Share Video
King spent the offseason focused on improving the third pitch in his arsenal, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
King acknowledged the need for a reliable third pitch in light of his struggles during the 2020 campaign, during which he posted a 7.76 ERA and 1.54 WHIP. "You need a third pitch to pitch in the big leagues, especially if you want to get through the order a second time," he explained while discussing his biggest takeaway from the shortened season. He is likely referring to his changeup, which he threw 14.9 percent of the time last season -- just below the 19.4 percent usage rate on his curveball -- and that batters hit .278 against. As much as King is able to improve his effectiveness with the offering, he'll first need to do a better job of getting batters out with his sinker -- he threw the pitch 59.5 percent of the time in 2020, yielding a .328 batting average to opponents.
