No Arizona hurler has changed his delivery more under new pitching coach Kevin Vance than Casey Hintz.
No one has fared better in high-leverage situations than the right-hander who’s now coming from down low.
The sophomore has become a full-fledged sidearm thrower under Vance’s guidance. Hintz’s release point is about 17 inches lower than last year, and about 18 inches closer to third base.
Opposing hitters are struggling to square up his sinker-slider-changeup mix. He has a 2.35 ERA and a pair of saves in a team-high eight appearances. He has inherited 10 runners and stranded seven of them.
“First of all, he’s got the mentality to be able to do it,” said UA coach Chip Hale, whose team opens a three-game series at Oregon on Friday. “We knew that from the day he walked on campus.
“He was a walk-on. He’s had to fight for everything his whole life. He’s not physically as gifted as some of the other guys.”
Hintz is a skilled athlete, who, when he isn’t pitching, ranks among the Wildcats’ best defensive infielders, baserunners and bunters. He’s listed at 5-11, 162 pounds, and his sinker tops out at about 91 miles per hour.
Arizona reliver Casey Hintz yells after coming back from a 3-0 count to strike out ASU’s Harris Williams with the go-ahead run at third in the top of the eighth inning of their Pac-12 game at Hi Corbett Field last week.
But the pitch ranks in the 95th percentile nationally in vertical movement, according to the UA analytics department. That pitch and Hintz’s other offerings are leading to weak contact and a ton of groundballs.
Only one of the nine hits Hintz has surrendered has gone for extra bases (a double). Last year, 13 of the 29 hits he allowed were either doubles (eight) or home runs (five).
Meanwhile, Hintz has posted a 70.8% groundball rate on balls in play, per D1Baseball.com. Last year, that figure was 51.8%.
“I think it’s the angle that I’m throwing from,” Hintz said. “My sinker has gotten a lot better. A lot more sink. Last year it was more two-seam run. So they were still able to get under it. … And I’m staying down in the zone a lot more.”
Vance and UA director of player development John DeRouin suggested that Hintz change his delivery after watching him throw sidearm from shortstop. Those throws had more snap than the pitches he released from a three-quarter arm angle.
New Arizona pitching coach Kevin Vance watches righty Casey Hintz throw during practice at Hi Corbett Field on Jan. 31. Vance had Hintz alter his delivery, and the sophomore has experienced positive results throwing from a sidearm slot.
Hintz initially was resistant to the idea.
“Honestly, I wasn’t too into it at first,” Hintz said. “And then I was like, ‘I gotta trust these guys. They’re gonna make me better.’ ”
Throwing sidearm wasn’t new to Hintz, but bending his upper body toward third base was. It took time to get used to it. While most of his fellow pitchers were shut down following the Wildcats’ intra-squad scrimmages in the fall, Hintz kept working in the bullpen.
“That’s when I started to get the most comfortable and started to believe that it was gonna really work out,” Hintz said.
Hintz didn’t have a lot of believers coming out of Saint Viator High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois. A shortstop for the Lions, Hintz didn’t become a regular in the pitching rotation until his senior year. Arizona was his only major offer.
What did the UA staff see in Hintz that others missed?
“I think just my competitiveness,” he said. “I (was) overlooked my whole high school career. I was gonna come in here, fight for a spot and do what I could to help the team win.”
After he altered his delivery — and started getting results — Hintz’s role evolved. His mindset changed too in those high-leverage, high-pressure situations.
“I feel like my biggest adjustment’s been (to) go pitch by pitch,” Hintz said. “That’s really helped me. (I’m) not worried about the last pitch or where the guys are on base. It’s throw this pitch, hit my spot, get him out.”
Third base, second chance
Transfer Richie Morales is still adjusting to third base after playing shortstop for most of his life. After committing his fourth error of the season last Friday against ASU — leading to an unearned run in a 3-2 loss to the Sun Devils — Morales sat out the following game.
“The hardest thing is to be pulled out,” Hale said. “He made a bad throw. We wanted to give him a rest, rest his brain a little bit. He came back (like) a house on fire.”
In the past two games, Morales has gone 5 for 8 with three doubles, four runs scored and four RBIs. He even moved up from ninth to leadoff against Grand Canyon on Tuesday, going 3 for 5.
Arizona's Richie Morales, shown during practice in January, has had a difficult adjustment at third base after playing shortstop for most of his life.
Morales took to heart Hale’s message, summing up it as follows: “Just take a breather. Just relax. Just play baseball like I always do.”
Morales, who began his college career at Florida State and spent last season at State College of Florida, remains a work in progress at third base. He’s been a consistently pesky hitter, batting .356 with a .457 on-base percentage.
“If you look at the numbers, the on-base percentage … in that 9-hole, he’s incredible,” Hale said. “So we’re gonna get him right. He feels a little more comfortable every day over there.”
Inside pitch
Did Arizona (9-10, 3-3 Pac-12) turn a corner by winning the last two games of its homestand? “Yeah, I think so,” Hale said. “But every weekend is new. As a league we have not performed as well as we have in the past. If you look at the records, the overall records, they’re not what (they have been). But I think every team has the potential to get hot in this league. … Oregon’s already proven (it). They won two out of three from a good Cal team, they won two out of three from a team that beat us two out of three, ASU. We’re going to their ballpark. So we have to really be ready to battle.”
Oregon (13-6, 4-2) ranks in the top three in the Pac-12 in multiple categories, including runs, home runs, batting average, OBP and slugging percentage. Junior first baseman Jacob Walsh is tied for second in the conference with eight homers and ranks fourth with 25 RBIs. In his career vs. Arizona, Walsh is 15 for 30 with four homers.
UA sophomore shortstop Mason White ranks fourth in the conference in home runs (seven) and second in RBIs (27). He also has struck out a league-high 33 times, fanning at least once in all but one game.
Arizona coach Chip Hale on staying aggressive at the plate, keeping the ball in the park at Oregon and making sure Ducks slugger Jacob Walsh steps into the box with no one on base (video by Michael Lev / Arizona Daily Star)
