Giants reliever Tyler Rogers has the funkiest delivery in the majors. He’s a classic submarine pitcher, bending down toward the ground and almost scraping his knuckles along the dirt of the mound as he delivers the pitch. He has the slowest average fastball velocity in the majors (82.7 mph) but he’s among the best in the bigs at limiting hard contact because his delivery is so deceptive and unorthodox.
It turns out his pickoff move is pretty deceptive too. Rogers was called on in the ninth inning against the Reds on Tuesday (in the resumption of a game from Monday night that was suspended due to rain) and got into trouble quickly by walking Elly De La Cruz, who promptly stole second. The Cincinnati rookie has already proven that he’s a threat to steal on every pitch, so Rogers made sure to keep him close. When De La Cruz strayed a little too far from second, Rogers spun around and picked him off—giving fans a rare glimpse at what his overhand throwing motion looks like.
Tyler Rogers, Pickoff Mechanics ????pic.twitter.com/8ZDUsAQ9HM
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) July 18, 2023
Just like how batters aren’t used to having a pitch thrown from so close to the ground, runners aren’t used to a pickoff move beginning with a pitcher bent over at a 90-degree angle. How are you supposed to read whether he’s going home with the pitch or spinning around to pick you off? De La Cruz was totally fooled and immediately got caught in a pickle between second and third. It was the first successful pickoff attempt of Rogers’s career.
