"In his first start, Early used his sinker against lefties to get ahead, turning to sweepers and curveballs to put them away. Against righties, he kept everything down in the zone and "pitched backwards". He used his breaking stuff early in at-bats, turning to more four-seam fastballs and changeups later in counts. He executed his plan, striking out 11 Athletics over five shutout innings."
"He follows it up with a really good changeup, and Thomas is again out in front to make it 0-2. And at 0-2, Early dots a fastball for called strike three. This pitch worked for a few reasons. The first is that it starts in a very similar location to the first pitch slider, but it stays straight instead of continuing to run in on him."
Connelly Early relied on a distinct plan in his first start, using a sinker to get ahead on lefties and finishing with sweepers and curveballs. Against righties he kept everything down and "pitched backwards," attacking early with breaking stuff and using four-seam fastballs and changeups later in counts. He struck out 11 Athletics over five shutout innings. Facing the same hitters a week later presented a repeatability challenge because hitters gain information. In a Colby Thomas at-bat, Early started with a slider, sequenced a changeup, then slipped a fastball by for a called strike three due to similar launch location and heavy spin. He threw 23 fastballs to righties and generated relatively few swings.
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