When Jake Odorizzi struck out 11 batters in five innings against the Indians Friday, it seemed like an aberration. He had been knocked around all season up to that point, with command so poor he seemed destined for a return trip to the minors.
But when he followed it up with six one-hit innings at the Mariners Wednesday, striking out seven and walking two, I was compelled to investigate.
As I mentioned on Thursday's Fantasy Baseball Today, I found something in the Pitch F/X data. His turnaround has coincided with an increased reliance on breaking balls -- specifically, a curveball and slider. He threw them 30 percent of the time in this latest start and 25 percent of the time in the 11-strikeout effort. That's more than twice as often as before.
He wasn't getting by on the fastball-changeup combo alone. Now that he's incorporating his full arsenal, he has a better chance of meeting the potential that made him a legitimate sleeper coming into the year.
If Drew Pomeranz, Dallas Keuchel, Rafael Montero and Josh Beckett have already been picked up in your league, you might give Odorizzi a shot. Last year at Triple-A Durham, he compiled a 3.33 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 9.0 strikeouts per nine innings in 22 starts.