MMV #040: Where Should You Stand on the Rubber?

 Read time: 3 minutes

"Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing." - Warren Spahn

When you think of disrupting timing you probably think about changing speeds and locations.

While those are great ways to do it, they aren't your only options.

Matt Strahm of the Phillies does something unique.

Against left handed hitters he stands on the 1st base side of the rubber and against right handed hitters he stands on the 3rd base side of the rubber.

He has a 19” difference in horizontal release distance between lefties and righties.

That's good enough for the largest difference in all of baseball.

So, why do it?

What are the advantages?

There are 2 primary ways Matt Strahm benefits from it.

Let's begin.

1. Horizontal release angle

Lower slot pitchers typically do much better against same sides hitters compared to opposite handed.

This is in large part due to the horizontal release angle.

This is measuring the initial horizontal direction of the ball out of the pitchers hand (measured in degrees).

A ball released to the right is a positive number and a ball released to the left is a negative number (pitchers perspective).

Meaning for lefties it will be a positive number and for righties a negative number.

The higher the degree, the sharper the angle.

Against same sided hitters, a higher degree is a good thing.

With Strahm being far over on the 1st base side against lefties, his HRA is going to be very high.

He averages 4.33 HRA compared to league average of 2.73 (left vs. left).

His slider starts at the batter and can still end up on the other side of the plate.

This makes for a very uncomfortable at bat.

This has helped lead to a 32% strikeout rate and 2.6% walk rate.

Now, with opposite handed hitters it is more advantageous to have a lower horizontal release angle.

This is why Strahm throws closer to the 3rd base side against righties.

While his HRA is still below average because of his slot, he averages 2.8 compared to league average of 2.5 (left vs. right).

He has been hurt by the long ball against righties, but has still been able to strikeout 31% and walk 7.8%.

This is well above league average platoon splits.

2. Pitch usage

Not only does Strahm change where he stands on the rubber, but also the way he attacks batters.

Against lefties he features primarily sinkers and sliders early in the count. To finish he uses his slider or four-seam at the top of the zone.

This east-west movement is very effective against same sides hitters.

Against righties he features more of his four-seam and cutter early. To finish he uses a lot of four-seams at the top and back foot sliders.

While he doesn’t have a true north to south movement profile, this does make it closer than his sinker and slider combo.

This is something that gives Matt Strahm an edge and has proven to be very effective.

Is this for everyone? No.

It requires a lot of feel to locate pitches from different sides of the rubber.

For younger pitchers this is likely not the most important thing to worry about.

Strahm didn’t start doing this until his 3rd season in the big leagues where every detail matters.

This also isn’t necessary for high slot pitchers because your HRA is going to be low regardless and your platoon splits are going to be closer.

If you are a lower slot pitcher, consider this as an option.

That's all for today.

See you next week!

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