Chi Chi has revamped arsenal for 2021

At the end of last season, Rockies right-hander Chi Chi González determined that he didn’t have time for pain and had run out of reasons for his old ways.

González had to correct right shoulder problems that led to a rough 2020 -- 0-2, 6.86 ERA in six games (four starts), a year that included three weeks on the injured list with biceps tedinitis. He also needed to shake off whatever ego bruise came with the Rockies outrighting him off of the 40-man Major League roster after the season.

González rejoined the Rockies as a non-roster player this spring, and appears headed for the fifth rotation spot after being added back to the 40-man roster Saturday. He takes a 2-0 record with a 3.72 ERA in four Cactus League outings -- plus three scoreless "B" game innings -- into Sunday’s start against the Royals at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.

By taking control of his career, González refused to feel unwanted, and quite possibly has put himself in position to be needed.

Indications are that the Rockies will go with four starters for the first eight games of the regular season, and then add González to the rotation on April 10 at San Francisco.

“It takes some maturity to understand that I had an off-year last year -- I had an injury,” Gonzalez said. “I’m thankful to get back from it, nothing serious. I knew that if I was healthy coming into the spring, I had a legitimate chance.”

Should González grab the most out of what has been an injury-interrupted career, it will be the fruits of decisions to put in extra miles -- 30 of them, in fact. By driving from his home in Boca Raton, Fla., to the Palm Beach Gardens setup that he had heard so much about at Cressey Sports Performance, González came upon a physical and mental plan for 2021.

González was a first-round pick by the Rangers out of Oral Roberts University in 2013, but he made just 17 appearances for them from '15-16 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He went 2-8 with a 5.66 ERA over the last two seasons with the Rockies.

González has outpitched Ryan Rolison and former Giants righty Dereck Rodríguez during camp. Going into Spring Training, the Rockies held a Minor League option for González, meaning that after he was added to the roster, he could be sent down without being exposed to waivers. But González no longer has that option, because he fell into a group of players whose status changed because of service-time negotiations between MLB and the MLB Players Association.

González joined fellow Rockies pitchers Rolison and Tyler Kinley at Cressey, which is renowned for its programs of working with pitchers who utilize overhead motions. Then, González delved into research with Cressey’s pitching coordinator, former Notre Dame pitcher Brian Kaplan, and emerged with a more diverse strategy.

From youth, González internalized an edict that pitching low in the strike zone, and below, is best. It’s not an unsound method, given the number of successful pitchers who have worked that way, especially those with low-spin fastballs that sink. But over his career, González has also seen hitters concentrate on that pitch. Many can hit it. Even more, many lay off it until he elevates just a little. And just a little elevated is a disadvantageous middle -- where he has been too often during his career.

González’s fastball spin rate, however, is in the 68th percentile -- plenty high enough to work above bats, if not all the time, at least enough to keep hitters from guessing low.

“We brought up old video from the Rangers, and video of me in ’19 with the Rockies,” said González, who noted earlier this spring that he has seen umpires more likely to call the high strike than in the past. “They've been in baseball for so long that they know people -- I'm sure they know scouts and other video guys. They’re all there to help us.”

It turned out that González’s offseason amounted to a head start. The Rockies saw the same potential adjustments. González said that the new strategy is continuing under new Rockies pitching coordinator Flint Wallace, who is melding advanced analytics with coaching for Major and Minor League pitchers.

Manager Bud Black described González’s pitches to high and low locations as “crisper,” and his delivery as sound fundamentally, and the plan is good if soundly executed.

“You have to do a little bit of top of the zone pitching, but Chi Chi’s strength is down, getting the ground ball,” said Black of González, who has forced ground balls on 44.5 percent of balls put in play over his career, but saw that number drop to 35.5 percent last year. “If he throws most of his pitches down, but pops one up occasionally, that helps him. He’s been very good with that, and he’s throwing strikes.”

If González can operate on the high and low levels, he has a better chance of being ahead in the count -- where hitters against him have a .568 OPS as opposed to an .880 when he is behind during his career.

“It's a huge mindset change,” González said. “I have to trust my stuff. I'm not the best at throwing a ball straight, so I’m going to take my chances -- just ripping in the zone and knowing I have movement. Sometimes the ball does end up down, but this way I take away the thought from the batter that I’m just pounding down in the zone.”