The Dodgers have reportedly agreed to terms with left-handed pitcher Casey Crosby after a video surfaced of him on Rob Friedman’s (@PitchingNinja on Twitter) Flatground App. Crosby is 31 years old and has made it to the major leagues as recently as 2012.
Congrats to Casey Crosby on signing with the #Dodgers! https://t.co/KUuBkdxTU4
— Octagon Baseball (@OctagonBaseball) December 5, 2019
These days, Crosby is up to 96-98 miles per hour on his fastball with tremendous spin efficiency data from Rapsodo on his side. In terms of vertical movement on his fastball, he gets significant rise, registering 20.8 inches of rise per the video. Crosby pitched in the independent leagues in 2019, registering a 1.74 ERA across 46 2/3 innings of work, striking out 75 batters in total.
If Crosby was in the major leagues today, this is how he would stack up with movement and velocity:
Okay, so the huge caveat being that this is just a sss pen and we don’t have data from his actual outings, but here are how some of his pitches measure up to MLB LHP
FB velo – 99th percentile
FB vertical movement – 96th percentile
CB vertical movement – 99th percentile— ? (@eccentricladdie) December 5, 2019
Crosby is a huge believer in analytics and they have certainly revitalized his career. His upside is tremendous based on his numerical totals, but add in the fact that he is a lefty and you have a potential back-end arm if all breaks right.
He was a fifth round pick back in 2010 with the Detroit Tigers, the team he only threw for three times in the majors.
Here is a look at Crosby’s fastball before embracing analytics versus his fastball after:
Spin Efficiency Matters:
Using DrivelineEdge we can see that not all spin rate is the same. At 80% efficiency @CaseyCrosby2 wasn’t utilizing enough of his 2600+ spin rate. He was able to increase it to 95+% and gain 3+” of Vertical Break on his already elite FB. @DrivelineBB pic.twitter.com/CG8d18Y09h
— Dylan Rheault (@DylanRheault) November 30, 2019
His spin efficiency rose, his vertical movement increased, and because of it, he is now a legitimate prospect.
This is a name to watch, Dodger fans. At 31 years old, he definitely has the seasoning to become something fierce for the Dodgers’ bullpen.
