Detroit Tigers: A deep dive into Joey Wentz after his first start of 2023

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A deeper dive into Detroit Tigers southpaw Joey Wentz's first outing.

It's been four games since the Detroit Tigers kicked off their 2023 campaign. Left-handed pitcher Joey Wentz has made his first start of the season, toeing the slab against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday in the series finale.

While Rays pitcher Jeffrey Springs was dealing, no-hitting the Detroit Tigers through six to help secure a victory for Tampa Bay, there was a ton to like about Wentz and his outing. Wentz provided one of the lone highlights from the opening weekend sweep that the Rays handed the Tigers.

There's something just different about Wentz. I was able to take in his start in person, and he looked exceptional, making some serious strides from where he was in the past, better defining his pitch mix. According to Statcast data on Baseball Savant, Wentz throws a fastball, cutter, changeup, and curveball as his four-pitch arsenal.

Wentz finished the day with a final line of: 5.1 innings pitched, four hits, three runs (all three earned), one walk, and three punchouts, and was on the hook for the loss. The Rays rallied in the bottom of the sixth to tag on a few, and it ultimately led to Wentz getting the hook from A.J. Hinch and the bullpen crumbling as Jason Foley was called upon.

But, beyond the box score, it was an excellent outing from Wentz. He was making a bunch of really good pitches, hitting his spots, and making good decisions on sequencing. He threw 72 pitches on the day, 47 for strikes, being good for a shade over 65% strikes on the day.

He induced ten total whiffs on the day and kept the ball from being hit hard with two line drives on the day. Randy Arozarena stepped on one and drove it deep to left field for a home run, but as was noted by most of the beat writer crew, he made the right pitch, but Arozarena got the best of him... and that happens.

Good sequencing and effectively mixing his pitches were the name of the game for Wentz. Some changes this off-season to better define his arsenal. He debuted the Cutter, which has really helped bridge the gap in his pitch mix.

Detroit Tigers worked with Joey Wentz on adding a cutter.

Let's better define Wentz's arsenal. He has a fastball that works into the mid-90s. On Sunday, the pitch was solid, getting up to 94 mph here and there and having some oomph on it which is newer for him. The fastball spins up above the 2,200 range, right around the big-league average.

Beyond that, the cutter is not new in 2023, but it has been something he's added to his arsenal, and some adjustments with pitch design have him spinning it more. Which, in turn, is feeding a little jump in velocity and helping him tunnel it out of the hand better.

The cutter is in the mid-80s, getting up around 85 mph, which is a minimal uptick from 2022 but could wind up making a difference in the way the stuff plays out of the hand. The pitch has seen a jump in the spin rate, being up above 2,400 in his first start on Sunday, which is a sizable improvement.

Before talking changeup, his third pitch in the arsenal, his curveball, as labeled by Statcast, has mid-70s velocity with spin up above 2,500 RPMs. Again, being up from where he was in 2022. The pitch is not a big uncle charlie or a hammer but has significant break. Statistically, it grades out as a curveball on Statcast. It has an 11-5 shape and looks slightly like he's throwing a high-tilt slider.

Grade it out however you want, but having a fastball, cutter, or curveball that all appear similar out of the hand will play well. The changeup is an added bonus, especially being a left-hander, knowing he can throw the pitch to righties looking for chases off the plate or called strikes on the outer third for passive hitters.

The changeup is the mid-80s with spin-up above the 2,100 RPM mark. He may not effectively kill spin on the pitch, but it's an excellent offering to mix into his sequencing. The name of the game for Wentz is tunneling, and that's something he did exceptionally well in his first start of the year.

Effective tunneling helping Joey Wentz find success for Detroit Tigers.

A quick crash course for those who do not have a huge grasp on tunneling. It's the art of making all of your pitches look the same out of the hand. Being able to throw pitches that are similar in shape at release but also different enough at the endpoint.

Here is a fantastic piece from Prospect Live about pitch tunneling that was up for a SABR award this year. The point is, with all of this tunneling talk, if you can keep your pitches close enough in velocity and close enough in the look out of the hand, you are going to have success.

At the very basic, look up PitchingNinja on Twitter and look at the "overlays" he posts. Notice the pitchers whose pitches stay stacked on top of one another before breaking. That deceptiveness creates struggles for hitters.

Wentz was executing just that. In Rogelio Castillo's highlight of Wentz's outing from Sunday, he noted that his pitches were playing up in the zone. This is mainly because he was able to fool hitters from getting on the barrel and driving the ball well.

Sure, he only had ten whiffs and three punchouts. Still, his pitches are similar out of the hand, meaning a hitter could be sitting fastball, get a cutter out of hand that looks like the fastball, he makes the decision to swing, thinking it's going to stay over the heart of the plate. It cuts away, and next thing you know, he's hitting it off the end of the bat for a weak ground out.

The point being Wentz has made tremendous strides in controlling his pitch mix for success. There's every reason in the world to believe that he can lock down a spot in the Tigers' rotation. He's not the next best arm or the future ace, but he's easily a solid no.3 or no.4 for the organization, and the changes he's made have paid dividends.

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A deeper dive into Detroit Tigers southpaw Joey Wentz's first outing.

Detroit Tigers worked with Joey Wentz on adding a cutter.

Effective tunneling helping Joey Wentz find success for Detroit Tigers.

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