New York Yankees starting pitcher Domingo German has captivated New York to begin the 2019 season, but what has made him improve?
Domingo German has been one of, if not, the best Yankees starter so far this year. No one expected this coming into the season as Domingo wasn’t good in 2018. But in the absence of Severino, Domingo has almost pitched the same as Sevy did to start 2018. Here is a breakdown on what has made German so good this year.
Improved command
In 2018, German did not pitch well. He pitched to 5.57 ERA in 85 innings. There were games were Domingo showed signs of his potential, but it was overshadowed by his inconsistent command. In 2018 Domingo’s BB%, according to baseball savant, was 8.8%. That is just above the MLB average of 8.3. On top of that his BB/9 in 2018 was a not so great 3.5. But all of this has changed in 2019.
Domingo has filled in for Sevy better than anyone could have predicted and it all because of his highly improved command. As of his last start, Domingo is 9-1 with a 3.43 ERA. But the stats that truly standout is the fact that he has lowered his BB% from 8.5 last year to 6.5 this year.
As a result of that, his BB/9 has also gone down from 3.5 to 2.4. This is what has helped Domingo break out this season. But there is one more thing that has really helped him become one of the most exciting Yankee pitchers.
Increased use of his Changeup
Domingo has always had great breaking stuff, he has one of the best curveballs in the game. But one thing that we have noticed a lot this year is that Domingo has used his change up a bit more than last year. In 2018, Domingo threw his changeup 16.3% of the time according to baseball savant. This year that number is up closer to 19%. Domingo has established his changeup as a dominant pitch as is whiff % on it is 26.7.
Overall, what has made Domingo so great this year is that he is commanding his pitches and now has established three above-average pitches to get guys out.