CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Right-hander Hector Neris is coming off a breakout season during which he established himself as one of baseball's best setup men. He allowed just 59 hits in 80 1/3 innings and struck out 11.4 per nine innings.
And he did it by throwing his splitter 49.7 percent of the time, according to PITCHf/x, while 46.4 percent of his pitches were fastballs.
This season, the 27-year-old plans to add a slider to his repertoire, which he thinks could make him even more effective.
"Especially at this level, you use everything you can to be better," he said before Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins at Spectrum Field.