[Editor's note: Please welcome a guest post from Positive Residual on Sunday night's Dodgers starter]
Most of us will remember Alex Wood’s Dodger debut for the rare balk that he was charged while delivering an errant pitch. But there was another rarity during the game. Although it was more subtle, it seemed to illustrate why Wood was an appealing trade target, what his Dodger career might look like, and how the front office identifies and develops talent.
Over 6u2153 innings, Wood threw 109 pitches, of which 41 were knuckle curves. This 38% rate marked the first time in 56 career starts that his knuckle curve outnumbered his fastball (35%).