When you throw pitches that you’re not comfortable with, you’re not going to be as comfortable, so the command isn’t going to be as good. Obviously you have to throw those pitches once in a while, but if you throw the pitches you’re most comfortable with, the chances are they are going to be in the zone.”
As you suspect, the reduction in walks has come from an overall increase in strikes.
Before Leveque, Angels pitchers threw strikes with 62% of their pitches, which ranked 29th in the majors. Since then, they are at 65.2%, which is third. The Angels ranked dead last in the majors in first-pitch strikes (58.5%) before Leveque, and since then they rank fifth (63.2%).
The difference between being good and bad may not seem like much, but a few more strikes here and there go a long way toward getting more outs.
“They’re getting ahead,” catcher Tyler Heineman said. “The race to two strikes, two out of three, is an important aspect. A lot of the guys have really good stuff, so just trying to trust that it doesn’t have to be on the corner. Just literally throw it in the zone. Getting the hitter on the defense has dividends.”
Heineman is also a small part of the equation. Former Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe ranked last in the majors in pitch framing before he was traded. As a result, the Angels were last as a team in that department. Since O’Hoppe was traded, with Heineman getting the bulk of the catching duty, the Angels rank ninth in the majors in framing.
O’Hoppe’s last game behind the plate with the Angels was July 28, just about two weeks before the change in pitching coaches.
Whatever the reasons, more strikes have led to more success. The Angels’ ERA was 4.51 when Leveque took over, and it’s 3.24 since.
“Whenever you can get ahead in the count, you’re putting yourself in a better position,” Leveque said. “It’s like when you play golf, when you hit your driver. Would you rather hit your driver in the fairway or in the rough? You’re not guaranteed to make a birdie, but you’re giving yourself a better chance.”
UP NEXT
Angels (LHP Yusei Kikuchi, 1-6, 5.02 ERA) at Athletics (LHP Brady Basso, 1-3, 4.50 ERA), Tuesday, 6:40 p.m., ABTV, 830 AM
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