Robert Gasser was flying principally beneath radar as a prospect when he was first featured right here at FanGraphs in July 2022. Pitching within the Midwest League one 12 months after being drafted 71st general out of the College of Houston, he was placing up strong however not at all eye-catching numbers with San Diego’s Excessive-A affiliate. Earlier within the season he’d been assigned a 40 FV and a no. 14 rating on our 2022 Padres Prime Prospects checklist.
Shortly after that first piece about Gasser was printed, the Padres dealt him to the Brewers as a part of the Josh Hader commerce, which on the time was extensively panned by Milwaukee followers. Whereas the consternation was comprehensible, the criticism is more and more abating. Almost two years later, Gasser is 4 begins into his MLB profession and boasts a 1.98 ERA and a 2.52 FIP over 23 innings. In three of his outings he’s gone at the least 5 frames and surrendered one run or fewer.
How has he gone from a low-profile prospect to a pitcher getting good outcomes at baseball’s highest stage? There was no magic bullet, Gasser stated, and he hasn’t made any particularly notable changes since we first spoke in 2022.
“I’m completely different in some methods, however in some methods I’m very related,” stated Gasser, who will have fun his twenty fifth birthday on Friday. “The arsenal hasn’t modified. The speed hasn’t modified. It’s extra so simply maturity and understanding what I’m good at, and the way I’m capable of get guys out.”
Energy isn’t his M.O. Extra artful lefty than flamethrower, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Gasser includes a heater that averages a modest 93.4 mph, and his 14.1% strikeout fee ranks in simply the eighth percentile amongst his contemporaries. His stroll fee is one other story. Thus far, Gasser has confronted 92 massive league hitters and issued only one free cross.
His pitch combine is nicely balanced. Per Statcast, Gasser has thrown 32.9% sweepers — “my putout pitch” — 23.3% four-seamers, 23.0% sinkers, 13.0% changeups, and seven.8% cutters. Requested if he sequences in another way than he did within the minors, Gasser replied, “Not a ton.”
As for something which may have modified philosophically when he went from the Padres to the Brewers, his reply got here with a caveat.
“With a brand new group there are undoubtedly new concepts and methods to method pitching,” Gasser stated. “With San Diego, I felt it was extra so first-pitch strikes and strikes in 1-1 counts. That’s nonetheless essential right here, however as I went to the upper ranges they positioned extra emphasis on figuring out which pitches are the best pitches to throw on the proper time. Clearly, I used to be on the decrease ranges with San Diego, and I think about they’ve extra superior stuff on the larger ranges. However the Brewers satisfaction themselves on their potential to know what’s proper primarily based on metrics and information. I’m very trusting in what they’ve instructed me.”
Being calm, cool, and picked up is an attribute that hasn’t required instruction. One factor that’s stood out within the rookie’s preliminary time within the majors is his composure. By and enormous, he doesn’t get rattled.
“There are undoubtedly moments the place I can have emotion, however I’m at my greatest after I’m even-keeled and don’t let earlier pitches affect how I really feel on the subsequent pitch,” Gasser stated. “Particularly at this stage. These guys are actually good, and receives a commission to do what they do, so if I hand over a double or a house run they usually rating three, I’m nonetheless the identical individual with the identical arsenal. All that’s completely different is the state of affairs. So long as I’m capable of keep in mind that and keep constant on each single pitch, I can have success.”
That he’s having fun with a excessive diploma of success towards main league hitters a mere two years after he was an unheralded lefty in A-ball is, after all, a giant a part of Gasser’s story. Wanting again, was he underrated as a prospect?
“Rankings are rankings,” stated Gasser, who entered this season as Milwaukee’s no. 8 prospect. “That stuff by no means actually bothered me. I didn’t really feel that I wanted to show myself to anybody however myself, that I used to be able to getting right here and succeeding right here. All that issues is how I carry out.”