July 25, 2022
Right-handed pitcher Adam Kloffenstein likes to use his five pitches to keep hitters guessing when he’s on the mound.
“I really try to follow what the hitter is showing me,” explained Kloffenstein. “Every guy is different – some guys don’t make those adjustments, and other guys do. It’s one of those things where if I throw a fastball to a guy and he looks like he’s trying to get there and make that adjustment I might go to something else. I try to get to a point where they can’t really hang their hat on one pitch.”
Currently using a 4-seam fastball, a sinking fastball, a slider, a curveball, and a changeup in his repertoire; Kloffenstein has a lot of options to achieve just that.
Particularly fond of his changeup, Kloffenstein feels it plays well off his fastball.
“Right now, my changeup has been my best pitch,” Kloffenstein added. “I’m throwing it to righties and lefties. Sometimes I have trouble throwing it to righties because it’s a different feel. But if I have my changeup to both lefties and to righties on a given outing it’s likely to be a solid day for me. It plays really well off my fastball. I think I have a different shape to my changeup. A lot of guys get a lot of fade or it’s a lot slower, whatever the case is. My changeup isn’t a ton slower than my fastball so that’s why it plays well off of my fastball. When it’s down in the zone it’s coming in at a really steep angle which makes it look like a fastball in the bottom of the zone and if it’s a good one the bottom will fall out of it.”
Pitching 75 1/3 innings to date in 2022; Kloffenstein has racked up 84 K’s and hitters are managing a .283 average against him on the season.
Kloffenstein talks about what he has noticed about the hitters he’s faced so far in Double-A.
“Some of them adjust a little better than High-A,” stated Kloffenstein. “With some of them you can tell they get a little bit more of an advanced scouting report on guys. You can tell they’ve been told what my strengths are and they’re trying to stay away from biting on my strengths. In some cases they might be trying to shorten up because they know I’m not going to throw fastballs down the middle of the plate, I’m going to come in on them. Sometimes you may see them off the plate a little bit or they may change up their approach a little bit after facing me the first time.”
Another thing that Kloffenstein enjoys about Double-A is working with former major leaguer and current Fisher Cats’ Pitching Coach Jim Czajkowski.
“I really enjoy being around players and coaches that have been in the major leagues and have been on this journey I’m on,” said Kloffenstein. “I really like to pick their brain and talk to them about what it takes and what it’s like. Jim is an older style guy who has been around the game twice as long as I’ve been alive. He tells you like it is and that’s how I was raised. That’s the way I respond and the way my personality is. If you have a bad outing, he’ll say that sucked and we need to work on this. He always gives guys the benefit of the doubt. The next day he’ll tell you what you did well and what you didn’t do well and will make a plan on what to work on.”
Be sure to follow Adam Kloffenstein, as he continues to keep hitters guessing when he’s on the mound.