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Estrada altered the delivery and approach to his changeup heading into the 2018 season, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Estrada endured a rough 2017 campaign, posting a 4.98 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 33 starts, which clearly marked his worst season as a starter since he occupied a full-time role dating back to the 2012 season. The right-hander was able to notice that he slowed his arm down whenever he threw a changeup last year. Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com noted that according to Baseball Savant, opponents hit .245 with a .480 slugging percentage against that pitch in 2017 after hitting just .162 with a .304 slugging percentage the year before. A tweak in his delivery may not help Estrada reach the statistical numbers he had in 2015 or 2016, but he should be able to rebound to some extent.
