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Whalen’s increased K-rate aiding ’16 success
- Updated: August 10, 2016
ATLANTA — Rob Whalen’s value will likely always be most heavily influenced by his ability to consistently induce ground balls with his sinker. But as the Braves’ 22-year-old right-hander has pitched at three levels over the past two months, he has started to miss bats on a more consistent basis.
Whalen produced a 53-percent ground-ball rate and recorded 7.7 strikeouts per nine innings through the first 13 starts he made for Double-A Mississippi this year. Though the results were good, Mississippi pitching coach Dennis Lewallyn began preaching the need for Whalen to stop trying to do too much with his sinker, slider and changeup.
Though this did not lead to a drastic change to mechanics or repertoire, Whalen has benefited from the confidence this conversation helped create. Over the 10 starts he has since made for Mississippi, Triple-A Gwinnett and Atlanta, he has produced a 50 percent ground-ball rate and …
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