A year ago, Joe Ryan debuted in the majors as a fastball-intensive pitcher, confident to fill the strike zone with a heater that topped out at 93 miles per hour. That's not the heat most teams covet, but Ryan succeeded because of some deception in his delivery and enough movement to miss bats.
That hasn't changed in 2022, but this year the Twins righthander is throwing fastballs 51.5% of the time compared to 65.8% last season. Why?
Enter the slider.
Ryan's slider has been on a journey. But it's now at the point where he's comfortable increasing the usage. He also throws a changeup and a curve, giving him the standard four-pitch mix. His slider usage has increased from 16% last season to 31.2% this year.
"I just didn't have a slider, so I just threw my curveball and changeup, and I threw a lot of changes because of it," Ryan said. "And then I moved up because it was working. And then got to the point where, yeah, I felt like it would be smart to add something in. So I added it in.
"I kind of like adding pitches and learning how they work and looking at other guys who throw them and talking to teammates that have good stuff that I can pick their brain about what they're doing. That's fun for me."
Ryan is 2-1 with a 1.69 ERA through three outings. Thursday, he shut out Kansas City on two hits and a walk over six innings, and the Twins held on for a 1-0 victory to avoid getting swept.
Ryan just started throwing the slider last season but is comfortable with throwing it to lefthanded or righthanded hitters — basically, whenever he thinks it can be effective.
