Interesting article on Fangraphs here about Kyle Loshe's transition from a thrower to a pitcher. Very interesting perspective. He makes it sound like the Twins wanted him to be a strikeout pitcher and he didn't really learn the value of being a control pitcher until he left the organization.

 

It's interesting to me because that seems to be the exact opposite of what we hear everywhere else. I wonder if this has more to do with his emotional maturity and ability to respect/connect with a different pitching coach or organization. Thoughts?

Sure doesn't sound like the Twins we know. I wonder if it's just some semantics from his less experienced days. The Twins have long preached throwing strikes, did he take that to mean get strike-outs? His comment on learning to pitch strikes me as perhaps learning that the best pitch may not actually be a strike, but close enough that the batter swings. I'm just speculating here but perhaps the Twins emphasis on throwing strikes doesn't fit with how Lohse has been coached since leaving. Not that your taught to be wild, but rather that you need to be smart and pitch to the situation...kind of like we hear earlier this year when discussing the Twins decision to start shifting fielders and the question of whether the pitcher could pitch to fit the shift.

Great article.

I never realized Lohse was such a thoughtful and heady guy.

Sounds like he's mastered the mental side of the game, which explains why he outpitches his FIP and xFIP year in and year out.

Sounds like the biggest difference for Lohse was an emphasis on mental preparation and scouting reports. It also sounds like Lohse almost completely credits Duncan.

 

I think it would be unfair to compare Anderson to (by far) the best pitching coach in baseball, but it may be yet another datapoint in the growing pile that says we have a need for change there. We're not even remotely maximizing the talent we have IMO.

I think his new mental approach has clouded his memory. Zen and the Art of Doorknob Maintenance has clearly made him forget that the Twins do not preach strikeouts.