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Ober is coming off a strong rookie campaign where he made 20 starts and posted a 4.19 ERA with a 1.20 WHIP. At the season’s end, he was named the team’s rookie of the year, which likely resulted in higher expectations for him entering 2022. Minnesota’s only offseason additions to the rotation include Sonny Gray and Dylan Bundy, so Ober will be relied on to accumulate innings. The Twins likely want him to take on an even more critical role, and his slider is the pitch that can help him take the next step.
Ober used a four-pitch mix during his rookie campaign, including a four-seam fastball, slider, changeup, and curveball. His second most utilized pitch was his slider, as he threw it 18.4% of the time. Last season, batters posted a .264 batting average and a .542 slugging percentage. At Baseball Savant, his slider resulted in a 38.2 Hard Hit % and a 7 Run-Value. His Run-Value on his slider ranked as the 17th worst in baseball.
One of Ober’s biggest strengths is controlling the strike zone and limiting walks. His BB% ranked in the 94th percentile, and his slider was the pitch he threw most regularly out of the zone. His slider is almost exclusively used against right-handed hitters (86%), while he regularly turns to his other offspeed offerings against southpaws. His OPS versus righties was over 100 points lower than lefties, and he had a 9.17 SO/W rate versus right-handed hitters.
Last season, Ober made specific changes to his slider to add more velocity so the pitch would look more like a fastball to hitters. There were visible changes to the pitch, which helped improve his other offspeed pitches.
In an interview with FanGraphs, Ober said, “I started throwing a new slider [in early-to-mid-August]. I wanted something a little bit harder. It had been around 78-80 [mph], and I wanted to give hitters something different. It was kind of blending with my curveball, too. Basically, the idea was something with a bigger speed difference between my curveball and my slider.”
He went on to say, “Before, I had it a little deeper in my hand, and it had a lot more horizontal movement on it. It wasn’t as depth-y as my new one. My new one is harder [82-84] and has a little more depth, and it’s also not as horizontal anymore.”
In the minor leagues, Ober could pound the strike zone with fastballs and get consistent outs. As he establishes himself at the big-league level, he will need to continue to make adjustments and rely on his secondary pitches. Minnesota’s front office identified the changes mentioned above, and he made improvements over his final seven starts, including a 3.63 ERA and a 34-to-3 strikeout to walk ratio.
If Ober can continue to make adjustments, he will establish himself as a long-term rotational option for the Twins. All of his other pitches are tied to the success of his slider. How important do you think Ober’s slider is to his 2022 season? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.
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