A key adjustment helped one Kansas City Royals reliever save his season
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- He touched 97 mph and has continued to put up scoreless frames.
- He straightened his base to reduce knee pounding and protect his landing.
- He added a cutter and changeup while refining a sweeper that now has a 25.6% whiff rate.
It’s been a disappointing start for the Kansas City Royals. They haven’t met preseason expectations and are in last place in the American League Central.
There aren’t many bright spots on the roster. Several key contributors are injured — such as Cole Ragans (elbow), Seth Lugo (concussion) and Vinnie Pasquantino (right hand)
Yet in the midst of a down year the Royals are getting the very best from right-handed pitcher John Schreiber.
Schreiber is performing at an optimal level. His velocity has returned — touching 97 mph — and he continues to put up scoreless frames.
“It’s a combination of a bunch of things I’ve been working on, you know, since the start of the season to be where I want to be body-wise, mechanically and mentally,” Schreiber said. “So I think everything’s just kind of clicking together now.
“I don’t have to worry about much mechanically and just focus on getting guys out again. And feeling that confidence.”
Schreiber has a 2.73 ERA in 32 relief appearances. In June, Schreiber has limited opponents to a .192 batting average in eight outings.
Health is a big reason. Earlier this season, Schreiber dealt with significant left knee pain that limited his effectiveness.
The knee discomfort hindered his landing position. He felt the prolonged impact when finishing his pitches and tried to compensate.
The pain lingered and it forced him to change his mechanics.
“He was bothered by this in the beginning of the season,” Royals pitching coach Brian Sweeney said. “You saw the results weren’t typical of what we know from John Schreiber. But now, we are seeing the best of him, because not only is his body feeling better, but he and Carter (Jensen) and Salvy (Salvador Perez) are understanding how good his strengths are as a pitcher. And he is using them to the best of his ability.”
In recent weeks, Schreiber went back to the drawing board. He found he needed to straighten out his body on the mound.
This required having a more vertical base before dropping to his three-quarter throwing motion. The change would — in theory — alleviate the continued pounding on his knee.
“I felt really good about what (changes) I made,” Schreiber said. “You know, I’m kind of standing a little bit more tall now and not flexing that knee as much on the landing. (I’m) putting myself in a better position to compete out there.”
The Royals agreed with the change. However, they didn’t want him to lose his explosiveness. So the club looked to find the middle ground.
“We don’t want to lessen that impact,” Sweeney said. “That impact is important because once he hits the ground, that force comes back up his body and out of his hand. So we don’t want to lose that, we just want to do it more efficiently.”
Schreiber also worked on his pitching arsenal. He primarily features a fastball, sweeper and sinker. This year, he is implementing a cutter and changeup.
However, it’s the sweeper that is generating more movement. The pitch has produced a 25.6 whiff percentage, per Baseball Savant.
“I was pulling the sweeper a lot and not really getting a good feel on my hand at release point to feel where it was going,” Schreiber said. “So it almost felt like I was throwing it to throw it, hoping for swing and misses or something like that.”
Schreiber changed his grip on the sweeper. He has his fingers in a better position on the baseball’s seam. The adjustment helps him control the release and pinpoint areas to aim the pitch.
“Now I have a better idea of where I want to go with it,” Schreiber said. “And, you know, I can get ahead early with it or if I need to go more away with it ... I can do that now a little bit better and have a feel for it. So that’s the best part of it.”
Additionally, Schreiber has worked to develop his changeup. It’s a pitch that he wanted to bring back into his arsenal.
“He used to have a changeup, it was just a little hard but he was dead-set on finding one,” Sweeney said. “You know, he started messing around with a kick-change on his own. … It’s not a finished product yet either. He’s still getting a feel for it. That’s something that he’ll continue to work on throughout the season.”
The Royals hope Schreiber’s recent success continues. He brings a veteran presence in the bullpen and is counted on in high-leverage situations.
And this year, Schreiber has gotten the job done. He has stranded each of his last 11 inherited runners since April 28. Meanwhile, Schreiber has not issued a walk to an opposing right-handed batter.
“I think it’s confidence-wise,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “You’ve seen his velo tick up and he’s kind of hit his stride here of late.”
Schreiber will hit free agency at the end of the season. And it’s possible teams will call the Royals about his services ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
For now, he is one of the few healthy veterans in the bullpen. And his presence has helped young relievers navigate the ups and downs of a rough campaign.
“Just focusing on what we can do out there and compete,” Schreiber said. “Go out there every day and try to give us a chance to win a ballgame. You know, (get) everybody doing that collectively as a team and good results will happen. Injuries obviously suck and we’re missing those guys, but you’ve got to take it one day at a time and go after it today.”
The Royals sit at 30-45 after dropping a three-game road series against the Washington Nationals. On Wednesday, Schreiber tossed a scoreless inning while surrendering one hit.
“He’s started to feel better, and now we are seeing the fruits of that hard work,” Sweeney said.
