Bryan Hudson on His Modified Pitch Mix, and How the Brewers Improved His Mechanics

[Matthew Trueblood]

There are no guarantees that the Milwaukee Brewers will carry two left-handed relievers in 2024, and ample bigger-name candidates for the gig if it comes open. Yet, no actual player is bigger than a towering southpaw fresh off a winter trade and looking great in early action.

Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

It hasn't been an easy journey through professional baseball for Bryan Hudson. Drafted in the third round out of high school in 2015, Hudson was reasonably highly thought of. The problem was, he was as huge (6-foot-8) then as he is now, and ganglier, and he wasn't yet the sturdy, more coordinated version of himself the Brewers acquired this winter.

"I’m a bigger guy. It took me a little bit of time to grow into my body, and also learn to use it the correct way," Hudson said Friday in Maryvale. "I think now that all those things are circling together, I’m able to be a more consistent pitcher in the zone."

That size and his raw stuff refused to coalesce into something effective for a long time. Hudson was the property of the Chicago Cubs, for a half-decade and change during which they were behind the curve in terms of pitching development, and he never found his footing there. A fracture in his back that required surgery and the COVID-19 disruption played a major role, too. He did begin to emerge, after all that, but too late for Chicago. At the end of 2022, he was released by the Cubs, and a month later, he signed with the Dodgers.

Hudson found much more success in his new system, but only got a bitter cup of coffee (an ERA north of 7.00 in six mostly mop-up appearances) for Los Angeles. He couldn't fit on the 40-man roster after the Dodgers made their big winter additions, and the Brewers snapped him up in trade. Thereafter, he and the team went right to work.

"We are working on some front-side stuff, keeping it close to my body," Hudson said. "I tend to kind of bring my front side out and swing out away from my arm. So we’re working on that right now, and it’s helped with my extension. I think it’s also cleaned up my extension a little bit, and will help me be a little more consistent."

Hudson already had exceptional extension on his stuff, really. Last year, he released the ball an average of 7.2 feet along the path from the pitching rubber to the plate, which would be comfortably among the top 5 percent of the league last year.

With his cleaner mechanics, though, he's breaking the scale.

"After working on some of this stuff, the last few times I’ve thrown, I’m up to 7.8, 7.6 [feet]," Hudson said. "So I’m getting a little bit further out there, and I think that helps me be a little bit more deceptive, so that also helps."

That extension would be the very best in baseball, and it would make his fastball pretty sizzling. He's right about the deception part, too, because look at how far wide of the mound he's been releasing the ball. That creates some vicious angles, and not just for lefties. Last year, Hudson only averaged 92.3 miles per hour on his fastball, but his Effective Velocity (adjusted for extension) was 93.9. Now, consider that Hudson routinely touched 94 and topped out at 96 last year, and recall the above notes about the mechanical cleanup making him more consistent. Finally, factor in the slight increase even from his already-elite previous extension numbers.

Taken together, all of that puts Hudson on the high side of 95 MPH in terms of what the hitter sees, and coming from a lefty with such an extreme horizontal angle, that, alone, can be overwhelming. However, Hudson's heater doesn't have much in the way of riding, rising action, so he needed more than just improved power and extension to go to a new level in 2024.

The critical development that let Hudson find lots of success in 2023, though, was that orange cluster of pitches in the middle of the plot: a cutter.

"Last year, I developed a cutter that I think gets righties and lefties off my fastball pretty well," Hudson said. "So if I can throw the cutter early, use the changeup, and get them off my fastball, that’ll be good."

Note well the mention of a changeup, too. That's barely represented above, but Hudson said he worked on one this winter and feels good about it, in conjunction with the improved mechanical efficiency.

If this is all ringing a couple bells for you, it's not a false memory. Bryse Wilson--another big reliever for whom getting way over on the arm side of the rubber and throwing a cutter with greater conviction was a pivotal development--is a perfect model for that. Hudson himself has noticed the resemblance.

"Yeah, I think that’s very similar," Hudson said. "I think the cutter gets them off my fastball just enough, and then I’m able to throw my fastball up in the zone and get some swings and misses off of that."

In two innings against his previous employers Saturday, all of that was working like a charm. Hudson mowed down five Dodgers via strikeout, in two scoreless innings. He issued a leadoff walk in the appearance, but then got back to the exceptional strike-throwing that was his hallmark in the minors last year, and hitters had no answer for him.

Without a doubt, Hudson is a longshot for the Opening Day mix. Because he's on the 40-man roster anyway, though, the logistical hurdle that blocks the matriculation of many players on the bubble is cleared in his case. The Brewers seem to excel at improving hurlers' extension, as Chris Hook and company tinker with their mechanics and get them down the mound better. They also love to work with guys who have theoretically uninspiring fastball movement profiles, but interesting cutters and workable breaking balls to go with them. Sooner or later, Hudson will have an appearance similar to the one he had Saturday in Phoenix, but under regular-season pressure. He's just about made it out of the wilderness.

Research assistance provided by TruMedia.

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[Joseph Zarr]

Fantastic profile. Thanks for writing this. It's always so wonderful to hear about the developments and tinkerings going on with those intriguing profiles and fringe roster guys. The Brewers do indeed have a way of helping these players achieve their best. Let's hope it bears fruit yet again.

[Matthew Trueblood]

15 hours ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Fantastic profile. Thanks for writing this. It's always so wonderful to hear about the developments and tinkerings going on with those intriguing profiles and fringe roster guys. The Brewers do indeed have a way of helping these players achieve their best. Let's hope it bears fruit yet again.

Thanks! I like doing these, too. I've got an even better one (imo) for you tomorrow, in the same vein.

[Trax]

Hook and the Brewers pitching lab have a lot of work to do and have a history now of being able to develop both young and older recovering arm or status  pitching.  They have a big piece of work to do this year with our starters.  We will likely see a lot of constant movement at the 4 and 5 slots throughout the year.