Colin Rea's Splitter Finally Got to Shine on Monday Night

Brewers starter Colin Rea entered his start on Monday night having thrown his splitter 5.1% of the time this season. That constituted a continuation of his approach from last year, when 5.6% of his pitches were splitters.

Rea worked on the offspeed pitch over the winter and during spring training, but he hadn’t broken it out much since. It was a different story during the Brewers’ series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Rea threw 17 splitters, which is both his highest splitter total and his highest usage rate in a start as a Brewer.

Yet, even that does not accurately reflect how integral the pitch was, in yet another innings-eating effort by the veteran. Rea threw 14 of those splitters after the Pirates scored all three of their runs against him within the first six outs of the game. It was an intentional in-game adjustment that changed the course of his outing.

After the third inning started with an Andrew McCutchen single and a Bryan Reynolds double, Rea was down 3-0 and already at 59 pitches. It was shaping up to be a short outing.

Four of the five hits Rea had allowed, including Jack Suwinski’s two-run home run in the first inning, came against his sinker. After Reynolds’s double, he immediately pivoted to a splitter-heavy mix against the lefty-heavy lineup, a change to the game plan Pat Murphy said was discussed in the dugout minutes prior.

Rea struck out Oneil Cruz on a seven-pitch sequence in which all three swings and misses came on splitters. He didn’t look back, allowing just one hit the rest of the way and completing six innings on 102 pitches. The splitter was at the heart of that turnaround, accounting for 26.8% of his final 56 pitches. It induced five whiffs out of nine swings.

“It can be part of my game, just kind of seeing what they’re trying to do at the plate, seeing their approach,” Rea said. “Just kind of changing speeds a little bit, and [the splitter] is definitely an option that we used tonight. Sometimes that might be the curveball, but tonight it was the changeup.”

The in-game adjustment was a testament to what makes Rea a reliable source of innings in a tenuous Brewers rotation. His deep arsenal allows him to craft how he mixes and sequences pitches to best keep hitters off-balance.

“He has such a variety that he can say, ‘Wow, they’re sitting on this,’ or, ‘Wow, my sinker isn’t as good right now. My sinker in isn’t getting in in,’ or, ‘I’m not getting that comeback [strike] call,’ whatever, and he can make that adjustment,” Murphy said.

Rea indicated that the increased splitter usage was a change specific to this particular start, but also left open the possibility of using it more moving forward.

“It’s been feeling good. Definitely a pitch we can utilize a little more.”

He may be best served making the splitter a more prominent part of his arsenal. Left-handed batters tagged Rea for an .817 OPS last year, compared to a .650 OPS for right-handers. It’s been more of the same this year: righties have a .509 OPS, but lefties sit at .828.

An effective offspeed pitch can help Rea even out that split. His splitter has above-average horizontal fade, away from a left-handed batter, and can be effective when he locates it well. Monday night was an example of the role it can play.