Welcome to Verducci’s View, a new weekly baseball newsletter from Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci. Every Monday, Tom will empty out his notebook over email and cover MLB’s hottest topics, provide in-depth analysis through both text and video breakdowns, look forward to what’s worth watching during the week and more. This week, we’re focusing on early NL Cy Young favorite Cristopher Sánchez, another contender in Shohei Ohtani and more.
What is the best pitch of any starter in the majors? Step aside, Tarik Skubal changeup, Dylan Cease slider, Logan Webb changeup and Gerrit Cole four-seamer, all of which have had the highest annual run value the previous four seasons. It’s the changeup of Phillies lefthander Cristopher Sánchez, who is bringing back bread-and-butter pitching at a time when pitch menus run as long as those of a 24-hour diner.
