The first time I spoke with James Marvel this spring, he told me how he was proud of his 2019 season and that he pitched through September for the first time in his career. He had a new goal, too: Pitch through October.
Talking to him then, it was obviously an allusion to pitching into the playoffs, but with how the MLB season could be set-up, he might be pitching regular season games in October this year.
At this time a year ago, just pitching in the majors in 2020 would have seemed like a lofty goal for Marvel. He was hardly on anyone's prospect radar, but after being selected as a AA All-Star with Altoona and then pitching well in triple-A, he earned a September call-up at the end of the season. He also was named the organization's minor-league pitcher of the year, going 16-5 with a 2.94 ERA in the minors.
He made four starts with the Pirates. The first and final outings went well, but he was hit hard in the middle two, where he pitched on the road against the Cubs and Brewers.
"But they were good learning experiences," Marvel told me in Bradenton. "If I had the season I had and not gone up in September, I would have still been wondering. I had this great season. Stuff felt great. I was executing, but I still don't know what it's like to pitch against big league hitters in those stadiums.
"I was able to use that and plan for a good offseason."
Marvel usually reflects on his season during a long drive home after the final game. He did that after the Indianapolis Indians' final game in early September, taking a 600-mile drive from Louisville to Washington D.C.. However, a few days later, he was promoted to the majors.
Rather than reflect again when the Pirates' campaign wrapped up, Marvel had another plan. The day after the regular season ended he was on a plane to Seattle to visit the Driveline Baseball institute. It would be just one of the trips he made all over the country this offseason.
The goal: Find more velocity for his fastball.
Marvel posted great results in the minor-leagues in 2019, and he has been a workhorse since coming to the Pirates' system, throwing more innings than just about anyone. However, he was never considered a top prospect because his stuff never really compared to other top minor-leaguers. With the Pirates, Marvel averaged 90.5 mph on his fastball, according to FanGraphs data. Across baseball, the average velocity for a fastball from a starting pitcher was 92.7 mph. While it might be only a two mph gap, that is huge for a fringe pitcher like Marvel.
While he was named the team's minor-league pitcher of the year, Marvel was outrighted off the roster this offseason. The new front office brought a change in ideology, and pitchers with good stuff but bad major-league results, like Dovydas Neverauskas and Clay Holmes, were kept on the roster in favor of pitchers who are major-league ready but don't have the same velocity or pitch movement, like Marvel and Dario Agrazal.
Marvel was happy he got a crack at the majors last year and tried not to think about the front office's decision.
"My whole career, I've tried to not give extra attention to things I can't control," Marvel said. "When I was taken off the 40-man, I understood the front office has their job to do... I know I can, and will be, a major-league baseball player again."
While Agrazal was designated for assignment and traded over the winter, Marvel stayed with the Pirates. With MLB plotting wild proposals to start the season, which could include expanded rosters and multiple double-headers per week, the odds are good Marvel returns to the majors in 2020. His effectiveness in those potential major-league appearances could very well determine his future with the organization.
In the minors, Marvel gave himself a huge advantage by throwing himself into scouting reports and watching opposing batters intently before his starts. Everyone does that much better in the majors, so while his good game prep is still a useful trait, he lost a bit of his edge. Pitchers with less than stellar stuff are more likely to be exposed in the big leagues.
Which is why he was looking for extra velocity. While he did a good job getting whiffs with his curveball and changeup to lefties, he had a harder time with right-handers. He started mixing in a slider this spring to try to get those extra swings and misses, but he also needed some extra heat. He made a commitment to his body by packing on 20 pounds of weight, but he needed to do more.
Marvel had heard about Driveline, so he wanted to see what it was all about. He only made one trip up there, but during those couple of days, he got the full experience.
That included putting sensors all over his shirtless body -- "like I was in a video game" -- and pitching so he could see how his body moved.
"It's interesting to see that stuff slowed down and transitioning it to my work," Marvel said. "Understanding how the biomechanics of my pitching delivery work and how it correlates with performance."
Marvel then went all over the country to work with other coaches. He made several trips to Lafeyette, Cali. to see Jeff Pick, who has been a pitching coach for Marvel since he was 12. He made a trip down to Florida every three or four weeks to visit Eric Cressey, who is now the Yankees' director of player health and performance, so he could see the progress he had made. And in his home in Washington, Marvel worked with Eric Niesen, the Georgetown pitching coach, who introduced him to Rhapsodo, high speed cameras and other tools the Pirates would use during spring training this year.
During those trips, days of work and the subsequent conversations after, Marvel reached a conclusion. He was opening his hips and shoulders too early, meaning he was not creating as much torque during his delivery.
“We found that I’m really linear with my lower half," Marvel said, explaining that he was going straight to home plate. “For me, I think it has really helped me command the ball and throw strikes where I want, but it’s also taken away a little velocity, a little extra giddy-up on my heater.”
To try to fix this, Marvel started to take a longer stride to the mound. By doing so, he hopes to keep his hips, and by extension his shoulder, closed a little longer. Not only could it potentially add a little bit of velocity by doing this, it also makes the ball a little harder to see out of the hand for right-handers. With a slightly longer path to the plate, the perceived velocity to the batter could increase as well.
While Marvel's velocity stuck in the low-90s during early spring training games, pitching coach Oscar Marin spotted those lower-half changes.
"He's progressing," Marin told me in Bradenton. "He's a great strike thrower and he competes, any pitch, any count."
Marvel has prided himself on that competitiveness. He describes his approach as a mix between "analytics and athleticism," trying to blend the two to get the best results.
When the season resumes, he will be able to show off that mix, and maybe an extra tick or two on his heater.
"There's still a lot of it I don't know," Marvel said. "I'm just trying to be a sponge and soak up how those things work and then take it out to what I do in the field."