Ah, the sounds of Spring. Catchers and pitchers working out, minor leaguers getting shots at making the major league club, and the annual discussion of Jeremy Bonderman needing to develop another pitch. This time we hear it from Tom Gage of the Detroit News:
And this is the spring he's determined to find one.
But it might not be a change-up. It could be something else. Like a splitter.
[...]
Signs of dominance, however, are only distantly related to consistent dominance. With a fastball and what Baseball America has judged to be the second-best slider in the American League, Bonderman presents a glimpse of what he could be -- but doesn't quite complete the process.
"I need to throw a third pitch, I know I do," he said. "It's just a matter of getting it.
We are all happy with Jeremy Bonderman's progress in the majors for the Tigers, being the successful pitcher that he is today at such a young age. However, how many times have we heard that he needs to at least add a changeup to his set of pitches?
I think Jeremy Bonderman is fine where he is, as I think that he can be a dominant pitcher without that third pitch -- if it makes him even more successful to add, say a splitter or a change, than I'm definitely all for it. If he is focusing on adding something else a little bit too much we could see a distraction on the mound, though, and that would bring nothing but bad news for the Tigers.
This should be an interesting Spring from that point of view. Let's see how the Tigers coaching staff treats this situation.