St. Louis Cardinals ace Carlos Martinez shows off a brand-new pitch
St. Louis Cardinals hurler Carlos Martinez displays a new cut-fastball, adding this to his repertoire of pitches.
If the St. Louis Cardinals want to return to the MLB postseason in 2018, Carlos Martinez must take that next step and fully embrace the role as the team’s ace. His passion, excitement, and electric stuff were on full display at the 2017 MLB All-Star game.
But overall, something was missing with Martinez last season.
Is it a mental thing, with Martinez losing concentration during critical stretches? There’s something to that, with Martinez making costly throwing errors in two crucial games down the stretch, costing the Cardinals a shot at the playoffs.
Or, is Martinez just a definite number two pitcher, with fans expecting too much out of him? Honestly, Cardinals fans are overly critical of Martinez and every single player on the roster, but with him, there is something to the criticism. He no doubts has Cy Young caliber, number-one starter type stuff.
Video evidence the issue that scratched Carlos Martinez today isn’t his arm. #STLCards pic.twitter.com/fyEedTHMLs
— Joe Trezza (@JoeTrezz) March 2, 2018
Maybe what’s been missing is another pitch in his arsenal, a knock out pitch of sorts. In his latest start, Martinez showed off a brand new cut-fastball. This new pitch allows his breaking ball to be much more efficient, case in point his most recent start in Spring training — with MLB.com on the scene for his latest start.
WAIT a second now. Carlos Martinez is throwing a cutter now?
— stlCupofJoe (@stlCupofJoe) March 9, 2018
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He currently has this array of pitches to go to:
- Four-seam fastball (97 MPH)
- Sinker (95 MPH)
- Slider (86 MPH)
- Changeup (88 MPH)
- Curveball (80 MPH) — rarely throws this pitch, generates too many flyballs.
- Cut-fastball
Even though his win-loss record was average (12-11), Martinez set career highs in innings pitched (205), strikeouts (217), but also in home runs allowed with 27 long bombs hit into the stands. Martinez displayed flashes of greatness, but also spurts of inconsistency.
Next: Accusations against Carlos Martinez are likely bogus
Which Carlos Martinez will show up for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2018? By the looks of it, he’s close to taking his next step into a larger world — one with Cy Young award aspirations. If the Redbirds want to be National League Central contenders, Martinez must be close to a 20-win guy.