0.4% Fastball usage is holding steady from last year at just over 50%. In addition, the increase in slider usage continues, taking a chunk out of curveball usage. Still, the takeaway is that we’re approaching true 50/50 fastball/non-fastball usage splits over all counts, and it’s probably here to stay. As much as we can pull from our analyses, it’s useful to hear players and coaches diagnose issues themselves. There are a few quotes from Ryan Zimmerman in a recent piece by Tim Kurkjian that stood out to me. As a 16-year veteran, Zimmerman has had to deal with the recent wave of pitching development in what is the twilight of his career but has had success throughout, posting a 124 wRC+ from 2017 through this year. He’s held above-average strikeout rates through it all, so maybe he’s not the best guy to speak on the issue, but what he has to say is telling.