Why Griffin Jax Deserves to Be a Starter

Introduction as Griffin Jack takes over he's got William contras to face first Jack hard thrown right-hander former starter now Bullpen guy in the world of Major League Baseball the path from started or lever has historically been a one-way Street once a pitcher transition to the bullpen their days as a starter often seemed behind them however 2024 has brought a remarkable shift in this trend with Garett cret Jordan Hicks and Seth Lugo several pitchers are successfully reversing this journey moving from relever back to starters inner Griffin Jack whose recent enhancements have propelled him to the Forefront of elite Bullpen arms across the league with a striking increase in velocity and a refined Arsenal honed during his offseasons at Drive Line the question stands could Griffin Jax be the next reliever to make a successful leap to starting Jax's Previous Struggles as a Starter pitcher initially a starter in 2021 Jax was sent to the bullpen deservingly after Poor results there goes another blast to left and Ja has now given up three home runs in the ball game here tonight back then he was a much different pitcher his Arsenal was basically an airsoft gun compared to what he's wielding now averaging a Stuff Plus of 100 and a fast ball that was really bad uh with an effective velocity of 91.9 he's about 5 mph firmer than that now moving to the Jax's Improvements bullpen triggered an initial surge in velocity and allowed him to throw more spin his sweeper which has become a signature offering across the league has since thrived strike three called the confidence that ja has in that sweeper on display there what's most impressive however is that Jax's Talent level and his continued Improvement since then is far from just a byproduct that be shift to the bullpen since 2022 he's added an additional 2.1 mph in effective velocity and has seen his stuff plus increase from 113 to 123 he's also improved his intrinsic run value by nearly two runs from a 3.14 Mark in 2022 to a 143 as well a top three Mark among relievers those improvements came as a byproduct of refining his lower body mechanics enhanced drills like Drop steps have improved his approach to the [Music] mound the added mechanical efficiency has not only expanded his pitch Arsenal but also enhanced his existing breaking balls without compromising the effectiveness of his fast ball two down more heat Jax previously was a pronator or somebody who had very high spin efficiency on his fast ball this didn't help him a ton because his for Seer only ran it didn't add carry and his other pitches his change up his sweeper and then he didn't even have a sinker were not as effective due to this now his spin efficiency sits at around that 80% mark his for seamer still maintains similar carry with late movement to the glove side and his off speed and breaking pitches have gotten better as that rist position is better oriented to get those seam effects for those pitches so what makes a starter well What Makes a Starter? it's generally a couple things proficient command diverse pitch raate to challenge both right and left-handed hitters and also long-term Health Jax has all of those while many struggle to leave the bullpen Jax's enhanced velocity and expanded Arsenal including the two fast balls a cutter that he could leverage as a starter and a curveball that he hardly throws would help optimize his true and full talent and deliver an organization Surplus results if you're willing to think outside of the box and see him through as a starter boy he's got weapons and it's not just one he'll give a hitter former starter two three even four weapons to think about transitioning Conclusion from a starter to a relever before the 2022 season Griffin Jax has continually refined his skills his robust Arsenal backed by strong performance metrics alongside a consistent health record and above average command for a lever and League average command for a starter positions him as a promising candidate for a successful shift back to the starting role in the near future the O2 check swing strike three Jack dominates the eighth inning striking out the side [Music]