You know Jon Lester’s trademark curveball? It’s the pitch that looks like a fastball but evades bats by diving out of the zone. Here, let me remind you what the wipe-out offering looks like.
But there’s something noticeably off about Lester’s curve this season, which might be one reason why his K/9 in 2018 is nearly two full strikeouts lower than previous seasons. Specifically, there are two differences between Lester’s breaking pitch in 2018 as compared to what we’ve seen in the previous two seasons.
Lester is throwing curves to different parts of the zone this season.