Flickr (tjperr)
During the first couple of months of last season, change was good for right-hander Alex Wilson.
That’s change as in a changeup, a pitch the 24-year-old Wilson began to throw with increasing frequency.
In retrospect, it’s one reason why he literally pitched himself from High-A Salem, where he was 2-1 with a 3.40 ERA in 11 starts replete with 50 strikeouts in 55 2/3 innings, to Double-A Portland.
Wilson’s success with that pitch continued early on. During six of his first eight starts he held opponents to three runs or less.
But Eastern League batters eventually caught up to Wilson. In four June starts, he was 0-1 with a 6.27 ERA and in six July starts he was 3-2 with a 6.55 ERA.
Overall, Boston’s second-round pick in the 2009 draft finished 4-5 with a 6.66 ERA in 16 starts for the Sea Dogs.
What happened?
For one thing, Wilson lacked significant separation between his changeup (85 to 86 mph) and his fastball (92 to 93 mph). And he had a tendency to throw his fastball up in the zone which can be disastrous for any pitcher at any level.
“Before this season, I felt the kid needed to improve on his slider,” said an American League scout. “By that I mean he needed to throw it for strikes earlier in counts and be able to use it as an ‘out’ pitch.
“Given the way he’s pitched this season, to me I feel he definitely has improved on his slider.”
Wilson’s progress with the pitch was evidenced in the 21 starts he made for Portland where he was 9-4 with a 3.05 ERA replete with only 37 walks and 99 strikeouts in 112 innings.
When an injury sidelined veteran Pawtucket pitcher Brandon Duckworth, Wilson was the logical choice to be promoted to the Triple-A team.
Wilson made his Pawtucket debut on Thursday night and came away with a no-decision as Columbus beat Pawtucket, 7-5.
The young right-hander worked six innings and allowed three runs (all earned) on four hits (three of which were bloopers and the other a home run) while walking two and fanning seven.
In addition, he threw a commendable 62 of 87 pitches for strikes.
Prior to being drafted by the Red Sox, Wilson missed the entire 2008 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. A year later, he flipped between the starting rotation and the bullpen for Texas A&M after suffering a tired arm. Still, Boston dropped $407,700 on him after picking him in the 2009 draft.
Boston selected Wilson out of college as a fastball-slider pitcher. Once he started working on throwing a changeup more last season, he had to figure out a grip that worked for him and which enabled him to feel comfortable with the pitch.
During that aforementioned eight-game stretch with the Sea Dogs, Wilson was throwing his changeup regardless of whether he was ahead or behind in the count.
“When he was throwing his changeup well,” said the scout, “you could see he had confidence in the pitch. Now, he needs to develop more consistency.”
Since Wilson improve his command of his fastball, slider and changeup that’s way he forced his way into the starting rotation as opposed to being stuck in the bullpen.