Ryan Pressly: From Mr. Average to Mr. Unhittable
The relief pitcher as a weapon. Mr. Unhittable has been a force who changes the outcomes of baseball games for the last about 50 years.
Some of these weapons have been named Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Sparky Lyle, Mariano Rivera, Bruce Sutter and Billy Wagner. And for one spectacular season 70 years ago, Jim Konstanty.
Every season, there seems to be one or two relievers who come out of nowhere to put together dominating seasons. Unknowns. This year the unknown is a beast who throws a 95.7 mph four-seam fastball that regularly confounds hitters in the American League, and occasionally baffles National League batters as well. No wonder opponents are batting just .150 against this pitcher.
That’s why Ryan Pressly, of the Houston Astros is this year’s Mr. Unhittable.
Pressly is a 6-foot-3, 30-year-old, beast of a pitcher who sports a goatee and wears a fierce determination on his youthful face when he rears back to fire the ball. While he is relatively old for a baseball player at 30, Pressly pitched acceptably for the Twins the last few years, but this year he has surmounted new heights.
Pressly’s 40-game streak, the new record for consecutive scoreless outings, ended last Friday following a home run given up to Boston’s Jackie Bradley Jr.Ryan
Some basics about Ryan Pressly. He has accumulated 5.039 major league service time, and will not be a free agent until the 2022 season. He is working on a one-year $2.9 million contract in 2019. His two year, $17.5 million contract kicks in for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
The obvious question is how has his meteoric rise happened? How has he become Mr. Unhittable?
Pressly explains he learned to throw his curveball when he was 14 years old. His teacher was Steve Busby, the ex-Kansas City Royals pitcher.
But in a piece in FanGraphs, Ryan Pressly adds:
“How my curveball works are kind of just a natural thing. My spin rate … I mean, I know why my spin rate increased. You hear all of this stuff about the Astros, but it’s not nearly the case. My spin rate increased because my velocity started increasing. I tore my lat in 2015, and when I came back my velocity kept going up. As the velocity goes up on your curveball, the spin rate is going to go up as well. I’ve also been throwing it more and more, and getting consistent with it. That’s a big reason it has gotten better.”
So, at the trade deadline of last season, when the Minnesota Twins traded the 29-year-old Ryan Pressly to the Houston Astros for two marginal prospects (neither of whom projects to be a front line performer for Minnesota), Pressly had already begun to figure out his pitching mechanics. Had already begun to perform better for Minnesota. Had already begun to change from Mr. Average to Mr. Unhittable.
According to Fan Graphs, Houston was mightily impressed with Ryan Pressly’s spin rates, suggested he throw fewer fastballs and more curveballs, and watched as hitters swung and missed with greater frequency, and when a hitter did make contact, that contact was weak. Presumably Houston saw the beast lurking within.
So, his numbers took on a magical twist. His record with Houston last year was 1-0, two saves, and 32 strikeouts to 3 walks over 23 innings. His ERA was 0.77, and WHIP was 0.60. Those are the kinds of numbers that forge reputations and Hall of Fame careers.
Pressly has continued his magic into this season. He has appeared in 21 of Houston’s 54 games, throwing 23.1 superlative innings, striking out 26 batters, walking one, allowing 12 hits, while posting a 0.39 ERA, and a skinny WHIP of 0.56. Making his 2019 WAR 1.3. The definition of Mr. Unhittable.
So, when Ryan Pressly becomes more expensive next season, Houston will gladly pay his freight for the next two seasons, if he continues to put up the numbers he has. As for free agency, if he remains Mr. Unhittable, anything is possible. Even a two-year contract when he hits 33.
