Andrew Abbott is establishing himself as a top-shelf starter. Now in his third large league season, the 26-year-old southpaw has a document of 8-1 to go along with a 2.13 ERA and a 3.42 FIP over 97 1/3 innings. Furthermore, he represented the Cincinnati Reds in final week’s All-Star Sport. An honorable point out in Ben Clemens’ ongoing Commerce Worth sequence, Abbott deserves consideration — and he’s been receiving his justifiable share of it right here at FanGraphs. Jake Mailhot wrote about him in mid-Could, and Michael Baumann adopted up by doing so in mid-June; Baumann additionally lined Abbott as a rookie in this piece from August 2023.
Accuse us of being AbbottGraphs for those who’d like, however the College of Virginia product is getting yet one more write-up courtesy of yours actually. Being a giant fan of artful lefties, I wasn’t about to cross up the chance to speak to Abbott — in addition to to others about Abbott — when the Reds visited Fenway Park earlier this month.
Not surprisingly, his self-assessment just about matched what I’ve learn and seen.
“I’m not an overwhelming man,” acknowledged Abbott, whose 92.4-mph fastball velocity ranks within the twenty first percentile. “Mixing speeds and getting guys off steadiness has at all times been the secret with me. That and staying within the zone as a lot as attainable. I additionally take satisfaction in being accessible, having the ability to throw 100 pitches each fifth day.”
Abbott assaults the strike zone fearlessly with all of his pitches, together with the pedestrian fastball. Over 17 begins, he has a 6.3% stroll charge — his accompanying strikeout charge is 22.3% — and he has issued two or fewer free passes in all however three of his outings.
‘He’s a bulldog,” Reds broadcast analyst Chris Welsh instructed me. “The man expects to go on the market and shut ’em down, and more often than not he does. Perspective goes a good distance.”
“He’s bought some moxie to him,” added Simon Mathews, Cincinnati’s assistant pitching coach. “That helps his potential to execute what’s a fairly funky look to his fastball, in addition to two actually good breaking balls and a changeup. He’s bought a religion in himself that’s actually spectacular for a man with unconventional stuff.”
What makes the left-hander’s stuff unconventional?
“The shortage of top-end velo on the heater,” Mathews mentioned. “Lack of top-end form to it, as properly. It’s bought a fairly flat strategy, and a little bit little bit of carry to it, however none of these numbers are going to leap off the web page to you. Similar factor along with his breaking balls. The sweeper might be going to leap off the Stuff+ fashions a little bit extra so than the curveball. The changeup performs above its uncooked form. I imply, he’s an absolute magnificence. When he takes the ball, he believes in how good his stuff is. We all know plenty of the underlying the reason why [the fastball] could be actually good, however it nonetheless takes plenty of nerve to throw fastballs within the zone within the main leagues. He’s actually bought that.”
Abbott is educational off the sphere — he earned a three-year diploma in biology at UVA, then returned to get a masters in training — however on the mound he’s “extra of a conventional man than an analytical kind.” Whereas he understands that underlying traits assist his stuff play up, he claims to not put a lot thought into the specifics, equivalent to his strategy angle and the motion profiles that observe. As Mailhot surmised in his Could article, Abbott’s fastball “doesn’t are available in the place they anticipate it to.”
Hitters have instructed Abbott concerning the misleading properties of his arsenal.
“I’ve heard from some guys that the ball simply type of jumps, that it will get on them faster than they anticipated,” he mentioned. “There’s a rise impact from when it leaves my hand to the place it will get to the plate. I’ve additionally heard that my sweeper and curveball are tight-spinners, that they will’t actually choose up the spin they usually simply type of go. But it surely’s completely different from individual to individual. Proper? Everybody has bought their very own ideas.”
I requested Tyler Stephenson for his ideas on Abbott’s arsenal and strategy.
“Along with his supply — type of crossfire — he will get good stick with it his heater,” mentioned the Reds catcher. “I believe it surprises lots of people. Loads of guys will swing by it, or foul it off. He’s additionally bought actually good really feel for his spin. And one thing that has actually developed within the final 12 months has been his changeup. It’s was an enormous weapon.”
Thrown at a 20.1% clip — up from 16.3% a 12 months in the past — Abbott’s changeup has been his second-most-frequent providing, behind solely his sneaky-good heater (47.6%). The curveball (15.5%), sweeper (12.4%), and cutter (4.4%) comprise the rest of his choices this season.
Whereas atypical, Abbott is certainly not a unicorn. With that in thoughts, I requested Stephenson and Welsh if there are any pitchers to whom they’d examine the first-time All-Star. Stephenson, who’s in his sixth large league season, couldn’t provide you with a solution, however Welsh did, and with little hesitation.
“A comparability I’d give is Tom Browning,” mentioned Welsh, who pitched within the large leagues from 1981-1986 earlier than becoming a member of the published ranks. “I performed with Tommy and knew that fashion of left-handed pitching fairly properly. [Abbott] throws a four-seam fastball up, and type of hides the ball as a result of he throws throughout his physique a little bit bit. It’s onerous to select up. He’s additionally made a little bit little bit of an adjustment this 12 months, working in additional changeups. He’s additionally straightened out his supply just a bit bit towards house plate. I believe that has helped him along with his offspeed stuff, particularly the changeup. However sure, I’d say Tommy.”
Browning toed the rubber in Cincinnati from 1984-1994 and ranks among the many higher pitchers in Reds historical past. Three years in, Abbott has an opportunity to forge an identical profession.
