What pitchers work best for you?

[MBMavs20]

I have always enjoyed the pitcher/batter match-up and the strategy used to get batters out. Do you prefer power pitchers? Guys who throw junk? Pitchers with great breaking balls? What strategy works best for you? Hitting the corners? Pitching to contact? Challenging hitters with the Gas? Disrupt timing? Do you prefer sinkerball pitchers? Guys who use a Change up or Curveball as their bread and butter? Do you use your Fastball to set up your breaking balls or vice versa?

I currently have 2 franchises going: A Yankee franchise in MLB 2017 but also one in MLB 09. (yeah, I know, MLB 09? But its been a ton of fun so far)

In MLB 09, my pitching rotation is all over the place. Chien-Ming Wang and Mike Mussina are a combined 0-4 in 5 starts with a combined ERA over 10. Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes, and Ian Kennedy are 4-0 with an ERA under 3.

Wang throws a Sinker/2 Seamer, Running Fastball, Slider and Circle Change. I usually will pitch what my catcher calls, but when I get 2 strikes on a batter, I have a hard time finishing him with the 2 Seamer. The CPU fouls off pitch after pitch and when I throw something else he always seems ready for it. Drives his pitch count up big time.

Mussina barely hits 90 MPH because it was his last year in the Majors. His Fastball doesn't get a lot of strikeouts and it makes it hard to set up his offspeed pitches.

Does anyone else have this issue with similar pitchers? Not sure why I am pitching so well with Pettitte so far. Hughes and Kennedy are good because I can set batters up off of the Fastballs they throw.

I wish the Catchers had a rating on how they call a game. Some catchers are better than others. One thing I have learned from experience is not to go against the gain. By that, I mean if the catcher calls for a 2 Seamer inside to a left-handed batter and I am pitching with a right-handed, DON'T throw it. If you miss your spot, the ball goes right over the plate and gets crushed. Same thing with a running fastball: go with the break. If I throw a Cut Fastball against the break, that always gets crushed too... Sometimes my catcher will call for the same pitch 3 times in a row and it never seems to end well for me.

How do you guys like to pitch? Do you use the PCI or do you like to throw your own game? Do you like to throw Change-ups on Fastball counts? Do you always throw a waste pitch when you have a batter 0-2? Will you throw a curveball on 3-0 if you think the batter is expecting a Fastball? Will you pitch around batters? Make them chase when behind in the count?

Who is your favorite pitcher to pitch with? Your least favorite Pitcher?

[TheWarmWind]

I've traditionally liked control pitchers best, but I've been dabbling more and more with fireballers on my team of late. My team is a carry over from 14, so there are a lot of created players and differences from real life even for real players.

I've always not-so-secretly loved the sinker, but could never actually make it work until 17. Before, a good 2SFB paired with a good slider were my best friends, with a solid 4SFB, CH combo being second.

I also love southpaws, especially as starters. 2 of the 3 perfect games, and 3 of the 5 no hitters that I've thrown in my entire history with the show (started in 09) have been with southpaws, and the one of the ones with a righty I actually lost. Yup, threw a 9 inning, no-hit loss.

My current favourite pitcher right now on my team is rookie Adam McMullen (created player). He's the only southpaw in my rotation, and just barely got the fifth spot out of spring training. But so far this season he's matched my ace, and my ace is having an above average for him year so far. He's a nice balance of control, pitch speed, movement, and differential, but movement and differential are probably his best features. He throws a 4SFB, CH, Slider and a Sinker. His 4SFB tops out at 94.

[3fiddy]

My style :
So 1st things first throw the 1st pitch for a strike. Dont care ab the pitcher we have to get ahead ! I have been looking at quirks for the opposing teams to see who is a 1st pitch hitter and deal with them accordingly.

Numba 2. Biggest tip i can give. And it seems to be huge for Mlb 17 is gathering your post pitch info. Check where the batters pci was placed , look and see if they were early or late. Which leads me tooo..

#3 Work inside/outside , up/down , fast/slow. If the batter is early on your heater he will be very early on your off speed. If the pci was a low swing and you have been pounding it low work the next pitch high.

Clean up spot #4. The fastball inside is not the only place to keep the hitter honest. The high fastball is a real check that keeps the hitters aware that you can get that 89 mph lookin fast at times.

Some random thoughts:

I like to work the outside in years past but 17 the batters dont bite as much.

Crafty Lefties are my fave (Jaime Garcia, Fracisco Liriano Twins years , Manny Banuelos)

I jus drafted Wacha for the first time. For the sole purpose hopefully i begin to like him some and i dont want to jump off a cliff when hes pitching for my beloved Cardinals.

Been getting high K totals but i just pitched my best game with Wacha complete game with only 4ks pitching to contact.

I gotta pitch with my faves. Idc ab ratings as much. But generally the skill sets is why i pick the pitcher.

Killing it with Alex Reyes and Jose Berrios lately.

[TheCoastIsBen]

I'm big on fastball change up and slider. Guys like Syndergaard, Ervin Santana, Yu Darvish. Etc. Are my jam. Pound the fastball until 2 strikes and the get them to swing and miss at the low and away slider, or low and away change. Bunch of swing and misses. I can't seem to get the sinker to work unless its as a secondary pitch. Guys like Kyle Gibson just get wrecked when I'm using them. Strikeouts overall are my goal when pitching so maybe that has something to do with it.

Sent from my VS987 using Operation Sports mobile app

[MBMavs20]

Quote: Originally Posted by 3fiddy

My style : So 1st things first throw the 1st pitch for a strike. Dont care ab the pitcher we have to get ahead ! I have been looking at quirks for the opposing teams to see who is a 1st pitch hitter and deal with them accordingly. Numba 2. Biggest tip i can give. And it seems to be huge for Mlb 17 is gathering your post pitch info. Check where the batters pci was placed , look and see if they were early or late. Which leads me tooo.. #3 Work inside/outside , up/down , fast/slow. If the batter is early on your heater he will be very early on your off speed. If the pci was a low swing and you have been pounding it low work the next pitch high. Clean up spot #4. The fastball inside is not the only place to keep the hitter honest. The high fastball is a real check that keeps the hitters aware that you can get that 89 mph lookin fast at times. Some random thoughts: I like to work the outside in years past but 17 the batters dont bite as much. Crafty Lefties are my fave (Jaime Garcia, Fracisco Liriano Twins years , Manny Banuelos) I jus drafted Wacha for the first time. For the sole purpose hopefully i begin to like him some and i dont want to jump off a cliff when hes pitching for my beloved Cardinals. Been getting high K totals but i just pitched my best game with Wacha complete game with only 4ks pitching to contact. I gotta pitch with my faves. Idc ab ratings as much. But generally the skill sets is why i pick the pitcher. Killing it with Alex Reyes and Jose Berrios lately.

I do the same thing on MLB 17 and always check the post pitch info. Sometimes I will notice that if I throw a pitch down and away and the batter swings and misses its because his PCI was aiming for inside or high. It's feels great to have a batter guess and miss. Also love to get them swinging late and disrupting their timing. That is a little tougher to do on MLB 09 because it doesn't show you the opponents swing location or timing. Feels like I hardly ever have a batter guess a pitch and miss on MLB 09.

Do you try and use only 2 pitches the first couple of innings and not show the batter all your pitches early? If I am facing a power hitter I will try and keep the fastball high and inside to get him to pop it up.

[MBMavs20]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheCoastIsBen

I'm big on fastball change up and slider. Guys like Syndergaard, Ervin Santana, Yu Darvish. Etc. Are my jam. Pound the fastball until 2 strikes and the get them to swing and miss at the low and away slider, or low and away change. Bunch of swing and misses. I can't seem to get the sinker to work unless its as a secondary pitch. Guys like Kyle Gibson just get wrecked when I'm using them. Strikeouts overall are my goal when pitching so maybe that has something to do with it. Sent from my VS987 using Operation Sports mobile app

Do you find this works a lot? The Slider down and away on 2 strikes? I use meter pitching and if I miss my spot it feels like the Slider backs up and it gets crushed. I probably give up more home runs on breaking balls that I leave in the strike zone than any other pitch.
When you throw your Slider, do you make sure its out of the zone so if the batter doesn't swing its a ball?

I think my biggest issue is that I try and throw too many strikes and need to make sure when I waste a pitch its no where near the strike zone.

Do you notice if certain batters will not chase a pitch? Maybe because they have a high Plate Vision rating?

[TheCoastIsBen]

Quote: Originally Posted by MBMavs20

Do you find this works a lot? The Slider down and away on 2 strikes? I use meter pitching and if I miss my spot it feels like the Slider backs up and it gets crushed. I probably give up more home runs on breaking balls that I leave in the strike zone than any other pitch. When you throw your Slider, do you make sure its out of the zone so if the batter doesn't swing its a ball? I think my biggest issue is that I try and throw too many strikes and need to make sure when I waste a pitch its no where near the strike zone. Do you notice if certain batters will not chase a pitch? Maybe because they have a high Plate Vision rating?

Not sure about certain batters not chasing due to stats. But yeah the as long as my slider breaks away from the batter (vs batter of the same handedness) I rack up strikes in a hurry. However yes I start it almost out of the zone so if I miss my spot it doesn't hang for ages. I still miss occasionally but its a pretty reliable pitch. Especially if the one before is a fastball up and in. The problem comes when facing a batter of opposite handedness because it makes it pitch almost unuseable. Rule of thumb for me. Never throw a pitch that breaks towards the batter. Either you'll hang the ball, Or you'll hit the batter.

Sent from my VS987 using Operation Sports mobile app

[Caulfield]

I love throwing running FBs slurves and screwballs. problem is seems like nobody really throws them. Same for palmballs and forkballs but to a lesser extent.
I can always substitute a splitter for the fork. And in the end, a changeup is a changeup is a changeup, regardless of the break/movement. Of the common pitches sinkers and 2-seamers are my go to pitches.
I really hated seeing Chris Sale leave the white sox. despite him being a lefty, he has been as close to a cy young for me the last couple three years.