PORT ST. LUCIE — If A.J. Minter can take away something optimistic from the left hip issues that in the end led to surgical procedure final summer time, it’s that he discovered tips on how to pitch past simply overpowering hitters.
It was halfway via the 2023 season when Minter realized one thing needed to change.
The lefty reliever was struggling for the Braves, together with his fastball velocity lagging.
Minter, now with the Mets, was coping with again soreness on the time that was a precursor to realizing the hip discomfort he had endured for years was one thing past regular put on and tear.
“I just started to realize I am not going to worry about velocity,” the 31-year-old Minter mentioned. “I am going to worry about getting ahead, mixing my pitches, and just I have to find a way to get outs differently instead of just rely on just my stuff. I ended up having a good second half in ’23, and it carried over to ’24.”
Minter, who pitched a scoreless inning Saturday in opposition to the Nationals — his second look this spring as he ramps up towards potential readiness for Opening Day following a cautious rehab from surgical procedure — credit his former Braves teammate Jesse Chavez for serving to rework him.
After averaging 96.6 mph together with his four-seam fastball in the course of the 2022 season, Minter had a drop-off to 95.8 mph the next yr. Final yr, Chavez averaged 94.5 mph with the pitch.
He pitched to a 2.62 ERA in 39 appearances earlier than present process the surgical procedure.
“Chavez was a big mentor to me with the Braves and a guy who goes out there and throws 88-89 [mph] and finds a way to get guys out,” Minter mentioned. “I just worked with him a little bit and learn how to tunnel and work off your misses and just be a pitcher.”
Minter now throws two variations of his cutter and fastball to present completely different seems to be to the batter. He makes use of a changeup that opponents hit simply .120 in opposition to final season.
“You can’t be scared, even though the velocity may not be what you want,” Minter mentioned. “You still have got to attack the zone and be aggressive. You do have to be careful with your location mix, sometimes.”
