DUNEDIN, Fla. -- The Florida Complex League is a good first step for players to get their first taste of what professional ball is like, but there is no substitute for affiliated games. Facing new competition in a more game-like setting often shows, or exposes, areas a player needs to grow that they can’t find at Pirate City alone.
For 2021 second-round pick Anthony Solometo, it was controlling the running game. It’s hardly a unique problem, and most young pitchers go through similar struggles early in their careers. But for the highest-rated left-handed pitching prospect in the Pirates' system, his first start in affiliated ball showed he needed to learn how to control the running game. The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels took advantage of his long motion towards the plate and stole five bases over three innings.
But after that first appearance, teams have not been able to run on him, picking up just one stolen base over his next three starts. Solometo credits the quick turnaround to a new motion towards the plate, eliminating most of his leg lift.
It was a movement he picked up watching videos of Clayton Kershaw pitching. Kershaw doesn’t have a leg lift when he comes home. Subconsciously, Solometo did his best impression of the future Hall of Famer’s stretch:
“I didn’t think about doing it,” Solometo was telling me in Dunedin, Fla. recently. “I just wasn’t lifting.”
It’s not the first time something like this has happened to Solometo. His weekly routine lends itself to experimentation and trying to figure out what makes the best pitchers in the game click.
“There’s different things I can see from a mental and physical aspect that I like to watch with pitchers,” Solometo said.
After Solometo makes a start, he gives himself the weekend to reflect and unplug for a moment. On Monday, he picks a pitcher and then does a deep dive on videos of them, trying to identify what makes them so effective and what he could take away from them. He calls it his “pitcher of the week.”
Let’s go through a couple former pitchers of the week.
CLAYTON KERSHAW: “There was a point where I was really trying to find an identity with my offspeed pitch. I was just watching Kershaw’s curveball and I know since there’s a difference in arm slots, that’s not gonna be identical, but I bring it out and the next thing you know, I have this really devastating looking slurve.”
MAX SCHERZER: “I just love his mentality out there. How he’s a complete psycho about everything he does. I can get pretty fiery out there on the mound. But he does this thing with his hands and his feet where he’s really close together. Try to incorporate that. Feet together rather than wide.”
ZACK WHEELER: “[He] keeps his hands close to his body. That’s a good way to keep myself upright rather than hunching over and throwing too far away [from my body].”
PEDRO MARTINEZ: “Watching that changeup of his, just, *phew*. I love that he had this reputation as a headhunter and then just carried that with him and diced people up.”
That changeup is still a work in progress for Solometo, which is expected for a young pitcher. His assessment is blunt, saying “I need to stop being a pansy and just finish it.” That sounds like some brutal self-evaluation after watching Martinez for a week.
Those videos and experiments are paying off. Solometo’s fastball velocity is up a tick and becoming a bit more steady. He’s added a slider to his repertoire. Director of coaching and player development John Baker said recently that Solometo was more advanced than others in his draft class, which is why he was the first of the highly-touted prep players the club drafted last year to make the leap to Class Low-A.
“That type of guy is gonna go places because he's in tune to what's going on if he is able to make adjustments rapidly,” Marauders manager Jonathan Johnstone said. “He's got a great aptitude for the game.”
And this is, of course, on top of all of the other conversations minor-leaguers have with each other or with players at higher levels, all searching for what will get to the majors.
“He's one of the brightest young dudes I've spent time around,” minor-league pattern and throwing pattern coordinator Vic Black said during spring training. “He really knows what he wants to do.”
What Solometo wants to do, above all else, is get better. He’s got an opportunity to do that.
“It’s exciting to pitch where people are watching,” Solometo said. “Having a bigger audience to show who I am. I think each games has gone by and I’ve gotten better every single time. I’m excited to keep doing the best I can and just let the rest of it work itself out.”
Before I let Solometo go, I had to ask one more question. He’s watched a lot of great pitchers, both growing up an in research. All-Stars, Cy Young winners and Hall of Famers. Who are his top five favorites?
“My favorite is Madison Bumgarner,” he started off. “Someone I watch crazily. 2014 postseason is insane. Deserves all the medals.”
I politely remind Solometo that Pittsburgh probably doesn’t share his enthusiasm for Bumgarner’s 2014 postseason performance. He laughs and acknowledges that he’ll need to keep that to himself when he reaches the Pirates. And Solometo’s funky mechanics have made Bumgarner the most common comp.
Anthony Solometo has arm action that reminds us of Madison Bumgarner.
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) October 2, 2020
And he raised his stock more than any other prospect last week.
Full scouting report: https://t.co/kt4TUuroBA pic.twitter.com/FFuvM9hJWt
“Pedro is in there. Clayton Kershaw is in there.
“We’re at three right now?”
I confirm the number. Solometo takes a deep sigh. “Yeah, this is heartless.”
The final two spots – well, four, and in no particular order – went to Curt Schilling for the “dawg” factor and pitching with a bloody sock, and then a soft tie between Cole Hammels, Roy Halladay and Jon Lester.
I gave him the right to revision at a later date, confident that he’ll pick up something from a pitcher of the week that could influence that top five.
