Fireballer wary of going too fast
Cederlind ‘just competing for a job’
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Blake Cederlind’s blond, flowing locks and thunderbolt of a right arm created one of the more enjoyable stories of Pirates spring training last year. The son of an almond farmer, what Cederlind did was definitely nuts, the quirky reliever flinging triple-digital fastballs, baffling hitters and later making his MLB debut.
The hype surrounding the righthanded power pitcher isn’t quite as electric this spring, though Cederlind remains integral to the Pirates future bullpen plans. He profiles as a future closer, though he’s refusing to think like that. Cederlind also doesn’t have the same signature look after cutting his hair last season, much to his manager’s dismay.
“I wish he had the blond hair back,” Derek Shelton said Friday morning before Cederlind took the mound against the Phillies at BayCare Ballpark. “I want him to go back to last spring training. He looks too buttoned-up to me.”
Said Cederlind when told of his manager’s comments regarding his missing blond locks: “They’re in progress. I’m still working on growing the hair out, so could be a while before those are back.”
There could certainly be a method to Cederlind’s Sampson-style approach. For while it’s easy to get excited about someone whose sinker averaged 98.2 mph in 2020, Cederlind does have some work to do.
Most notably proving that he’s deserving of regular time, much less the closer’s role.
“I’m not so much worried about a role right now,” Cederlind said. “I’m just competing for a job. I’ve got both of my pitches honed in for this year. Just gonna put them to the test and leave the decisions up to the decision-makers.”
Although Cederlind obviously throws hard, there’s plenty more to pitching than that. Opposing hitters in 2020 had a .500 slugging percentage against Cederlind’s sinker, which he occasionally struggled to locate.
Cederlind was also unhappy with the shape of his primary secondary pitch. Last year, it was best described as a cutter, with sharp movement and an average velocity of 89.7 mph. The hope is that it’s more of a slider now, with a drop in velocity and a little more depth to it.
“I focused this offseason on getting more vertical and horizontal break on that,” Cederlind said. “It should be easier to put guys away.”
Pitching in five games with the Pirates last season, Cederlind had four dominant outings and one clunker. In the good ones, Cederlind went 1-2-3 every time and struck out four of the 12 men he faced. In the other one — Sept. 21 against the Cubs — Cederlind did not have his typical command and struggled.
Without recording an out, Cederlind gave up two runs on three hits and a walk before Shelton pulled him.
“I got a little fastball heavy,” Cederlind said. “I was missing early with the cutter, then we kind of bailed on it. That kind of led to the catastrophe that it turned into.”
The biggest lesson Cederlind took out of that situation was staying stubborn with his approach and figuring out a way, rather than becoming too predictable.
And as Shelton looks at a pitcher who could absolutely save games for the Pirates this season, he’s looking for something similar out of the 25-year-old native of Turlock, Calif. — for the power pitcher to fill up the zone.
“If they beat you because you’re throwing strikes, that’s fine. But he can’t beat himself by putting guys on base,” Shelton said. “It’s a consistent message for a lot of young pitchers, but with his stuff and velocity, it’s extremely important.”
Cederlind has never really been a guy who has struggled with high walk totals. He pitched across three levels of minor league ball in 2019 and walked 24 in 59⅓ innings, balancing that out nicely with a 2.28 ERA and 55 strikeouts.
The year before, across two levels, Cederlind walked 28 in 49⅔ innings with 54 strikeouts, though that was before he traded a four-seam fastball that he described as a “beach ball” for a sinker with tremendous
movement and velocity.
The past couple years have seen Cederlind throw hard but not always smart. He’s also spent significant time cleaning up his mechanics and refining his pitch mix to both pitch for strikeouts and some quick contact if he’s around the zone.
“I want to get the ball on the ground and get it into my fielder’s hands or put guys away,” Cederlind said. “I think I’ve got pretty good weapons for that. You might see the four-seamer a little bit more this year from me. Those weapons can get me out of any situation.”
After what he accomplished last season, it’s easy to see Cederlind breaking camp with the big club, competing for time and working his way up the bullpen depth chart.
Might be in just enough time for his hair to start looking pretty funky, too.