By Josh Bookbinder
Prior to the trade deadline, I wrote about Nick Mears and how much of a boost he would get from pitching full-time outside of Coors. I mentioned specifically it would be great if he could go somewhere closer to sea level.
On July 27th, Mears got traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for two minor league RHPs. It was a pickup met with an optimistic but lukewarm reception in Brewer-land, not surprising for a reliever with a 5.56 ERA up until that point. However, I was ecstatic, but nervous to see if I was right about a change of scenery.
Miller Park is 612′ above sea level, a far cry from the 5200′ of Coors. Mears’ stuff has responded in turn by showing much more break. Since the trade, his 4SFB has jumped from 17.5 IVB, which is good but not great, to 19.5, which jumps him to 7th most in MLB since the trade. His CB has gone from -13.7 IVB to -14.4, which is a significant jump as well, jumping him to 33rd out of 205 pitchers who have thrown a CB in that time. Here’s Mears rocking the new threads and blowing a ride fastball by Austin Riley, and here’s a hammer dropping off the table to get a sword and a half from Kevin Kiermaier.
The change is showing in the results, too. As of writing, Mears has thrown 9.1 IP for the Brew Crew, allowing only 3 hits and 3 runs in that span, including 7 scoreless outings and 15 strikeouts to only 1 walk. It looks like the Brewers got a heck of a steal and a quality bullpen arm who will be a member of the organization controlled in arbitration for the next three years.
I’m not saying the Brewers read LTQM, but I am saying maybe more teams should.
Josh Bookbinder is a writer for and co-founder of LowThreeQuarter. See more of his work and others’ work on the site through the links at the top of the page, or explore another recent article linked below.
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