Phillies’ Jean Cabrera Focuses On Pitch Execution
Righthander Jean Cabrera’s outing in the Phillies’ Spring Breakout game showed both his growth and the areas he needs to improve upon.
The 22-year-old entered with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning and pumped 95-97 mph fastballs and mid-80s sliders. It wasn’t an effective plan against the first two Tigers hitters he faced, who combined for a two-run double and a walk.
The Phillies like Cabrera’s four-pitch arsenal—and the fact that his velocity has risen of late—but he still needs to work on execution. That will be his main focus in 2024.
“It’s understanding his attack plans versus righthanded and lefthanded hitters,” Phillies assistant GM of player development Preston Mattingly said. “What pitches to use and when to use them.”
Cabrera signed out of Venezuela in 2019 and made significant strides last year. In addition to his fastball velocity increasing from an average of 93.2 mph in 2022 to 94.5 mph in 2023, he also cut his walk rate from 13% to 6%.
In 81.1 innings for Low-A Clearwater he recorded a 4.32 ERA with 86 strikeouts and 22 walks.
Mattingly wants Cabrera to continue to build upon that success.
“He always commanded the ball well, but the walk rate got significantly better,” Mattingly said, “He’s executing much better now.
“Honestly, Jean is one of the better competitors we have. The ability to throw strikes with multiple pitches” is advanced beyond his years.
Cabrera will enter the 2024 season with more weapons at his disposal to attack hitters.
“At the end of last year, he used his two-seamer and four-seamer, so he’s adjusted his mix a touch,” Mattingly said. “He’s always had those (fastballs), but he’s started to use them a lot more.
“He’s got the changeup and the slider, too. So he’s got the four pitches and is continuing to build workload. We want to get him to a spot where down the road he can be successful.”
