Blue Jays: Jose Berrios – 2022 Cy Young Candidate

The Pete Walker Effect

Pete Walker, ever heard of him? He’s turned into quite the hero in Blue Jays land. Walker has a knack for identifying what a pitcher’s best weapon or strategy is and articulating how to best utilize it. Marco Estrada and his changeup, Robbie Ray and his fastball/slider combo, Steven Matz’s resurrection season, among many others. While Berrios wasn’t in need of a serious makeover, a tuneup was in order. Berrios got the win in his first start, then lost four straight. These first five starts as a Blue Jay amounted to a 4.07 FIP, while opponents hit .317 off of him. These signs had the making of a disappointing deadline acquisition by the Blue Jays, and that steep price tag was looking like more of an overpay by the day.

The Toronto Blue Jays have quite the starting pitcher in Jose Berrios. Here’s why he could be in line for Cy Young consideration next season.

Some sort of intervention was clearly needed and Walker was up to the challenge. Prior to his start on August 29th, adjustments to his delivery were made. The movement of Berrios’ hands over his head in the middle of his windup was put on the shelf. In addition to the mechanical adjustments, slight changes to his pitch usage were made as well. A slight decrease in changeup usage accompanied by a sizeable increase in fastball usage lead to better results as the season dwindled down. His FIP in his last 7 starts after the adjustments was an impressive 2.87, while he limited hitters to a .190 batting average.

These were some ridiculous improvements, to say the least. Berrios pitched like an ace after the adjustments from Walker. Pete Walker and Jose Berrios got along swimmingly. Continued work between the two could wield continued good results. I’m looking forward to seeing how their relationship will continue to develop.