Rockies Journal: Cal Quantrill’s splitter becomes difference-making pitch

Cal Quantrill needed a difference-maker.

“I was having good results, but it was becoming more difficult to strike out batters,” the Rockies right-hander explained. “There were too many times in a game when I needed a pitch to balance things out. My cutter was too hard as a secondary pitch. And my fastball and cutter could get a little bit jumpy at times.”

Quantrill, a cerebral pitcher, studied his dilemma and found a solution — not a simple solution, mind you, but one that works for him.

He decided to try the split-finger fastball, which is difficult to master and rarely used by major leaguers. The splitter is a staple in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, but it had become an orphan in Major League Baseball. Last season, the splitter represented only 2.1% of pitches thrown in the majors.

This season, more pitchers are throwing the splitter, and its usage is up to 5.6%, according to FanGraphs. But it’s still not a staple.

There is also still some confusion about what constitutes a splitter, a pitch that some call a “split-finger changeup.”

“If I were naming my pitch, I would call it a split-finger fastball because I’m throwing it with fastball arm speed,” Quantrill said. “I’m not trying to throw a changeup; I’m not trying to take velocity off the pitch. I’m splitting my fingers and throwing the ball. That’s what creates the action.”

Quantrill has used the pitch 34% of the time this season, and adopting it has taken him to another level. And it’s made Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt look smart. The offseason trade with Cleveland that brought Quantrill to Colorado looks like a steal right now.

Quantrill entered the weekend series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles with a 4-3 record and 3.53 ERA. In five May starts, as he grew more confident throwing his splitter in any count, Quantrill was 4-0 with a 1.71 ERA. He was the first Rockies starting pitcher to win four games with a sub-2.00 ERA in a calendar month since Jorge De La Rosa in June 2016 (4-0, 1.96).

For the uninitiated, the “splitty,” as it’s sometimes called, requires a pitcher to wedge the baseball between the index and middle fingers. It’s an off-speed pitch that initially looks like a fastball but then appears to drop suddenly as it nears the plate.

“I’m seeking about depth first, but I would love for it to run a bunch, too,” Quantrill said. “But that’s a bonus. Some guys can make the run move across the plate. It would be great to do that, but for now, I want (hitters) thinking it’s a fastball and then have the pitch drop off the table.”

The splitter can be a devastating weapon. Hall of Fame closer Bruce Sutter credited the pitch with saving his career.

“If it weren’t for that pitch, I’d be back in Pennsylvania working in a printer’s shop,” Sutter told Sports Illustrated in 1986.

Longtime catcher and manager Mike Scioscia once called the splitter “the pitch of the ’80s,” but it fell out of favor because teams believed that throwing it frequently increased the risk of arm injuries. This season, the splitter is making a comeback and replacing the “sweeper” as the hot pitch.

Quantrill, who had a shoulder issue last season while pitching for the Guardians, says his shoulder feels “really good,” and he’s in one of the best places of his six-year career.

He began tinkering with the splitter during spring training in 2023 and threw it 13.7% of the time last season. He’s nearly tripled his usage this season. Does that mean he’s mastered the splitter?

“Oh, God no,” he said.

“It’s a really, really hard pitch to control and get a feel for,” he continued. “There is a certain amount of slipping the ball from your fingers when you release the pitch. Honestly, it’s pretty uncomfortable.

“When I first tried it out last spring training, it was touch and go. I would throw a couple of good ones, and then I’d throw six to the backstop. It was frustrating.”

But Quantrill stuck with it and made it the focal point of his first spring training with the Rockies.

“It has to be something you’re pretty dedicated to,” he said.

Rockies manager Bud Black credits Quantrill’s personality for his success.

“Cal is a curious pitcher,” Black said. “He’s always pushing the envelope of exploration, in a way, and trying to improve his game. It’s something he talked a lot about in spring training and about it being part of his arsenal.

“It takes a lot of practice, and I’m impressed that the pitch is of such quality in such a short period of time.”

Quantrill has gotten a much better feel for the splitter since he first jammed a baseball between his fingers. But that’s only part of the equation.

“The toughest part for me has been learning when to use it,” he said. “Honestly, a lot of the credit goes to our catchers (Elias Diaz and Jacob Stallings) and our pitching coaches. They have found the best opportunities for me to throw it, and have helped me figure out how to mix it in.”

But Quantrill figures his splitter will never be a finished product.

“Nope, no pitch ever is,” he said. “And it takes something extra to master a splitter.”

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