Red Sox Pitcher Lucas Giolito Reveals Humorous Key To Success

Pitching is equal parts science and art. High-speed cameras capture data about each pitch down to the most granular level, but pitchers still regularly talk about how the “feel” of the pitches.

Lucas Giolito spoke to The Athletic’s Eno Sarris in San Francisco and gave a peek behind the curtain about how he throws his changeup.

Giolito walked through his grip and how he releases the ball, explaining that he wants to stay behind the ball and have it roll off his middle finger.

The righty’s changeup comes in about ten miles an hour slower than his fastball, which is part of the key to its success. The movement profile and velocity difference from his fastball allow Giolito to use the pitch in the zone against both right- and left-handed hitters. It’s been very effective for him; opponents are hitting just .208 against it, and the strike rate ranks in the top ten among qualified starters.

Sarris asked why he thinks the ball comes out so much slower.

“I don’t know,” Giolito laughed. “I don’t know why it’s a lot slower.”

Pitching is funny. The changeup has been Giolito’s bread and butter for years. The “straight change” is rare, as Sarris noted. Giolito may even be the face of the pitch. Still, when it comes to why it works so well, your guess was as good as his.

If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. Giolito will look to ride his changeup to another quality outing on Sunday against the San Francisco Giants.