Jose Contreras picked up his second save of the season, closing out a Joe Blanton start, earlier today. Contreras allowed a single hit and struck out a couple of Cubbies to close the deal and is now rocking a 0.70 WHIP and 0.63 ERA. Obviously Contreras isn’t that good but there’s reason to believe that he’s not the same old Jose Contreras:
- Jose Contreras is now striking out a staggering 12.6 batters per nine innings!
- Adding to that, Contreras is walking a measly 1.26 batters per 9.
- Ladies and Gentlemen, that’s a K:BB of 10!
So what’s responsible for this revival?
- Contreras’ heater is averaging 95MPH
Contreras hasn’t touched these numbers since they began recording them. Almost all converted starters are able to add some heat but Contreras is 38 years old! Between ages 37 and 38, Contreras just happened to add an extra 3mph to his Fastball, Slider, and Splitter.
- Contreras’ heater is getting some serious dip-dee-do on it.
Almost half of Contreras’ pitches have been a very heavy two-seamer that exhibits about -10.70″ of tail and only 3.57″ of rise. Opponents have hit 4 Line Drives off Contreras, compared to 13 GB and 10 FB.
- Contreras is making batters look absolutely foolish
Contreras’ O-Swing is up 9% and his Z-Swing is down 6%. Contact Rate outside of the zone is down 12% and 10% inside of the zone. Overall, his contract rate has dropped from the low-80′s to 65%. Contreras has also induced his highest swinging strike rate ever with his current 15% rate.
- Contreras is working that splitter/change-up for all that it’s worth.
It’s an absolutely nasty pitch and it’s 15mph off his two-seam fastball. Whether or not he throws it in the zone is a coin flip and whether or not you whiff on it is a similar proposition. If Contreras is going to succeed against lefties, he’ll have to make this pitch work.
- Oh yah, that 87mph Slider doesn’t hurt.
There’s plenty of reasons to go out and trade for Contreras, he’s a damn good pitcher. However, there’s a couple reasons why you’d maybe think about holding off:
- Contreras doesn’t have a single pitch that breaks 0 on the x-axis.
- There’s always the fact that he’s 38 years old and throwing his brains out. Beware of Injury.
