Kevin Gaussman (31), who won 12 wins in the first season of his transfer to Toronto, welcomed his new colleague. He expressed his anticipation by asking Chris Bassett (33), who has a strength he does not have, to teach him a new pitch.
On the 13th (Korean time), the Toronto Blue Jays agreed with free agent starting pitcher Bassett for three years and $63 million. Bassett, who won 15 games with the New York Mets, became a free agent with an opt-out declaration on the 8th of last month. Bassett, along with Alec Manoa-Gausman, is expected to form one of Toronto’s “Big 3” selections. In addition, Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi are responsible for the lower rotation. Ryu Hyun-jin, who underwent elbow surgery, can return at the end of next season.
Bassett is a pitcher like right-handed Ryu Hyun-jin. He’s not a pitcher who strikes out with fiery fastballs, but he knows how to throw a variety of pitches in unexpected places to create weak hits.
The average velocity of the sinker, Bassett’s main pitch, was 92.8 miles per hour, about 149.4 km. His four-seam fastball is 93.2 mph, not much of a difference. However, the batting speed of batters facing Bassett is only 85.7 miles per hour (about 138.0 km). Bassett’s exit velocity allowed is in the top 5% in the major leagues.
Gaussman seems to want to learn these tricks. When Bassett’s joining Toronto was confirmed, he excitedly tweeted, “Welcome to The Six (Toronto City’s nickname). Please tell me all those 10 pitches.” Bassit also expected Gaussman to join Toronto, saying, “Tell me about the splitter.”
Bassett threw six pitches through the 2022 season. Sinkers accounted for the most with 33.4%, followed by cutters (17.2%), sliders (16.3%), curveballs (13.9%) and four-seam fastballs (13.1%). The changeup accounted for 6.3 percent. Five of the six pitches recorded a rate of 10% or more. Instead, there was no splitter thrown by Gaussman. 토토
On the other hand, Gaussman is an absolute player with 83.6% of the two pitches, a four-seam fastball (48.8%) and a splitter (34.8%). The rest of the pitches were a slider (14.5%) and a changeup (1.9%).
American Yahoo Sports said, “Basset will be a positive stimulus that suits Toronto’s starting pitchers. Starting pitchers often exchange ideas and give each other tips. Gaussman instilled confidence in Kikuchi. Bassett’s charisma Added together, they will be stronger.”