Jose Ascanio vs. Jorge Julio

Jorge Julio knocked Jose Ascanio out of the closer role for Caracas this week. So, is this guy really better than our guy? I don't know if I can answer that (it is probably "yes"), but let's at least see what PITCHf/x says about each pitcher.

Jorge Julio is an eight year veteran, who has thrown almost 450 innings with an ERA+ of 104. Not great for a relief pitcher. About an inch taller than Ascanio, he also throws with a higher arm position.





Their stuff is similar in terms of speed.

Ascanio

cfx	#	mph	pfx_x	pfx_z	deg	rpm
CU	16	77.5	8.1	-4.0	244.0	1,004.9
FA	183	95.1	-7.3	7.1	226.1	1,395.5
FS	87	86.0	-7.8	1.5	197.8	1,006.7
SL	40	83.6	1.7	1.4	166.9	359.7
	326	90.4	-5.6	4.4	212.1	1,145.5

Julio

cfx	#	mph	pfx_x	pfx_z	deg	rpm
CH	123	86.1	-7.3	5.7	230.1	1,163.3
FA	519	95.5	-5.1	8.3	209.6	1,385.3
SL	287	83.2	5.2	1.5	149.1	694.9
	929	90.4	-2.2	5.9	193.6	1,142.6

The difference in arm angle is slight, but reflected in the movement of their pitches.





Julio really sweeps that slider. Ascanio gets a little more tail/sink from his fastball (although Julio's two-seamer does just fine).





Stuff-wise, not a huge difference. Although Jose will throw a curveball, and they throw different off-speed pitches (Ascanio's looks like splitter, Julio's doesn't).

Effectiveness:

Ascanio

cfx	#	LHH	RHH	Swing	Whiff	B:CS	ISZ	Paint	Chase	Watch
CU	16	1	15	0.1250	0.0000	3.6667	0.1875	0.0625	0.0000	0.3333
FA	183	80	103	0.5301	0.1959	1.9310	0.3880	0.1639	0.3839	0.2394
FS	87	58	29	0.5172	0.1778	5.0000	0.2759	0.0805	0.3810	0.1250
SL	40	2	38	0.3750	0.3333	5.2500	0.3000	0.1250	0.2500	0.3333
	326	141	185	0.4877	0.2013	2.8605	0.3374	0.1319	0.3426	0.2273

Julio

cfx	#	LHH	RHH	Swing	Whiff	B:CS	ISZ	Paint	Chase	Watch
CH	123	116	7	0.4472	0.5091	5.8000	0.2195	0.0732	0.3438	0.1852
FA	519	257	262	0.3680	0.1152	2.0943	0.3969	0.1310	0.2524	0.4563
SL	287	73	214	0.5087	0.4452	2.5000	0.3659	0.0732	0.4121	0.3238
	929	446	483	0.4220	0.2934	2.4359	0.3638	0.1055	0.3164	0.3935

Pitch by Pitch, here's how they shake-out

Curve - None for Julio. Ascanio only throws it to righties. He can't hit the strike zone with it, or fool anyone enough to chase it. At least he has one. But at least Julio doesn't have a bad one. Advantage: none

Change/Splitter - Ascanio will throw his to both lefties and righties, but Julio reserves his change-up for lefties. Both guys avoid the strike zone with this pitch, and both get hitters to chase (at an unspectacular rate). Only Julio misses bats. Advantage: Julio

Fastball - Again, combing two- and four-seamers .... Ascanio gets more swinging strikes, but Julio tends to get more guys to take the pitch in the zone. Overall, it doesn't really benefit him much, as their B:CS ratios are about the same. With more missed bats, a slightly better B:CS ratio, and a little more on the paint, Advantage: Ascanio

Oh, we're tied. Rubber pitch

Slider - A key pitch for both guys. Julio wins hands down. More strikes, swings, whiffs and chases. No surprise, given the movement on it. Plus, Julio will throw it to all hitters, unlike Ascanio who almost never shows the slider to a lefty. Advantage: Julio

So, there you have it. I officially approve of the decision by Caracas, based on stuff alone.

This is going to be a long Winter if I'm this bored already.