Pirates unlocked Mason Montgomery with one devastating new pitch

The Pittsburgh Pirates already knew Mason Montgomery could throw hard. What they needed was a way to make that velocity even more difficult for hitters to handle. They appear to have found it with one pitch.

Montgomery has emerged as one of baseball’s most dominant relievers during the second half, making 24 consecutive scoreless appearances — the longest single-season streak by a Pirates pitcher since at least 1901. Across those 23 2/3 scoreless innings, Montgomery has struck out 34 batters while issuing only seven walks.

The most important development behind that transformation may be the two-seam fastball the Pirates added to his arsenal during the season.

Montgomery already possessed an intimidating four-seam fastball capable of touching triple digits, along with a slider, curveball and changeup. The Pirates believed another fastball shape could make all of those weapons play better.

Montgomery needed only a couple of days to become comfortable enough with the two-seamer to use it in games. Murphy told Aiden Stepansky of MLB.com in August that the pitch was designed partly to give Montgomery something he could throw naturally in the strike zone and said its addition had “freed him up.”

The results have been ridiculous. Montgomery is now throwing the sinker — Statcast’s classification for his two-seamer — nearly 23% of the time. Opposing hitters have managed just a .146 average and .244 slugging percentage against it, while whiffing on nearly 33% of their swings. It has already produced five runs of value despite not being part of Montgomery's arsenal for the entire season.

More importantly, it gives hitters something else to consider when they are already trying to survive against a left-hander who can reach 101 mph.

Pirates deserve credit for developing Mason Montgomery into one of baseball's most dominant closers

The four-seamer remains Montgomery’s primary weapon, accounting for nearly half his pitches, and hitters are batting just .198 against it. But hitters can no longer simply gear up for the straight velocity. The two-seamer gives Montgomery a fastball with different movement, forcing hitters to account for multiple shapes at essentially the same velocity before even worrying about his breaking stuff.

That has helped turn Montgomery from an intriguing power arm into Pittsburgh's closer. He enters Tuesday with a 2.59 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 99 strikeouts in 66 innings and 16 saves this season. Just as significantly, his command has improved enough that all of that overpowering stuff is now consistently playing in the strike zone.

The Pirates didn't need to overhaul Montgomery's mechanics or completely reinvent him. He already possessed elite velocity from the left side, which is one of the most valuable traits a reliever can have. The Pirates simply gave hitters one more version of it to worry about, and one new pitch may have unlocked one of the most dominant closers in baseball.

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