Houston Astros: Three things to like about reliever Ryan Pressly

Thing #1: Pressly’s amazing versatility

I think we’re all in for a treat when it’s Pressly’s time to take the bump as this guy is as versatile as it gets.  He just doesn’t have one pitch but he’s got several nasty types to try to get guys out and that’s certainly what one needs in order to be dominant.

The problem with Ken Giles was that he could easily throw triple-digits on the mound but batters were figuring out his timing so no matter what he did, his fate would be sealed with likely the Houston Astros being on the short end of the stick as far as the box score.  Bringing Pressly on deck intensifies stability and I don’t think we’ll have to worry about games being blown when he’s out there.

Sure, he’ll have his moments of making mistakes, he’s human but it won’t be to the magnitude of what this team dealt with Giles.

But here’s an interesting tidbit that David Adler of MLB.com had about Pressly’s spin rates on the pitches that he delivers:

Seeing these type of numbers from this guy makes me grin from to ear-to-ear.  You know that the Houston Astros are some of the most prolific curve ballers in the MLB and to bring in a guy who does it well is definitely something that’s remarkable.  All of those thousands of revolutions per minute numbers are making my head spin! Wow!

Lance McCullers Jr. continues to be our pitcher that uses it the most so I’m sure these two guys will sharing tips/techniques in regard to how each can help contribute to the team’s success even more.

According to Brooks Baseball, that four-seamer can get up to 96 mph while the curve sits at about 83 mph.  He also has a nice slider pitch that can top the low 90s when necessary.  So with that repertoire of all of those pitches, what’s there not to like about the guy?  Let’s dig even further.