Adbert Alzolay proclaimed confidently in January of 2020 that it would be “The Changeup Year,” though that never came to pass. It wasn’t just the pandemic that changed Alzolay’s plans, though, it was also the emergence of a new pitch with the help of new mentors. Two new pitches if we’re being precise, but one in particular has elevated the righty from prospect to rotation mainstay.
That would be the slider, which Alzolay went from not having in his arsenal at all prior to his time at the Cubs’ alternate site to using it about 45% of the time this season.