Jon Lester has thrown more changeups over the last two years in order to diversify his already impressive pitch portfolio and compensate for a drop in fastball velocity. But even with a that strong mix and all the expertise flowing from the Cubs’ vaunted pitch lab, is Lester sequencing his change properly? Let’s look at the data and you can come up with your own interpretations.
About 10% of Lester’s pitches since the start of 2018 have been changeups and batters only swing and miss against 10% of those pitches. So that means the 35-year-old only gets about one changeup whiff per game.