James trading velocity for control
Righthander battling for fifth starter spot spent offseason studying Cole’s delivery
JUPITER, Fla. — Gerrit Cole’s innings are gone, but his influence on the Astros remains.
This winter, while Cole cashed in with the New York Yankees, his former pitching coach collected every clip he could find. Brent
Strom spliced the slow-motion footage of Cole’s delivery together, made a video, and sent it to Josh James.
Houston has been handed an impossible task. Replacing the production from Cole’s franchiserecord season of 326 strikeouts seems staggering. One man alone cannot do it. James just wants to help.
“He wants it,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “He wants it badly.”
James broke onto the big league stage with a triple-digit fastball in 2018, another of the Astros’ anonymous late-round picks who blossomed into a formidable factor in a postseason run. His maturation as a pitcher is still in progress.
Gone are the days of relying solely on the swing-and-miss fastball. James now craves early contact and is fine with mid-90s radar gun readings.
He struck out three batters in two terrific innings of his Grapefruit League debut Friday against the Marlins. Only one of his fastballs exceeded 96 mph. He re
quired 25 pitches. Twenty were strikes. More will be gleaned when James gets longer leashes later in the spring, but the outing was a sterling debut.
“If I get the opportunity to be a starter, early contact early in the game is going to be my friend,” James said. “It’s going to allow me to execute pitches and be in the zone, and that’s kind of what I want. That was my goal in the offseason: to be in the zone more and attack guys and not give away atbats.”
The battle for the fifth starter spot will stretch throughout spring training. Even if James loses out to Austin Pruitt, his value to the organization may still be as a stretchedout starter.
The team has little proven rotation depth in its upper minor leagues. A governor on Lance McCullers Jr. and the major league inexperience of Jose Urquidy create a pressing need for pitchers who can pile up innings.
To that end, James spent the offseason trying to improve his control, a problem traced to a delivery that was far too rotational. When he’d lift his front leg to start his motion, James would move ever so slightly in an effort to generate more power and velocity.
“It takes away from my ability to be in the zone,” James explained. “It’s harder to sync up when you’re rotational. I don’t think we can completely take it away — that’s what (Strom) was telling me — but the more we can get me in line to the plate … it will make me a lot better.”
After a strained calf during spring training last season knocked him out of the battle for a rotation spot, James walked 35 in 61 1⁄3 regular-season innings from the bullpen, alternating amazing, high-velocity outings with days when he could not find the strike zone.
The Astros shipped James to West Palm Beach last July in hopes of retooling his entire delivery. The solution was only temporary. James utilized it in the postseason but often felt himself reverting to old habits. He walked seven in 6 2⁄3 postseason innings.
The offseason offered more time for James to study. At his request, Strom sent slow-motion video of Cole’s delivery. James pored over it all winter. He focused on Cole’s hips, how stable his front side seemed, and the lack of extraneous activity.
While both men can complement their fastballs with sublime sliders, Cole can command his arsenal far better, a product of his linear direction to home plate. When he rotated too much in his delivery, James veered off the path.
“If you watch (Cole) lift, it’s literally lift (the front leg), sit and deliver,” James said. “There’s really no wasted movements in his delivery. That’s what I’m working to cut out, all the unnecessary movements.
“I just looked at that, and that was what I tried to mimic.”
Few are asking James to replicate Cole’s Cy Young-worthy season and success. Simply navigating a major league batting order twice or thrice would suffice. Refining his command is James’ first step.
Expending — and retaining — the proper amount of energy is the next. Cole is noted for his ability to deliver 100 mph heat in his final inning of work or on his final pitch. Last year, as a reliever, James was expected to toss in the high 90s from his first offering. That mindset must shift, but not at the expense of his newfound mechanics.
“I don’t know if I want to conserve. I think trying to conserve energy, I might be a little bit nibbly, which might lead to some early trouble,” James said. “I still want to be able to attack guys. But … I’m not trying to gas up every pitch. I want to be able to locate, get guys to swing early and get early contact.”
In his second inning of work against the Marlins, James’ first pitch was 93.9 mph. Francisco Cervelli chopped it to first base for a one-pitch out.
He struck out the final two hitters he saw, twice battling back from a first-pitch ball. Matt Kemp chased a changeup. Isan Diaz looked at an expertly placed twostrike fastball — the hardest one James tossed all afternoon.
“I didn’t want to try to come out and do too much,” James said. “I just wanted to work on the stuff I’ve been working on. I feel great. It came out great today.”