JEREMIAH ESTRADA'S ASCENSION from fringe major leaguer to one of baseball's most dominant relief pitchers began last December at the San Diego Padres' biomechanics lab in Point Loma.
It was mere weeks after the Chicago Cubs had outrighted him off their 40-man roster and several months before his arm would round into proper shape for the 2024 season. Ruben Niebla, Estrada's new pitching coach, wanted to see him throw in hopes of identifying a pitch that might complement his dynamic-yet-overused four-seam fastball.
They tried cutters, curveballs, changeups and sliders, continually altering the grips on most of them, and then Estrada unveiled the pitch that would change the trajectory of his entire career: a split-changeup, one he developed out of desperation and now sheepishly calls a "chitter.