An inning-by-inning breakdown of Alejandro Rosario’s start tonight against the first place Bowling Green Hot Rods:
I watched every pitch of Alejandro Rosario’s start tonight. As always I’ll have a TLDR summary at the bottom, but for those interested, let’s get into the outing and my observations of each inning.
1st Inning
- Rosario had his full complement of pitches working tonight. Starting with his 4 seam fastball he got a foul ball at the top of the zone to start the contest. In a 1-2 count, Rosario was able to induce a ground ball to short on a sinker. However, Cam Cauley made a poor throw and Arturo Disla couldn’t pick it, so the leadoff batter Barrios reached on an error. Unphased after Barrios then stole his 29th bag of the year, it was back to work for Rosario, as he surgically painted a slider on the outside corner in an 0-2 count for his first strikeout of the game (video below). In the next at bat Rosario attempted a pickoff at 2nd base, and despite looking out to my eyes, he was ruled safe. The next pitch resulted in a soft ground out to Disla on a slider advancing the runner to 3rd. Rosario then stranded that runner on 3rd after the clean up hitter watched a top of the zone strike 3 at 97 MPH; Rosario’s second strikeout of the evening.
Inning Totals: 4/4 first pitch strikes // 16 pitches 13 strikes
2nd inning
- Starting off the second inning strong, Rosario got the first out of the inning on a grounder back to himself off an 0-1 splitter. Rosario fielded his position very well and made a strong and accurate throw to Disla. The second batter of the inning didn’t last much longer as he flew out on a 1-1 slider hit directly to Yeison Morrobel in right. The next batter was able to dribble a single through the middle of the infield on a slider that was left further up in the zone than Rosario wanted, allowing his first hit of the game. Cam Cauley made a good play on the ball, doing well to knock it down, but was unable to gather it to make a throw. The runner never made it further than first base however, as Rosario blew a beautifully located dead zone fastball by the 8 hole hitter to record his third strikeout of the outing.
Inning Totals: 2/4 first pitch strikes // 12 pitches 9 strikes
3rd inning
- In an outing that can only be described as pure dominance, the third inning was Rosario’s “shakiest” of the evening. He was able to get a pop out in a 1-0 count on a fastball to record the first out. The next batter Rosario got up 0-2 quickly, but then threw 3 non-competitive pitches in a row to fall behind 3-2. However, Rosario then threw one of his best sliders of the night, as he made Barrios look absolutely foolish to record his fourth strikeout of the game (video below). Despite falling behind 2-1 to the next batter, Rosario got to 2 strikes after making the opposing hitter softly swat and miss at a slider that he wasn’t particularly close to, subsequently grabbing his fifth strikeout of the night on a 2-2 fastball blown right by the hitter.
Inning Totals: 1/3 first pitch strikes // 14 pitches 8 strikes
4th inning
- This was the second inning in a row that Rosario had some small issues dealing first pitch strikes. Make no mistake about it, he was pounding the zone all night, but these middle innings of his outings he did struggle landing the first pitch in the zone. However, Rosario did land a first pitch strike to the first batter of the inning, who eventually grounded out in a 1-2 count to Disla at first base. Rosario fell behind the next batter 2-0, but was able to throw back to back well located fastballs at the knees to get back in the count at 2-2. After a couple foul balls, Horvath treated Rosario to a nice breeze as he waved at strike three on a beautiful slider low and away for Rosario’s sixth strikeout of the night. Rosario fell behind the next batter 1-0, but quickly bounced back to get himself in a 1-2 count. Rosario then recorded another strikeout after Brock Jones failed to check his swing on a fastball up and away. Rosario’s seventh strikeout of the night and his third sword (but who’s counting).
Inning Totals: 1/3 first pitch strikes // 15 pitches 11 strikes
5th inning
- Rosario once again started the fifth inning falling behind 1-0, missing on a fastball inside to the lefty. Despite this, he once again battled back to get ahead 1-2. Rosario, then blew a fastball by the hitter up and away to record his eighth strikeout. After getting ahead of the next batter 0-2, Rosario induced a ground ball up the middle on a slider. Cam Cauley, who got a good read on the ball, attempted a tough play drifting to his left. He ended up throwing it at the feet of Disla at first who made a nice pick on the ball to record the second out of the inning. Rosario, showing much better early command in this inning, once again got ahead 0-2 to the third hitter of the inning. On the next pitch, a soft ground ball on a slider was hit to Figuereo at third, whose only play was to attempt a bare handed grab and throw to first. He was unsuccessful, resulting in the second hit of the ballgame allowed by Rosario. That runner ended up being inconsequential, however, as Rosario simply locked back in and went to work. His last batter of the inning he quickly got ahead 0-2 after back to back swinging strikes. After missing on a fastball slightly inside to make it a 1-2 count, Rosario performed a disappearing act, picking up his ninth and final strikeout on a splitter that dropped off a cliff (video below).
Inning Totals: 3/4 first pitch strikes // 14 pitches 12 strikes
FINAL LINE:
5 innings
2 Hits
0 Runs
0 Walks
9 Strikeouts
71 Pitches // 53 Strikes (75%)
11/18 First Pitch Strikes (61%)
Thoughts/TLDR:
- My surface level observation is that we should not be taking this for granted. Alejandro Rosario pitched another phenomenal game, once again lowering his Hickory ERA, which now sits at 2.52. His FIP at Hickory also now stands at a dazzling 1.41. To put it simply, Alejandro Rosario is a pitcher who can locate both his fastballs to great success, has a slider that moves like a UFO, and a changeup that when it’s on, drops off the face of the earth. His mechanics are silky smooth, he has good deception going to the plate, and is very skilled at tunneling his pitches. He’s my favorite prospect in our farm system. While there was a stretch of batters tonight he struggled throwing first pitch strikes to, he would immediately bounce back in each at bat, putting himself back in more favorable counts. He continues to pound the zone at elite levels (75% strikes tonight), and loves to work fast. Aside from the first inning where a runner who reached on an error made it to third, there was no other point where it felt like Rosario was in any trouble against a talented first place Bowling Green team. I love writing stuff like this, because I love getting other people as excited as I get watching some of these guys we have waiting in the wings. Rosario is a fast riser, and when he gets his move to Frisco, we’re going to see just how fast that rise ends up being.
