Indians ace Justin Masterson has been struggling with a dip in velocity that has forced him to at least temporarily change his pitch selection and approach. The results have been mixed. Two poor performances followed an opening-day gem, but he rebounded to pitch well in his last two starts. Yet he remains 0-0.
Masterson threw his four-seam fastball consistently between 95-97 mph last year, pitching coach Mickey Callaway told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. But he has struggled to reach 92 this year. He has therefore thrown more off-speed pitches to record outs, including one slider that traveled to the plate at just 78 mph Tuesday night against Kansas City.
"He can't find that four-seam velocity that he had last year," Callaway said. "I wouldn't say he's reinventing himself, he's just playing the cards that he's been dealt. ... We're working hard toward finding that four-seam velocity again. He's confident he's going to find it. He just doesn't have it right now."
Masterson insists that he's healthy. He has allowed just four runs with 15 strikeouts covering 12 2/3 innings in his last two starts combined. He is hoping that tinkering with his mechanics will allow his fastball to heat up along with the weather.