Article: Get Ready for a Whole New Richard Fitts

[Davy Andrews]

In just two spring training appearances, Richard Fitts has demonstrated that he's an entirely different pitcher from the one we saw in September.

Richard Fitts has now made two spring training appearances, striking out five and allowing four hits and a walk. He has yet to surrender a run, and seven of the 10 batted balls he’s allowed have been groundballs. Obviously, it would be ridiculous to try to draw conclusions from the stats Fitts has put up in four spring training innings, but it’s not just the results that have been impressive. Fitts is an entirely different pitcher than the one who burst onto the scene with a scoreless inning streak in September.

During his 2024 cameo, Fitts featured a four-pitch mix, leading with a four-seam fastball that averaged 94.5 mph. He followed that up with a slider, a sweeper, and a splitter. There were a couple obvious problems with that particular pitch mix. For one, the slider and sweeper were a little too similar. The slider came in at 85.9 mph, not much above the sweeper at 83.7, and its vertical break didn’t differ much from the sweeper’s either. This likely contributed to Fitts’ trouble getting whiffs. According to the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, the Red Sox instructed Fitts to focus on improving his velocity during the offseason. “When his velo is up, the other stuff plays better,” Alex Cora told reporters, “So that’s what we pushed in the offseason and he did an outstanding job.” Said Fitts, “I tried to work on a lot of things, but really dove into our shoulder program.”

It worked. In his spring training debut, his fastball reached 98 mph. His second appearance, which took place in front of Statcast camera on Friday, revealed a completely revamped repertoire. For starters, his four-seamer hit 99 mph and averaged 97.6. He didn’t throw a single pitch that hard during his September cup of coffee in Boston. His slider was harder and tighter – he has referred to it as a gyro slider – averaging 88.9 mph and giving it four ticks of separation from the sweeper. Furthermore, the sweeper added some drop, separating its movement axis from the slider’s too. Over the offseason, he switched his splitter to a kick change grip – a modified changeup grip in which the pitcher spikes his middle finger in order to alter (or kick) the spin axis as the ball comes off their fingertips. That’s not all; Fitts also debuted a sinker and a curveball. He only threw three curveballs and two sinkers on Friday, but the two looked to complement his existing pitches well. The movement plot below was created by the indispensable Thomas Nestico, and I think it’ll show you what I mean.

The curve, in blue, averaged 13.3 inches of induced drop, giving Fitts a weapon to earn whiffs at and below the bottom of the zone against let-handed batters. The sinker, in purple, averaged 14.5 inches of arm-side run, and while that might make it a bit predictable to hitters, it’s way more horizontal movement than his four-seamer gets, and having another high-velocity look really should help. This is what Fitts meant when he told reporters a few weeks ago that his “focus was on the big picture.” All of sudden, he has a six-pitch mix, more velocity, more separation in velocity, and pitches that can break in a wider variety of directions. As he put it, “My guy on MLB The Show is going to be pretty crazy.” Clearly, he’s had a busy offseason. “I feel like I’ve exceeded my expectations of what I ever thought that I could be,” Fitts told reporters, “but I don’t think I’m even done yet.”

As it is just March 5, I am legally obligated to close with another reminder that it’s way too early to come to any definite conclusions. Pitchers excel in spring training and then get lit up like a Christmas tree when the season starts. Pitchers try out new pitches in spring training, only to shelve them, sometimes before the season even starts. However, Fitts has given us several tangible things to be excited about. He’s shown that he’s willing to put in serious work. He’s shown us that he can throw a lot harder than anyone knew was capable of. He’s shown us that he can field a full starter’s repertoire. That’s pretty good for four innings of work.

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[Yaz Fan Since 67]

Pretty excited to read of his development. I wasn't that high on Fitts because his heater was topping out at 94.  But if he hit 99 well that changes everything.  Not sure what his role will be but it will be fun to find out.  

[Bellhorn04]

I hate to take the Nelly perspective, but I hope the sudden increase in velocity doesn't lead to arm problems.  

[mvp 78]

2 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I hate to take the Nelly perspective, but I hope the sudden increase in velocity doesn't lead to arm problems.  

I'm right there with you and have mentioned it previously. 😎