CLEVELAND — Hunter Gaddis doesn't want to think on the mound. He only wants to throw, and throw hard.
It's working wonders.
Gaddis made the full-time move to the Guardians bullpen this spring . He became a needed arm after Trevor Stephan (surgery), James Karinchak (shoulder) and Sam Hentges (finger) all started the season on the injured list.
The Guardians were in need of somebody — anybody — to step into a larger, high-leverage role, along with Scott Barlow , in an effort to bridge the gap to Emmanuel Clase in the ninth. Manager Stephen Vogt might not have overly defined roles (aside from Clase, at least) for the bullpen, but some reliable production was a must.
So far, it's been Gaddis. Through his first eight appearances, he's allowed only four hits and struck out 11 in 7⅔ scoreless innings. In other words, he's been exactly what the Guardians badly need in the bullpen .
"He kind of proved that to us over the course of spring training, and now especially early in the season, that it takes a certain personality to be able to take the ball in those high-leverage situations and come in and say, 'Here's what I got. I dare you to hit it,'" Vogt said of Gaddis. "You look at this demeanor, and he's going to give everything he's got for 20 to 25 pitches and it's coming right after you, and that's what you want out of a leverage bullpen guy."
That mindset seems to suit Gaddis. Enter the game, attack right from the first second without thinking, and then get out of there.
And really, for him, that's the point. Overthinking is the enemy.
"I really enjoy that part — just going in and attacking you the best I can," Gaddis said. "You're not trying to ease into a lineup like when you're [a starting pitcher], so I think that's really nice, just coming in at 100 percent, no matter what."
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Gaddis bounced around with some different techniques when it came to his mechanic last season. He appeared in 11 games — with seven starts — and finished with a 4.50 ERA. Now that he's able to only focus on coming out of the bullpen, he's taken that element of switching his mechanics out of the equation.
"One thing I don't do well is when I'm thinking about mechanics while I'm on the mound, because then that takes away from the attack mindset," Gaddis said. "So part of it is also not worrying about mechanics, and when I'm playing catch before the game, it's where I need to hone in, and then it's just trying to produce as much power as I can."
That power, perhaps more than anything, is behind Gaddis' strong start this season.
Many pitchers experience velocity bumps when they switch from being a starter (or a hybrid, as Gaddis was last year) to a reliever full time. Gaddis is a prime example.
Last year, his four-seam fastball averaged 93.4 mph. This year, that's up to 96.5 mph . His slider is averaging 89 mph, up from 85.3 mph a year ago. And his changeup is slower — which makes it an even better complement considering the more extreme velocity difference.
He's in the 94th percentile in both whiff percentage (37.5) and strikeout percentage (37.9).
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By all accounts, he's virtually a brand new pitcher, one who doesn't need to think about turning over a lineup multiple times, or what he's doing mechanically as a game progresses. It's simpler, now: Just throw hard.
It's a mindset Gaddis has embraced. And in doing so, he's embraced a key role in the Guardians bullpen.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hunter Gaddis' velocity ticks up in key role with Guardians bullpen
