Andrés Muñoz’s changeup is still a small part of the mix, but it has become a real piece of his late-inning plan.
Most hitters already know the script when they face the Mariners right-hander: triple-digit velocity, then that nasty slider. The new wrinkle is the changeup Muñoz began developing before spring training last year, and while it was a talking point all spring, he barely used it in games last season, throwing it about 2% of the time.
This year, the pitch is showing up more often. Muñoz has doubled its usage to about 5%, and he’s leaned on it even more in certain matchups, especially against the lefty-heavy Twins and Tigers.
Of the 32 changeups he’s thrown this season, 31 have gone to lefties, with just one against a righty. That lines up with the issue Ryan wrote about earlier this season, when Muñoz was having trouble getting his heater past left-handed hitters and started reaching for the changeup more as a solution.
The pitch has drawn easy comparisons from Mariners fans to Félix Hernández’s famous cambio, and the resemblance is there. Muñoz’s version carries similar heavy drop, around 5-7”, and sits near 92 mph, about half a tick harder than it did last season when he was still calling it a “kick” change. Muñoz said he doesn’t always use that grip now that he’s throwing it more because it’s uncomfortable.
The old pitching rule says a changeup works best when it comes much slower than the fastball, but movement can matter just as much. That was part of the magic with Félix, and it’s part of the appeal here too.
Muñoz’s fastball hasn’t been a problem from a velocity standpoint, but the changeup gives him a different shape. His slider cuts glove-side, which lets him work in on lefties and away from righties.
The changeup fades arm-side, giving him another way to attack left-handed hitters if he can get them to offer at it.
That’s the catch. The pitch has produced a lot of empty takes, and not many good ones.
Of the 32 changeups Muñoz has thrown this season, 22 have been balls and one was a called strike. That called strike also happened to be the only changeup he’s thrown to a righty, and it came against Jose Altuve.
When hitters do swing, though, they haven’t touched it. The pitch has a 100% whiff rate.
At times, it’s been so far off the plate that even aggressive hitters have had no reason to chase.
Still, Muñoz isn’t treating the changeup as just a strike-stealer or a lefty-only trick pitch. It gives him another look beyond the fastball/sinker and slider, and it also becomes useful when he has to cover more than one inning or work through a taxed frame.
In his two outings during the Giants series, he didn’t throw a changeup at all because he didn’t need to; he went through his assigned hitters on nine pitches both times. Against the Twins in a multi-inning outing that took 24 pitches, he went to the changeup six times, or about 25% of the total.
What Muñoz seems to value most, though, is something simpler: the pitch helps him reset.
He has a delivery that falls hard toward the first base side, and that can look especially rough when his command slips. Even so, his season has matched his career walk rate while his strikeout numbers have climbed to a career-high, with almost 37% of hitters punching out against him. Muñoz said the changeup helps him get back on track when his mechanics feel off.
“I used to use that pitch to reset when I have some issues with command,” said Muñoz, who has thrown a changeup since 2019, but only rarely at the big-league level until recently. “Like if I’m not able to control, I throw a changeup, and that’s my reset, like, okay, I can go back to the fastball, I can go back to the slider. It just helps me get back in line.”
“Even in the throwing program, when I throw and I feel like something is off, I throw a changeup and I throw the next fastball and it’s good. So that’s why I say that’s like a reset for me.“
And even if Muñoz says the pitch helps him regroup, the whiffs are still part of the package. If hitters do decide to swing at one that’s close enough, they still haven’t done any damage.
In Other News...
George Kirby May Have Been Closer To A Mariners Exit Than Fans Knew
George Kirby stayed put when the MLB trade deadline passed, but ESPNs reporting suggests his name was part of a wider market conversation even if Mariners fans never saw it play out in real time. Detroits talks on Tarik Skubal were shaped in part by the possibility that if those negotiations dragged, other clubs might redirect their attention toward Kirby, whose appeal is obvious to any front office hunting for a frontline starter.
For Seattle, the important part is simple: Kirby is still in the rotation, and the Mariners kept one of their most valuable arms rather than turning a deadline debate into a roster shakeup. The reporting also underscores why he drew such attention in the first place, with his age, affordability and long runway of team control making him exactly the kind of pitcher rival clubs would monitor if the market for an ace started to move. [Read more 🡒]
Jerry Dipoto Faces New Heat As Mariners Questions Keep Growing
David Forsts dismissal in Oakland has only sharpened the spotlight on baseball operations around the division, and it inevitably turns the conversation back to Jerry Dipoto in Seattle. Forst spent 27 years with the Athletics and 11 seasons as general manager before being let go, with assistant GM Dan Feinstein now overseeing baseball operations while the club searches for a replacement.
For the Mariners, the comparison is hard to miss because the questions around Dipoto have only grown as the team has continued to struggle on the field. Seattle has built its recent identity around patience and process, but results have a way of changing the temperature fast, and another front-office reset in the AL West only adds to the scrutiny on a group already under pressure to show progress. [Read more 🡒]
Rick Rizzs Finally Gets A Place In Mariners History
Rick Rizzs has been part of the Mariners soundtrack for so long that it is hard to imagine the franchise without him. Now, the team is formally giving him a place in its history, announcing that the longtime broadcaster will be inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame next season. He will become the 12th member and one of only two non-uniformed inductees, joining Dave Niehaus in that distinction.
Rizzs has been connected to the organization for 41 years and has served as the lead radio voice since 2011, but his impact has gone well beyond the booth. Through his Toys for Kids charity, he has also been a familiar presence in the community. The Mariners have not yet announced when the ceremony will take place or what it will look like, leaving one more chapter in a fitting honor still to come. [Read more 🡒]