By any name, 'Deathball' enlivens Stripling's spring

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Just about every big leaguer undergoes some form of reinvention over the course of his career. For Ross Stripling, it's practically a way of life.

Starting from early in his career, Stripling has made a habit of experimenting with his arsenal. He relied on a six-pitch mix in 2023, and Statcast credits him with throwing eight distinct pitch types in his career.

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"It's a Greg Maddux quote that a pitcher's never a finished product," Stripling said. "I think if I had an 80-grade fastball, and in 2-0 counts I could throw a fastball over the plate, I probably wouldn't tinker as much.

"But that's not my strength. My strength is kind of anything anytime and keeping hitters off balance. Even though I've switched divisions a few times in the last few years, the book's kind of out on you and what you do."

Facing a Padres lineup that was nearly at full strength on Wednesday afternoon, Stripling was touched for eight runs on 13 hits over 3 2/3 innings in the A's 12-11 Cactus League loss at the Peoria Sports Complex. But he was pleased with the early returns on the latest addition to his arsenal.

The "Deathball," which Stripling is now calling a gyroball, is a modified slider with little horizontal movement and sharp vertical break that he began throwing this past offseason. Several Major Leaguers throw a similar pitch, but Stripling pointed to the movement that Rays closer Pete Fairbanks gets on his slider as something he's trying to emulate.

Thrown from a high arm angle, the gyroball tunnels with his fastball, though Stripling isn't quite at the point where he can reliably land it in the zone. He estimates that he threw between 15-20 of them on Wednesday, with four of his five strikeouts coming on the offering.

"It's looking really good," said Shea Langeliers, who caught Stripling when he began mixing in more gyroballs last Friday against the Brewers. "It seems like he's got control of it. I think from here, just keep throwing it and find the situations he wants to use it in."

The goal with the new pitch was to generate more swing-and-miss, an area that has been lacking in Stripling's game. According to Statcast, the 34-year-old right-hander recorded a 23.5% whiff rate (30th percentile among qualified Major League pitchers) and a 18.4% strikeout rate (16th percentile) in 2023.

Stripling still isn't getting as much swing-and-miss as he would like in the early going, but he's been able to induce a lot of swings and weak contact. He eventually would like to throw the gyroball only to righties while attacking lefties with his cutter.

"I know I can throw that cutter for strikes," Stripling said. "I'm not quite where I think I can drop [the gyroball] in 1-0 or 2-1 just yet. I'm using it more in contact or two-strike counts. But it's getting better; every outing, I get more comfortable with it."

Fan favorite alert
A familiar face suited up for the A's for the first time in a while in Peoria: Stephen Piscotty, who returned to Oakland on a Minor League deal in February.

The 33-year-old outfielder has not been in big league camp in part because Oakland is well-represented in his position group. The hope is that Piscotty's experience from parts of eight seasons in the Majors can be beneficial to those rising through the A's system.

"It's great for the younger guys," manager Mark Kotsay said. "I think he can have a positive impact on them, sharing his experiences and sharing what he's gone through, talking about what this organization does and the way we support players … not just on the field but off the field."

Leading up to re-signing with the team, Piscotty said he had reached out to Kotsay and general manager David Forst to express his interest in coming back. While he still believes he's capable of contributing at the big league level, he told them he was "willing to make some sacrifices," such as beginning the year with Triple-A Las Vegas.

Why? Because the franchise has always meant a lot to Piscotty, who grew up as an A's fan and helped the team reach the postseason in three straight years, from 2018-20.

"I've been to several organizations now, and the people here are just so grounded and good baseball people that, naturally, I want to be around," Piscotty said. "I think it's just a special place that respects the game, goes about it the right way, and just something I wanted to be a part of."