The Los Angeles Dodgers took down the Arizona Diamondbacks in the series opener on Monday, receiving a strong start from right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The 25-year-old tallied eight strikeouts through 6.1 innings pitched, allowing two earned runs on seven hits. Through his first 10 Major League starts, Yamamoto is 5-1 with a 3.17 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 3.00 FIP and a .221 batting average allowed.
He’s grown from where he was in mid-April to a pitcher with a deep pitch mix that he’s confident in. That much was evidence in his quality start against the Diamondbacks.
“He was really good,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “We got him to 100 pitches. I know that I wanted to get him through that seven thing.
“I just felt that where they were at in the lineup, just thought it was good to give them a different look with Carroll coming up. But he was fantastic tonight.
“The slider, he used a little bit more, the fastball had life, command, and got a lot of swing and miss tonight, and really had his way with those guys. So it was really good to see.”
Yamamoto ranks ninth in MLB with a 68.4% strike rate, which coincides with his slim walk rate of just 5%. He possesses one of the league’s highest-graded four seam fastballs, mainly because he’s upped the usage of his sinker, cutter and a slider, something the Dodgers have made a point to address.
“I think that he can manipulate the fastball,” Roberts added. “There’s a slider, there’s a cutter, there’s a curveball and the split. So yeah, it’s more than four pitches.
“And I think just to get something moving a little bit in on the right-handed hitter is a good thing, and to go along with the cutter, the slider and the curveball. Those add split to the righties, so like I said, he’s just got a lot of different weapons and credit to him.
“He’s just open to continuing to get better as a big league pitcher.”
Yamamoto’s April 19th start against the New York Mets, when he tossed six innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits with nine strikeouts, was with a limited arsenal. Of his 99 pitches, Yamamoto threw 38 splitters, 30 curveballs, 24 four-seam fastballs and seven cutters.
Looking at Monday’s outing, he’s flipped his mix completely around, working off his elite fastball as a vessel for the rest of his tool bag. Against the Diamondbacks, he fired 40 fastballs, 24 splitters, 12 curveballs, 11 sinkers, 10 sliders and three cutters.
The more confidence he gains in his slider, sinker and cutter, will boost their overall usage rates. His fastball will still remain elite, and will mirror his splitter (34.9 whiff rate) and curveball (33.3 whiff rate), that garners a majority of his swing and miss.
Where Yoshinobu Yamamoto ranks in MLB
With his strike-to-walk rate, Yamamoto ranks 13th in MLB with a 22.7% clip. He slots in at 23rd with a 1.06 WHIP.
His expected FIP ranks sixth in the National League at 2.91, placing him in elite territory in his age-25 season.
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