Landon Sims is disgusting.
- Thread starter Drebin
- Start date
Haven’t seen anyone this dominate since 19 year old Danny Almonte snuck into the Little League World Series a decade of so back.
In all my years of watching State baseball (and it’s a lot) I’ve never had more
Confidence in any pitcher that he will get the job done.
Confidence in any pitcher that he will get the job done.
He throws his fastball up in the zone and is deceptive with it. And his slider makes it even better because hitters have to respect that off speed pitch.
What separates him from other great closers we’ve had is that it’s usually drama free. Holder would give you a heart attack before he eventually got out of it. Sims doesn’t let the other team come close to scoring in the vast majority of his appearances.
Like his girlfriend is at his apartment naked in bed and just sent him a text saying be here in 15 minutes or I'm doing your roommate.
High spin rate from a low arm angle plus some cut to it. It is a pretty rare combination. Foxhall told us about it on head to head one day.
Sims, true State baseball fans know they can count on!
Idiot 'bandwagon' fans with little faith and 'woe is us' attitude, true State baseball fans know will pop off!
Ya'll are 'worse' than the WAOM idiots!
He’s got a deceptive delivery as well. His windup is slow for a guy throwing 96. The ball just explodes out of his hand. I imagine it’s hard to time up, even if you knew what was coming.
We talked about velocity in another thread as well. As important as spin rate and actual MPH is, equally critical is hiding the ball from the hitter (deception). It's as effective in cutting down the reaction time as adding 4-5 mph in some cases. Here's a full explanation.
https://forums.sixpackspeak.com/showthread.php?225376-Baseball-Gurus&p=1908909#post1908909
Sims keeps his arm tight to his body and is not skinny as a rail so I would guess hitters aren't identifying the ball until the release. With the higher spin rate the velocity holds up better than average to the catcher's mitt and by hiding the ball he is cutting a few feet off the pitch recognition. So for a hitter Sims 94-96 feels like 98-100.
https://forums.sixpackspeak.com/showthread.php?225376-Baseball-Gurus&p=1908909#post1908909
Sims keeps his arm tight to his body and is not skinny as a rail so I would guess hitters aren't identifying the ball until the release. With the higher spin rate the velocity holds up better than average to the catcher's mitt and by hiding the ball he is cutting a few feet off the pitch recognition. So for a hitter Sims 94-96 feels like 98-100.
He also hides the ball a little in his delivery. The ball is on top of someone before they know it. And it seems even faster than it is because it's got late action and the hitter has to respect the slider, which looks the same as the fastball out of his hand.
His biggest weapon is location, though. 94+ at the belt/letters is unhittable, especially for a guy who has the kind of slider he has to throw off of it.
You have actual velocity - what’s measured
Then you have perceived velocity - spin rate, how far he gets down the mound
What makes the slider so effective is he does a great job of tunneling his pitches
Having Sims in the pen reminds me of having a weekly card game and every time you get the high trump in you hand. You know you are going to win whatever trick you play it in the only concern is figuring out the best time to play it.
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If he's going to have a subpar outing - with the hitters at this level and with the stuff he's throwing, he's not blowing a save.
A hitter(s) would have to get really lucky. Not saying it can't happen, but Sims is a BEAST!
If he ever does eventually blow one it would probably be trying to pitch on consecutive days.
This is precisely the reason why Lemonis is being extremely careful not to overpitch him and why every bulldog fan should understand completely when he doesn't make an appearance on Sunday after he's thrown 30 on Sat.
Totally agree, and not to distract from Sims' filthiness...
But Preston Johnson also had one of the most dominant innings I remember last night in the 6th. I think he struck out the side on maybe 10 or 11 pitches, all fastballs, and all unhittable. They looked damn near unseeable to those poor hitters. Without looking, I think at least 2 were backward K's. He hit 95 on the last pitch. He looked somewhat Sims-esque.
But Preston Johnson also had one of the most dominant innings I remember last night in the 6th. I think he struck out the side on maybe 10 or 11 pitches, all fastballs, and all unhittable. They looked damn near unseeable to those poor hitters. Without looking, I think at least 2 were backward K's. He hit 95 on the last pitch. He looked somewhat Sims-esque.