September 12, 2022
Left-handed pitcher Jimmy Robbins has climbed the levels quickly in 2022. Robbins, who returned to the mound this spring after Tommy John has jumped from Low-A to Double-A during the season.
“Coming into this year the goal was for me to get healthy and be competing,” said Robbins. “I knew if I took some of the things I worked on in rehab that I would probably have the opportunity to move pretty quick.”
Pitching 70 1/3 innings in 2022; Robbins currently has a WHIP of 1.22, 92 K’s, and opposing hitters are batting .212 against him this season.
A major contributor to his numbers is his new repertoire that he developed during recovery.
Entering pro ball as a primarily a fastball and a curveball pitcher; Robbins reinvented himself between 2019 and 2022.
“Before surgery I was pretty much fastball and curveball exclusively,” stated Robbins. “And then I realized as a starter I’d want a better mix of pitches. During that rehab process I got rid of the curveball and turned it into a slider. I also added a cutter and a changeup so now I have a four-pitch mix that I have confidence in.”
Robbins found the transition of his curveball into a slider pretty easy, “I was always able to spin the ball pretty well,” Robbins added. “With the slider you want to spin the ball – but spin it in a different direction so I found that transition pretty easy. I was able to take the spin and the movement and create it horizontally. That’s been a great pitch for me. It’s become a really good strikeout pitch for me especially as it got harder.”
With only a week left in the season, Robbins has big plans for the off-season and for 2023 as well.
“I’m going to spend the entire off-season at the PDC in Dunedin,” explained Robbins. “I’ll be there from the first week of the off-season until spring training next year. I’ve had conversations with the player development staff and we’re all really excited for my first full healthy off-season, so there’s a lot of room for serious gains to be made. I think the front office and the player development staff is on the same page as me that I’ll be able to have a really big 2023. I’m trying to make sure to get as much out of this off-season as possible so I’m ready for whatever it brings.”