Tim Herrin is quietly having one of this year’s best seasons among pitchers who are unlikely to be named to the American League All-Star team later this month. The 27-year-old left-hander has come out of the Cleveland Guardians bullpen 38 times and boasts a 1.07 ERA and 2.48 FIP over 33 2/3 innings. Moreover, he’s punched out 34 batters, and none of the 18 hits he’s surrendered have left the yard.
Uncle Charlie has been his primary weapon. Herrin has thrown his curveball 40.6% of the time this season, the second-highest percentage — behind only Kansas City’s Nick Anderson at 45.1% — among pitchers who have worked at least 30 innings. The usage represents a marked change from a year ago. In his 2023 rookie season, Herrin threw his curveball just 12.2% of the time while logging a 5.53 ERA and 3.87 FIP.
Herrin discussed his hook prior to a recent game at Cleveland’s Progressive Field.
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David Laurila: Is the curveball your best pitch? You’ve certainly been throwing a lot of them.
Tim Herrin: “Yeah, I mean, the usage is up a lot compared to previous years. It’s a pitch I worked on throughout the offseason, trying to be able to command it a little bit better. It used to be more of a two-strike strikeout pitch, and now I can use it to get ahead in counts as well as to put guys away. It’s been a good pitch for me.”
Laurila: What are you doing differently to command it better?
Herrin: “It’s more of a mental cue for my release point. I didn’t change the grip or anything like that. Last year, I just tried to rip it as hard as I could, and this year there’s more of a controlled aggressiveness with it. It’s also about knowing the counts, when I want to get it in the zone and when I want to get it below the zone.”
Laurila: Has the movement profile changed at all?
Herrin: “It’s a little bit the same. I’d say it has been a little bit more depth-y this year. In the past, it’s been more horizontal with a little bit of depth. This year, I’ve had more like 10 horizontal [versus an average of 11.3 inches last season, per Statcast]. But I wasn’t trying to change the profile much. I think the cue kind of helped me make it a little bit sharper, and it kind of plays off the slider a little bit better.”
Laurila: You obviously want your curveball to be sharp — you want good movement — yet you’re not, as you said, just ripping it. I guess there is a fine line there.
Herrin: “Yeah. I mean, I am still ripping it. Like I said, it’s more of a controlled aggression with it. Last year, it wasn’t so much ‘Where am I going to throw this?’ as it was ‘I’m going to throw this hard and hope that it goes where I want it to go.’ There wasn’t as much thought behind the pitch, I guess you could say. This year, I have different cues for different locations.”
Laurila: Basically, it’s not a get-me-over curveball, but rather a curveball that you’re getting over?
Herrin: “That’s a good way to put it.”
Laurila: Was the adjustment mostly a matter of needing to throw more strikes?
Herrin: “That, and the need to be able to mix my off-speed pitches a little bit more. Last year, it was a lot of sliders early in counts, and then with two strikes it was always kind of the bigger curveball to get put-aways. Especially here in the big leagues, with the scouting reports, if you’re not mixing as much, it’s a little easier for the hitter. So this offseason, and then in spring training, there was an emphasis on using the curveball more, especially early in counts. I had some success with that, and progressively it has gotten better throughout the season.”
Laurila: You said that your curveball is playing off your slider better. How so?
Herrin: “I’m tunneling them better. It’s coming out less poppy. Throwing it a little bit harder has helped. Out of hand it’s very similar to the slider, but then it comes in with more depth. So yeah, trying to keep it from popping out of the hand to where the hitter can see early that it’s a curveball.”
Laurila: Is it possible to articulate just how you were able to make that change to how you’re releasing the pitch?
Herrin: “It’s kind of weird. For me, I feel like the cue is similar with both of my off-speed pitches in the sense that I think of staying closed for as long as possible. I’m a little crossfire — not like a crazy crossfire pitcher — but in my head, I’m thinking like I’m stepping towards first base and then ripping across. That keeps me from flying open too early. If I leak out early, I’ll get underneath it and not get the break that I want, so it’s more just staying closed off a lot longer before releasing the ball.”
Laurila: Can you see the difference in the way you’re releasing the ball when you look at video?
Herrin: “I haven’t really looked at it much on [Edgertronic], it’s more so what I see on the release plots. I have seen it on Edge, but I haven’t compared it to last year.”
Laurila: Would you say that the curveball is your most important pitch, or do you prefer to look at it as just one part of your arsenal?
Herrin: “I would say that it’s a very valuable pitch. It definitely sets up a lot, and not just the slider. It also helps my four-seamer play up. Metrically, my four-seamer isn’t all that great, but the velo gets on guys because of how many curveballs I’m throwing. I think the slower speed, especially earlier in counts, helps all of my other pitches — the four-seam, the slider, and I also throw a two-seam. But yeah, the curveball is a big pitch for me.”
