Storen signed quickly and got to work in the South Atlantic League in 2009. He stopped briefly in the Carolina League  and finished* 2009 in the Eastern League. That’s Single-A, Advanced-A and Double-AA in one late summer stretch.

*not really

Storen’s 2009 kept going when he joined the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall Leauge. That’s where we got some PITCHf/x data on the future closer, which we’ll get to in a moment. You can split the early part of Storen’s 2010 into three parts: Spring Training, a return to the Eastern League and a stint in the International League.

Now we’re into the meat of Storen’s 2010, and I know a lot of folks are anxious to see him get to work. What to expect? A young but relatively polished pitcher with a variety of stuff to show batters, a good K:BB ratio and possibly a ground ball pitcher.

Let’s unpack that last point first. In 2009, Storen looked like a fly ball pitcher. On each of his three stops, his ground ball rate was well below league average. In Low-A, it was nearly half of the league average. That’s also his biggest sample, in terms of batters faced, at any point (unless you combine both Double-A stints). Fortunatly, while league average GB rates tend to drop a point or two along Storen’s route, his improved enough that he was moving back up towards average (not all the way) while in Advanced-A and Double-A in 2009.

So, Mr. Storen heads south for the first part of Fall, and he’s suddenly an above average ground ball pitcher. His rate, which had topped out at .39 while a Potomac National, was suddenly an even .50 as a Desert Dog, 10% better than the AFL average. Alright, small samples abound here (~30 to ~60 batters faced per stint) but at least the needle is moving (regressing?) the right way.

It’s only the middle of May, but Storen is right back where he was last year, nearly 10% above league average in ground balls. Am I surprised? Yes, a little. But when I looked at his AFL PITCHf/x data, I saw, amongst four other pitches, a two-seam sinking fastball. He threw it only 1 in 6 pitches, but it was there.

After a review of Storen’s data this  Winter, I pushed him from five pitches to four, combining what I had marked “curveball” a few times with his slider. Maybe he’s a little slurvey. Whatever that pitch is, he threw it more than anything else (33 out of 78), while his four-seam fastball was next (29) with a change-up sprinkled in (3). The 13 sinkers averaged just under 95 mph. Four were put in play, three on the ground. A sign of things to come?

I know I’ll be keeping track of Storen, having only watched one inning of work in MiLB.tv this year I have little new knowledge. That will change as quickly as Jim Riggleman lets it, thanks to MLB.tv and PITCHf/x.

Anyone?

Thought not.

Once a Yankee, and once a starter, Clippard has settled nicely into a set-up role in the Nationals bullpen. Whether by poach or by merit, he’s picked up 6 wins and leads the NL as of May 10. Well, he’s tied with two guys named Roy Halladay and Ubaldo Jimenez. Whatever, must be a couple of mediocre and lucky starters.

What’s impressive about Clippard is not his win-loss record. Seriously, the man has blown four saves and picked up the win each time. Who does he think he is, Mitch Williams? What I think is impressive is his fastball. That’s right, Clippard’s not-that-fast heater is awfully impressive. Ask all the batters who swing at it but come up empty.

I’ve tweeted, as have others, about the ridiculous success Clippard has had as a relief pitcher this year. Fangraphs recently looked at his penchant for stranding his own runners while letting inherited runners score.

All this with a fastball that just averages in the low 90s and a change-up. Clippard also throws a slutter (I’m not sure if it’s a slider or a cutter) and a curveball, but, as the twitterverse reminded me, he’s basically a two-pitch guy. Or is he?

Sorry ’bout these images, a little wide, but you’ll get the point.

Yes, he’s a fastball/change-up guy, but he’s throwing fewer fastballs in 2010. Remember, he is a relief pitcher, so the fact he’s got four pitches (five, if you count the occasional sinker) that he’ll use to both left- and right-handed hitters is noteworthy. Even though he is throwing fewer curveballs to lefties this year, muddying my nice clear waters.

OK, so that’s what he throws. How hard? Well, harder, a good 1-2 mph up on each pitch from 2009.

Pitch Speeds (mph)

Pitch   '09 '10
Change   80  82
Curve    76  77
Fastball 91  93
Slutter  86  88

That 93 is rounded up from 92.6, but I have to concede the tick upwards across the board makes things a little more appealing (to me, subjectively), especially the fastball and slutter.

My deepening fascination with Clippard was moved along by Jason Collette when a twitter discussion prompted me to look at Clippard’s 2009 whiff rates. Since then, I’ve decided to lump his sinkers in with this four-seam fastballs and he’s found a few more bats, so the numbers have come down a bit — they are still impressive.

In 2009, Clippard’s fastballs where missed on 34.8% of all swings against them. In 2010, it’s “down” to 30.6%. These are eye-popping numbers. The average fastball only yields a whiff rate around 15 or 16% (more benchmarks here).

While Clippard’s heater may be finding more bats in 2010, his change-up is missing more (34.5% in 2009, 44.6% in 2010) as is his slutter (24.2, 42.3) and the infrequently thrown (and swung at) curveball (5.6, 40.0). Add it all up and he’s actually missing more bats in 2010 (36.8%) than he did in 2009 (32.8%).

More speed, whiffs and a little more mix. Throw in some luck and you have a mighty impressive stat line. Even as he regresses, it might not be as far as you might think.

He might not be throwing as hard as he did 3 years ago, but that’s not what anyone should expect. The 91 mph average fastball Lidge had in his 2010 debut, however, was out of character. The 94 mph heat he had the second time out was much, much more like it.

Going back to the spotty PITCHf/x data from 2007, you can see (year-by-year) Lidge’s average fastball velocity by game below:

Outside of June 3, 2008 — the last of three straight appearances — you can’t find another game like April 30, 2010. I’m sure a lot of folks exhaled when Lidge managed to avoid a repeat of that performance.