How did Matt Strahm become of the game’s elite relievers?
Back in 2019 when general manager Matt Klentak acquired Mike Morin, Blake Parker and Jared Hughes mid-season the people of Philadelphia clamored for velocity.
“Screw soft contact,” we said. “Screw throwing 92 mph.”
So when Dave Dombrowski headed up the front office and acquired Sam Coonrod, Gregory Soto and Corey Knebel, it seemed as if the organization had turned a corner and caught up with the baseball world.
Of course, we learned, velocity isn’t all it takes to be a great reliever. Sure José Alvarado has been great primarily due to his fireballing sinker/cutter combo—most pitchers can’t survive without a true breaking ball—but compared to soft-tosser Matt Strahm, his swing-and-miss numbers in 2024 are merely pedestrian.
Thus far, only the Cincinnati Reds’ Fernando Cruz, whom the Phillies know well, and the New York Mets’ Reed Garrett have higher K% in the National League, minimum 10 innings pitched. Strahm has done this with the NL’s fifth lowest walk-rate and the slowest average fastball for anyone who’s logged an inning out of the bullpen for the Phillies, including Ricardo Pinto.
That walk-rate puts Strahm in particularly elite company. Not a single NL player has a K-BB% within 5% of his 40.4%. To put that in context, not a single pitcher had a K-BB% above 37% throughout all of 2023, still minimum 10 IP.
Naturally command has been a vital part of Strahm’s 2024 breakout, if you can call it that following his electric 2023, but command will only get you so far. No matter how good Jamie Moyer or Kyle Hendrick’s command ever was, it was never getting their striekout-rates as high as Strahm’s 42.3%.
So how is he doing it?
It’s almost all deception.
Strahm’s two primary out-pitches are his four-seamer and slider which tunnel to create a nasty combination, even for right-handed hitters. By locating his high-spin rate fastball at the top of the zone, it creates a rising effect that baffles hitters when paired with his equally high spin-rate slider.
Matt Strahm, Nasty Sliders. pic.twitter.com/5qMhrOlnZy
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 25, 2023
Because of his first class command, Strahm has been able to make those above-average tools elite, creating a chase-rate of 33.7% which ranks in the top 10% of all pitchers.
Strahm is due for regression however, he’s allowed shockingly hard contact when batters do connect with his pitches. That’s the price of throwing averaging 93 mph on your fastball. Regression from a 1.29 ERA though, shouldn’t be worrisome, unless you’re Bob Gibson.
The pitching department in Philadelphia has given Strahm the means to dramatically increase his value. When he signed a two-year/$15 million deal with the club in December 2022, he was all but an unknown quantity, never having found consistency before joining the Phillies.
With the level of his talent apparent to casual fans, the front office and Strahm alike, the two latter parties worked hurriedly to get an extension done last off-season. Strahm, who had all the power on his side, signed a very team-friendly deal.
When MLB.com asked him if he wanted to try for a bigger payday in free agency at year’s end, the Phillies’ lefty said no. He didn’t want to worry about protecting his arm mid-season. Screw money, Strahm cares about winning.
“Just let me do me,” he said. “I want to throw the ball about as much as I can. That’s about it. That’s what makes our bullpen great. We don’t have guys worrying about roles.”
Dombrowski has brought in players that have created a unique culture in Philadelphia, one that’s brought the best out of guys like Strahm, Jeff Hoffman, Alvarado and more.
The pitching lab in Philadelphia made Strahm and the relief core great. The Phillies are no longer specifically looking for soft contact relievers, or pitchers who throw hard for the sake of throwing hard. It’s about finding winners, players who leave it on the field and work with the staff to improve their craft.