CLEVELAND: Joba Chamberlain parlayed a non-roster invitation to spring camp into a roster spot and has become, statistically, the most reliable arm in the Indians bullpen through the first six weeks of the season.
The biggest reason for it is Chamberlain is throwing his fastball more often, and he’s throwing it with more conviction than in the past.
Chamberlain entered Monday with a 0.79 ERA and 0.55 WHIP, both team-low marks, to go with more than a strikeout (13) per inning pitched (12⅔). He hasn’t pitched in as many high-leverage situations because he entered the season as a front-end reliever with Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw and others anchored to the later innings.
Looking for a place to stick after pitching for the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals last season, he’s found success in Cleveland thus far. The biggest change has been a revamped focus on his fastball.
According to FanGraphs, he’s throwing his fastball 52.2 percent of the time, up from 47.1 percent last year. It’s the highest percentage since he left the New York Yankees after the 2013 season.
“I just think it was being more aggressive in the zone,” Chamberlain said. “Just being able to trust your fastball in certain counts, and everything comes off of that. So, I think it’s not a conscious effort [simply to throw it more often], but I think it’s just one of those things where you’re trying to figure out what is better suited to make you successful.”
More important, he’s been more effective with it. Chamberlain has a positive rating on his fastball for the first time since 2011. According to BrooksBaseball, he has a 6.48 whiff (swing-and-miss) percentage with that pitch — up from 4.27 last year and his highest rate since 2008, his second year in the league.
It isn’t just how often Chamberlain has thrown his fastball. He’s changed his mindset toward the pitch, which he says has helped. Instead of just getting it over the plate for a strike or setting up his off-speed stuff, he’s tried to view it with more aggressiveness. It’s a more of a weapon as opposed to only a means to an off-speed end.
As his career has progressed and he began to move around, it’s something he put less of an emphasis on until now.
“It’s just aggressiveness and conviction,” Chamberlain said. “It’s one thing to put it where you want to but, at the same time, you throw a pitch with conviction and [are] aggressive with it, it’s just as valuable as it is to throw the right pitch, not necessarily with the conviction that you want.”
Another change this season is how Chamberlain has been used as he fits within the Indians bullpen. He’s working more multiple-inning or four-out appearances, and four of his last seven appearances have lasted more than a single inning. Chamberlain didn’t throw more than an inning once in 2015.
“I like it,” Chamberlain said. “Whatever [Indians manager Terry Francona] needs me to do, I don’t care. If I can fold towels and help this team win, then I’ll fold towels and help this team win.”
The Indians don’t want to overuse Chamberlain in that way, but Francona does appreciate being able to have him get an out or two, end an inning and then go back out again as seamlessly as he has while piecing together a game to get to Allen in the ninth.
“We don’t want it to drag out because I think we feel like we’ve got a pretty good thing going, and we don’t want to overdo it, and sometimes when you go too far, you can’t take it back,” Francona said.
“But he hasn’t had real long innings, so it’s been good. Anytime somebody has the ability to get an out and go back out and pitch an inning is really helpful. Some guys just can’t do it. It’s really helpful when guys can do it and you don’t have to worry.”
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ