Chad Green on His Overpowering Repertoire

Chad Green’s 2-0 win-loss record and 2.05 ERA suggest he’s had a successful season. Those numbers only begin to tell the story. Pitching out of the New York Yankees bullpen, the 26-year-old right-hander has allowed just 27 hits in 57 innings while also recording 86 strikeouts. Doing the math, that’s 4.3 hits per nine and 13.6 strikeouts per nine. Augmenting those stellar stats is a 0.74 WHIP, which ranks as third best in baseball, behind only Craig Kimbrel (0.67) and Kenley Jansen (0.69).

Yesterday — in his 31st appearance on the season — the former Tigers prospect became the first pitcher in MLB history to record seven strikeouts while facing eight or fewer batters in a game. In December 2015, the Yankees acquired Green, along with Luis Cessa, in exchange for Justin Wilson.

Spin and velocity are among his closest friends. Green’s arsenal includes a solid slider, but his signature pitch is a four-seam fastball that zooms through the zone at an average speed of 95.5 mph. Thanks to a well above-average 2,478 spin rate, the University of Louisville product gets plenty of punch outs above the belt.

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Green on the reasons behind his breakout: “Last year, I figured out what I needed to work on, and this year it’s been about consistency. Last year, I wasn’t consistent. Some days I would have a good breaking ball, and some days I wouldn’t. Some days I would have good fastball command, and some days I wouldn’t.

“For me, the biggest thing is just going out there and throwing strikes. Walking guys kind of hurt me last year. Not being able to throw a breaking ball for a strike kind of hurt me. This year, I’m attacking the zone better. I’m also attacking with the fastball more — I’m throwing more fastballs now that I’m a reliever.

“My fastball up seems to play well, especially out of the bullpen. If I can command my fastball to the glove side… that’s big for me. Obviously, if I don’t command it, I’m going to get hit pretty hard. Fortunately, I’ve been commanding it pretty consistently.”

On spin rate and working up in the zone: “I really started doing that last year, in Triple-A. It was something to add to the arsenal, I guess. I found out from a couple of games that it worked really well, and then I came up up here and had success with it. Ever since then, I’ve kind of just went with it.

“[The coaching staff] probably saw that I had a high spin rate, so they said, ‘OK, let’s try throwing more fastballs up in the zone.’ I’d say I probably learned about my spin rate around the middle of the year, after a couple starts in Triple-A.

“It’s really just natural. I don’t try to do anything too crazy with the baseball, or anything like that. But while it helps me get away with more pitches up in the zone than some other people, I still have to be able to command my fastball down. That’s what allows up in the zone to play. It all starts with commanding down. From there, you can change eye levels and get guys to chase up and out of the zone.”

On his breaking ball: “It’s a slider, but it’s almost more like a hard curveball. I wouldn’t say it’s a true slider. Actually, I don’t really call it anything; I just call it a breaking ball. Sometimes it has more slider spin, and sometimes it has more curveball spin. Honestly, I just try to throw it as hard as I can. If I try to lob it in there, it’s not going to be very good. For me, it’s all about hand speed. I don’t worry too much about the break, I just try to have something I can throw for strikes, and something I can get hitters to chase.

“It’s a pitch I’ve tinkered with a lot. Last year, it seemed like we were constantly working on it. This year something clicked. A little of it was the grip, but it more about keeping my arm speed up. Before, I’d sometimes kind of baby it in there, almost. I’d kind of try to make it break, instead of just letting it break. I needed to finish the pitch better.

“My third pitch is a cutter, which I don’t throw very often. If throw 30 pitches, I might throw it three or four times. I also have a changeup, but I rarely throw one. Since I moved to the pen, I’ve been mostly just fastball-breaking ball. As long as I’m commanding the ball, that’s been working well.”