Jon Gray's first set of major-league starts has inspired the Colorado Rockies' top pitching prospect to add a new pitch to his arsenal in hopes of maximizing his potential.
After making his major-league debut last season with a mid-90s fastball, high-80s slider, and mid-80s changeup, Gray revealed to MLB.com that he is adding a curveball into his repertoire this offseason.
"I'd never thrown a curveball in my life, could never get the spin," Gray told MLB.com. "I would always watch videos before my start of dominant righties -- Yu Darvish, Felix Hernandez, Gerrit Cole, Garrett Richards. I noticed a lot of them had something really slow to throw a hitter off. I saw that as a weapon, if I could learn it. I asked the coaches if they could start working with me on one. They were pretty open about it."
While he was ranked as the Rockies' top pitching prospect prior to making his major-league debut this past August, his success was a mixed bag in Colorado last year.
In nine outings, he went 0-2 with a 5.53 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, and 40 strikeouts versus 14 walks in 40 2/3 innings.
"I've shown I can be good; I've shown I can be bad," Gray said of his performance in 2015. "I don't want people to focus on the negatives, the bad ones. And pitching at elevation, I want to be consistent there. I don't think it's something I can't deal with. If it was, I'd say it. It was the same thing at Triple-A Albuquerque. I struggled at first. The first five or six starts, they were pretty bad. But I found a way to pitch at that place. I know that I can do the same here."
Despite his early struggles, the Rockies still hold plenty of faith in the promising 25-year-old right-hander.
"I saw a lot of growth, especially on the mental, the emotional side," manager Walt Weiss said. "I think he showed a lot of composure, a lot of poise on the mound, wasn't effected by the tough inning, the tough outing. His ability to bounce back from those type of things was very good. His stuff is top-shelf stuff. He's one of the guys I'm very excited about."
