Breaking Down The Debut Of Reds Pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez

KISSIMMEE, Fla.—Vladimir Gutierrez barely made it out of the first inning of his minor league debut on Saturday. But once he settled down, Gutierrez showed why he was one of the best pitching prospects in Cuba and why the Reds signed him for $4.75 million in September.

The debut jitters were obvious from the start for Gutierrez, who early on struggled to command his fastball and surrendered hard contact against high Class A Florida. In the first inning, Gutierrez, a 21-year-old righthander, walked two batters and hit another with the bases loaded to allow his third run of the opening frame. He settled down to strike out the next two hitters, needing 42 pitches just to escape the first inning.

From there, Gutierrez settled in, with 3.2 scoreless innings, mixing a lively 91-95 mph fastball and flashing above-average secondary pitches. His debut ended having allowed three runs in 4.2 innings with six strikeouts, two walks and five hits.

“He actually started pitching instead of trying to throw it by guys,” Daytona manager Eli Marrero said. “That happens with a lot of young guys—they try to blow it by guys and some of these guys are ready to hit the fastball. So he made a good adjustment. He used his sinker a little bit more. He threw the ball inside a little bit more to keep guys from diving out there a little bit and he executed his offspeed pitches well early in the count. I think it was a little bit of a learning curve out there with that performance, so hopefully he can take knowledge from that game moving on.”

Aside from a rocky start, Gutierrez showed the repertoire to project as a starter even though his Pinar Del Rio team in Cuba used him as a reliever. When Gutierrez was in Cuba, he was primarily a fastball/curveball pitcher, operating at 88-93 mph with his fastball. His velocity has increased since then, having reached 97, while his curveball still shows tight spin and late, sharp action with good depth and power at 78-81 mph.

“That’s a really good set-up pitch for him off his fastball,” Daytona catcher Chris Okey said. “It’s the same plane as his fastball coming out of his hand. His fastball has so much life, so much action to it that an offspeed pitch can get you off balance really quickly. Once he utilizes his fastball and gets it in the zone, pounding it and establishing it, his offspeed falls into play.”

The most encouraging part of Gutierrez’s outing, however, was his changeup. In Cuba, Gutierrez rarely threw anything other than a fastball or a breaking ball, though on the rare occasion he would use his changeup, he showed feel for the pitch.

Okey, who said it was the first time he had ever caught Gutierrez, said he liked the action on his changeup before the game in the bullpen and knew the Reds wanted him to use it more in games. Okey called for the pitch frequently in situations where Gutierrez would typically be more inclined to throw a breaking ball and it worked well. It’s a low-80s changeup with good action and separation off his fastball, generating empty swings against both lefties and righties.

“I think the right-on-right changeup for him is huge,” Okey said, “because like his curveball, his changeup comes out of the same plane as his fastball. So as a hitter, you want to get amped up for that fastball, then you see it coming out and it turns out to be a changeup.”

Gutierrez did make mistakes floating some changeups up in the zone, but it shouldn’t be surprising that he hasn’t mastered command yet of a pitch he has rarely thrown. More important was that the quality of his changeup, which can give him another out pitch to pair with his curveball.

“He realized that he can pitch with his changeup, that he can throw his changeup to righties and lefties,” Marrero said. “He realized that he can’t just blow it by everybody, that he can use his sinker—maybe 92, 93—inside on guys and get his four-seamer up to 95, 96 when he really tries to get it by guys after he showed them other stuff.”