Calling Patrick Corbin’s pitch mix slider-heavy is an understatement. In Arizona in 2018, the left-hander threw his slider 41% of the time, 1,303 of his 3,142 total pitches. Batters had a .148 AVG on the pitch last season (vs .280 on his sinker; .251 on his four-seamer; .273 on his curve; and .556 on his changeup).
So what makes his slider such an effective pitch?
“It’s just the way he pounds the zone in, but the way he keeps it down. The biggest thing for him is keeping it down, and he can throw it at any time, which is kind of nice,” Corbin’s new manager, Davey Martinez, told reporters before the lefty made his debut for the Nationals in the series finale with the New York Mets on Sunday afternoon.