Scott Baker, Jake Odorizzi, and how pitch-to-contact might have ruined a decent pitcher.
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Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images
Remember Scott Baker? He was probably the best homegrown pitcher of the pitch-to-contact Twins in the late ‘00s and early ‘10s. Are we abbreviating decades this century like that now, because it feels weird to type. Anyway, Baker looked good for a few years before flaming out amid injury, but at his peak, today’s Twins could have made him great.
Baker’s pitch mix was pretty standard for the era, roughly 60-65% fastballs in the low 90s, 12-20% low-80s slider, 10-15% curveball, and 5-8% change. At the tail end of his career, he dropped the curve entirely and doubled his slider usage. By then, it was probably too late, and his last appearance in the majors was his age-33 season in 2015. He left the Twins after 2012, and bounced around to the Cubs, Rangers, and finally Dodgers.