FORT MYERS, FLA. – David Festa drew a few swings-and-misses with his sinker, a new pitch for him, during live batting practice sessions, but that isn’t the reason he added the pitch.
Festa won’t complain if his sinker draws whiffs, but it’s designed to create weak contact. Combined with his four-seam fastball, which he often throws at the top of the strike zone, his slider and his changeup, he expects to be better equipped to face righthanded batters.
An issue for Festa, a righthanded pitcher, was he didn’t locate his four-seam fastball well on the inside part of the plate to righties. They hit .260 against him with a .773 OPS, surprisingly even better than lefties hit him (.233 batting average, .722 OPS).
“Sometimes when I missed, [fastballs] were out and over [the plate], and they were able to barrel up some balls,” said Festa, who is listed at 6-6, 185 pounds. “Getting the sinker in will open up some other avenues for myself.”
Festa, who will turn 25 next month, impressed the Twins during his debut last year. In his final 12 outings, he logged a 3.81 ERA with 69 strikeouts and 22 walks over 54⅓ innings. The downside is he posted a 1-5 record during that stretch, infrequently pitching a third time through the batting order during a playoff race.
“This little sinker, I’m just throwing it like a fastball and it’s doing its thing,” said Festa, who no longer throws a curveball that he experimented with in the minor leagues. “That’s why I’m able to learn that part of it so far. I just need to do a better job of commanding it.”
There are a lot of pitchers across the majors who are adding a second fastball, whether it’s a sinker or a cutter. Pitching coach Pete Maki termed it “fastball versatility.”
About seven years ago, the biggest trend among major league pitchers was throwing four-seam fastballs at the top of the strike zone. With hitters gearing up for homers, and taking steeper launch angles on their swings, it was a hole for pitchers to exploit.
