MINNEAPOLIS -- In his introductory Zoom call after the Pirates acquired him in March, right-hander Duane Underwood Jr. said he saw an opportunity to stick with his new team.
So far, it’s clear he has taken advantage of it.
Through his first eight games, Underwood has pitched 12 innings with a 2.25 ERA and 19 strikeouts. His 36.5% strikeout rate ranks in the 91st percentile of all pitchers, and his 38% whiff rate is in the 93rd percentile.
Part of that has to do with him using his repertoire effectively.
“Stalls, Oscar, Pérez -- those guys do a great job,” Underwood said, referring to catchers Jacob Stallings and Michael Pérez and pitching coach Oscar Marin. “They do their homework. They have a gameplan going in, we go over that gameplan and it’s my job to execute that gameplan. Whatever comes off that, then we make adjustments.”
The Pirates acquired Underwood on March 7, shortly after the Cubs designated him for assignment. A former second-round pick and one of their top pitching prospects, the Pirates were quick to grab him once he was available, actually trading a lower-level minor-leaguer for him rather than waiting for him to reach the waiver wire.
Despite him only getting a couple weeks in spring with his new team, the Pirates felt confident enough to bring him north. He’s been used mostly in a multi-inning role, but Derek Shelton hasn’t shied away from using him in higher leverage situations.
“I think he’s done a nice job taking advantage of the opportunity,” Shelton said.
Underwood has a three -- well, three and a half -- pitch mix: Fastball, changeup, curve and a slider that he’s working on, but hasn’t thrown too often in games. (Hence the ‘half” pitch. The slider is just a “get out of jail free card” for now.)
Of those offerings, it’s been the changeup that has done the most damage. Hitters are 1-for-17 against it, the one hit being a single, with 11 strikeouts. He’s relied on it more than ever this year, throwing it almost as often as his fastball.
According to Baseball Savant, among pitchers who have thrown at least 30 changeups this year, Underwood’s 57.6% whiff percentage is the best in baseball. Despite being a reliever, those 11 strikeouts rank third in baseball for most punchouts with the changeup.
He says the key to his success with that pitch isn’t grips or spin. He knows how it wants to move, and he grabs it at the seams to get downward movement. But when the pitch is working, it’s all about feel.
“It’s how it feels in my hand,” Underwood said. “I do know the action I want to see out of it. It’s going to be kind of downward, kind of fade. But the point of the pitch is I want it to move as close to the batter as possible. There's not anything specific I do to make it move that way. I just think about extension and try to make it look like a fastball.”
Underwood’s early performance has led to some calls online for him to get a look as a starter. That’s a goal for him, but he’s focusing on taking advantage of this opportunity first.
“Those are the things that I want to accomplish, but as far as this team goes, whenever Shelty calls my name, my job is to get outs,” he said. “That's what I plan on doing, whether it's long (relief), short, anything in between. Whatever the team needs, that's what I'm here for and that's how I've always been. That's what I'll continue to do.”