Harrison eager to solve fastball mystery as second season draws to a close originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO — The fastball that Kyle Harrison thrown to Randal Grichuk in the first inning, he was misplaced, but when the lefty is at his best, he can get by throwing in the zone. The Giants saw that exactly a year ago, when Harrison made his home debut and dazzledeliminating 11 The Cincinnati Reds.
He threw 62 fastballs that night and hit a maximum velocity of 96 mph. He averaged 94.3 mph, but on Tuesday he never saw a four on the radar scan. While allowing a career-high six earned runs, Harrison averaged 91.2 mph and hit a maximum of 93.2. Grichuk hit a two-run hit on a heat that hit 91.8.
If this were just one game, the Giants and Harrison could chalk it up to fatigue or maybe a bad night. But Harrison’s velocity is down about a mph overall despite a work off-season He’s been in the weight room and has had several second-half starts where he’s been noticeably diminished. It’s a problem that, by the 23-year-old’s own admission, is starting to wear him down.
“I haven’t really been used to that my whole career. I really don’t want to see that at this point in my life, so I’m really upset about it, just because I know it’s not the job – I’ve worked my butt off,” Harrison said. “We’re just going to try to figure it out. I’ve got a few starts left, so let’s do it, why not? I’m going to keep a positive mentality.”
The six won in Tuesday’s 8-7 defeat At Arizona Diamondbacks That put a damper on his overall stats, but in his first full MLB season, Harrison showed plenty of promise. Aside from a freak ankle injury, he was resilient, and while his ERA is 4.56 and his FIP is 4.34, that’s pretty good for a young pitcher making his first major league tour. Logan Webb He had a 5.22 ERA as a rookie and 5.47 the following year, when he was the same age Harrison is today. Robbie Ray had a strong rookie season in Arizona nearly a decade ago, but posted a 4.90 ERA as a sophomore.
The Giants aren’t going to worry about Harrison’s results, but they’d like to have a clearer idea of why he’s not quite able to slow down like he did last year and in the minor leagues, when he was regularly hitting 95-96 mph, especially since Harrison’s arm is healthy.
“We watch that all the time as far as mechanics. Maybe he’s getting to the point where he’s tired right now, but there was a dip during the trip (to Cincinnati and Washington, D.C.) and once he got home, he picked it up,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We’ll continue to monitor that and see what we think about it moving forward. It’s also good that he’s pitching without his best equipment at times and trying to get a full season. He’s been back and forth with velocity.”
Harrison still has at least a few starts to make, and they’re important. The Giants would like to get his already career-high innings to a level where he can really put them to good use next season. Harrison is keeping up with Webb, and you can bet he wants to get to the point soon where he’s also aiming for 200-inning seasons.
It would be much easier with his old fastball, though even with that version, Harrison has been very effective at times. The pitch ranks in the 90th percentile of Baseball Savant’s run value, and opposing hitters are hitting .244 with it. Harrison’s extension and pitch still give him an edge, though he’d like to have more than that. When the fastball was in the mid-90s, it was downright overpowered.
Harrison said the economic slowdown is not due to fatigue. One possible solution may be simple.
“I think the mental side plays a big part, and it’s about having complete belief behind every throw,” he said. “I’m just going to work hard to do that again.”
The Giants have no doubt about it. Harrison has been working out since his first major league experience, but his main goal last offseason was to fine-tune a five-day routine so he could spend a full season in a major league rotation. If he doesn’t, it won’t be because of the preparation, but rather the understandable caution of a franchise that fell three games under .500 and 10 games out of third place in the NL West with Tuesday’s loss.
There won’t be a baseball game at Oracle Park in October, but Harrison plans to be busy. Speed is something he doesn’t enjoy, and he’s looking forward to digging in a little deeper this winter.
“It gives me a lot of hope,” Harrison said. “I know how good I can be. I just wasn’t at my best tonight, but you have to be, there’s no excuse for that. We’re going to work on a lot of things going into the offseason. I’ve definitely learned a lot this year. (Today) was a crappy day.”
