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Jordan Romano sliding into Blue Jays closer role

Small sample shows notable improvement from 2019

Jordan Romano pitches during his Blue Jays debut (Getty/2019)

There were a lot of question marks surrounding the Blue Jays bullpen heading into the abbreviated 2020 season. A mix of minimal MLB success and experience left manager Charlie Montoyo's head spinning. One thing was for sure, Ken Giles was his closer.


Giles, acquired during the 2018 trade deadline from Houston for Roberto Osuna, has owned the job since he arrived. He hasn't missed a beat converting 38 of his 39 save opportunities, including his one chance this season.


Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, Giles has thrown only 1.2 innings in 2020 after hitting the injured list on July 27 with a right forearm strain. His timetable for return is uncertain. Anthony Bass, the only other reliever with recent closer experience (five saves in 2019 for Seattle), has filled in racking up three saves in four chances.


Now the fish is overcooked and it's Jordan Romano's time to shine.


Romano has been the indisputable best reliever on the Blue Jays this season.


In 10 innings pitched, Romano has allowed three hits, one run, walked four and struck out 13. His ERA is 0.90 and his WHIP stands at 0.700.


Although, Romano is coming off his worst performance of the season.


Brandon Lowe of the Tampa Bay Rays turned on a high and outside 89 mph slider over the fence at Sahlen Field. The home run broke a tie and handed Romano the loss on Saturday. He was pulled for Shun Yamaguchi after giving up a single and a walk.


Still this is no reason for concern.


It's a night and day difference for Romano this season.


Romano throws two pitches; a fastball and a slider. That's it. In 2020 he throws his slider 61.6% of the time and his fastball 38.4%. Last year that wasn't the case.



Romano's pitch frequency has flipped since 2019

In 2019, Romano's fastball was thrown 63.3% while the slider 36.3%.


During Blue Jays camp there was loads of optimism surrounding Romano's improved slider. Pitching coach Pete Walker gave high praise to where he was on July 16.


“Romano right now is showing plus power with a devastating slider,” Walker said recently. “I know we saw him last year good for a little bit, then he physically had some issues which kept him from seeing those elite numbers velocity wise, but he looks outstanding right now. He could end up being a big part of this bullpen.”


Here's him at summer training camp

Romano admitted this was the first offseason his primary focus wasn't on a changeup. Instead he's developed two different slider grips; one to attack the zone early in counts and one to put-away batters when he's up.


The improved mechanics are one thing but Romano's health is another.


He's throwing his fastball an average of 96.5 mph (up 2 ticks from 2019) and he's added four miles to his slider, from 84.7 to 88.7 mph.


The results are pretty telling by just looking at his Statcast profile.



When batters swing, they miss the ball completely 40% of the time. When they hit the ball it's topped 55% of the time, and under it 15% of the time. Not to mention he's struck out 35.1% of all batters faced.


Interesting to point out he's getting hit just as hard in 2020 as he was in 2019. Average exit velocity is 90.6 mph in 2020 and 89 mph in 2019.


But where hitters are making contact is what matters. Romano's 2019 pitch locations are a mess.

Ignore the lone sinker he threw (probably mislabeled). Romano threw 25% of his pitches in the heart of the plate. His fastball looked like candy to major league hitters and his slider was erratic to say the least. When you hang breaking balls over the middle of the plate, you're going to get blasted.


The launch angle from batters was 11.8 degrees on the 41 batted balls. On the 17 hits he gave up, four were home runs. He induced a fly ball on 51.2% of balls in play, firmly placing him as a 'fly ball pitcher.'


Look at his 2020 pitch location.

Yes it is a small sample size but there is so much improvement. His fastball is remaining up in the zone while the slider is staying clustered toward the bottom. Most importantly, he's leaving the middle of the plate.


Romano was hoping for this kind of improvement in 2020


“This year, it’s attacking up in the zone with my heater, down in the zone with my slider,” Romano said. “Before I wanted to attack down in the zone with my heater. I looked at the numbers, and I was really getting hurt when I tried to go down with it. I’m starting to work higher in the zone now.”


Watch it all in action against Miami earlier this season.

1st out - 92 mph slider below the strike zone

2nd out - 90 mph slider low in the zone, grounded right to the third baseman

3rd out - 94 mph fastball chased up and out of the zone


The numbers the Rapsodo (machine that gives you analytics on every pitch) didn't lie.


Romano has transformed into a 'ground ball pitcher.' His launch angle is now -2.8 degrees, 65% of balls in play are ground balls.


Montoyo decided against using Romano during Monday's 7-2 win over Baltimore. He went to Bass in the 8th and Waguespack in the 9th when Toronto scored twice in the top of the inning.


While Giles is out, Romano will be closing.


Now, enjoy this gif of him striking out Ronald Acuna.


 
 
 

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