Five Under-The-Radar Prospects With Great Sliders
Image credit: Trent Palmer (Mike Janes/Four Seam Images)
There’s no pitch that defines modern baseball more than the slider. While high-ride four-seam fastballs get the headlines, slider usage has seen a 29% increase at the major league level since 2018. Nearly a quarter of all pitches thrown at the major league level are classified as sliders. The mastery of this pitch is becoming more and more essential for sustained major league success. While sliders have seemingly grown in popularity, a variety of slider shapes have become more prevalent.
The heavy horizontal-breaking sweeper has seen its popularity sky rocket in recent years, with players at all levels adding sweepers to their arsenals. Hybrid cutter shapes have begun to gain traction within numerous minor league systems, and in many ways look like the early favorite for the trendy slider shape in 2023. While the classic slider with tight gyro spin has seen less fanfare, it is still an effective pitch for pitchers at all levels and is seemingly as popular among pitchers as ever.
In the following article we’ll examine sliders that have been standouts for each of these five pitchers throughout the 2022 season. Data included below was sourced from front office contacts.
Brandon Walter, LHP, Red Sox
A former 26th-round pick out of Delaware, Walter had an injury-plagued amateur career, missing all of 2018 recovering from Tommy John surgery and making 37 starts for the Blue Hens over four seasons. Over the 2020 shutdown Walter reworked his arsenal and returned in 2021 a different pitcher. The biggest development was the additional sweep Walter had added to his slider. When he debuted as a professional his slider averaged eight to nine inches of sweep. Returning from the pandemic, Walter had added nearly eight to 10 inches of horizontal break. Now sitting in the low 80s with on average 17 to 19 inches of horizontal break, Walter’s slider has developed into one of the most effective breaking balls in the game. In 2022 alone, Walter has generated whiffs on 58% of swings and chases on 35% of swings. Sitting 79-82 mph with little to no vertical movement and averaging 2,700 rpm of raw spin, Walter’s slider is a standout sweeper. Walter hasn’t pitched since June for Triple-A Worcester and was later shut down for the season with a cervical bulging disc.
Marco Raya, RHP, Twins
A fourth-round pick out of the Texas prep ranks during the shortened five-round 2020 draft, Raya made his professional debut earlier this spring and has shown a standout pitch mix throughout his appearances this season. While Raya’s mid-90s four-seam fastball, high-80s changeup and curveball are all good pitches in their own right, his slider stands alone as his signature pitch. Grading out in the high 120s on Stuff+ models, Raya’s slider is a high-spin sweeper with above-average velocity. The pitch sits 83-85 mph, but features a foot of horizontal break on average with some ride. Spinning the pitch at 2,700-2,800 rpm regularly, not only does Raya display an elite combination of power and movement on his slider, he shows the ability to command the pitch despite its heavy glove-side break. Raya’s 68% strike rate on the pitch is easily the highest strike rate on a slider of players listed and would classify as an above-average strike rate on a fastball. It’s this combination of command, power and movement that makes Raya’s sweeper a standout.
Dahian Santos, RHP, Blue Jays
The Blue Jays have had a banner year for pitching on the farm. Despite trading away 2021 first-rounder and highly regarded college starter Gunnar Hoglund, the Jays saw several breakouts on the pitching side this season, highlighted by Ricky Tiedemann, Yosver Zulueta and Hayden Juenger. One of the brightest breakouts was the 19-year-old Santos. The righthander performed well over 19 appearances with Low-A Dunedin before seeing a late-season promotion to High-A Vancouver. The undersized righthander has an unusual operation and arm action that allow his pitches to play up, particularly his slider. Santos utilizes a tall-and-fall operation with a low sidearm action that plays up his horizontal movement upon release. As you would expect from any low-slot slinger, Santos’ slider generates heavy sweep. Sitting 80-82 mph with 2,700-2,800 rpm of raw spin, Santos generates on average 14 to 15 inches of sweep with very little to no vertical break. The pitch is Santos’ go-to offering, seeing nearly identical usage to that of his fastball. While still learning to command the pitch, Santos generates whiffs on 57% of swings and chases on 35% of swings. In a breakout season for Santos, his slider was the nucleus of his success.
Trent Palmer, RHP, Blue Jays
Drafted in the third round of the 2020 draft out of Jacksonville, Palmer tosses one of the filthiest sliders in the minors. The sweeper Palmer throws is unusual due to the amount of vertical break he generates while simultaneously getting on average 10 inches of horizontal break. Palmer utilizes a low sidearm action that allows the ball to play up out of his hand. This works particularly well when Palmer throws his slider as it has elements of its movement profile that are in-line with cutters while getting more horizontal break than a cutter. It’s a truly unique pitch. Sitting 80-83 mph with spin rates in the 2,300-2,400 rpm range, Palmer generates a foot of ride with 10 inches of horizontal break. That combination of movement and unique release characteristics drove success for Palmer’s slider in 2022. The righthander generated whiffs on 33% of swings against the pitch while getting chases at an average rate. Palmer’s slider graded out the highest of his pitches on Stuff+ models, with grades north of 140.
Will Warren, RHP, Yankees
Drafted in the eighth round in 2021 out of Southeastern Louisiana, Warren impressed in 2022, making 25 starts across two levels of Class A in his debut. Warren has a deep arsenal of pitches, throwing a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, cutter, slider, curveball and changeup this season. Primarily a sinker and slider pitcher, Warren’s success is heavily correlated to the quality of his slider. Sitting 83-85 mph with 3,000 rpm of raw spin, Warren generates on average 18 inches of horizontal break while getting ride. His slider has a similar shape to Marco Raya’s, but with significantly more sweep. While Warren’s whiff and chase numbers are fairly pedestrian, the pitch grades out highly on Stuff+ models, sitting in the upper-130 range. Warren is a name to watch in the coming years thanks to his combination of power and movement.
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