Padres' Knuckleballer Making Push for Starting Rotation
Matt Waldron wants to be known as a pitcher, not a knuckleballer.
The 27-year-old doesn't rely on the floater like traditional knuckleballers Tim Wakefield or R.A. Dickey, but it's an outlier pitch to complement his arsenal that includes a 94 mph four-seam fastball, a slider, and a cutter.
Waldron is making an early push to open the season in the San Diego Padres' starting rotation. After throwing three scoreless innings against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, Padres manager Mike Shildt praised the knuckleballer:
“I thought he threw great. Dodged a little bit of traffic there, but I thought he threw the ball really well, in control. I love his body language. He was on attack the whole time. Had his pitches working. Just a really job from Waldron.”
— Mike Shildt via Inside the Padres
In his second appearance of the spring, Waldron mixed in about 10 knuckleballs with his fastball and cutter. He was the first Padres’ pitcher to go three innings this spring.
However, Shildt didn't say if the pitch gives him an advantage in the starting rotation competition.
“It’s good that he has it. It’s a different look, which we always like for our staff. The bullpen, the starters, different looks, righty-lefty — that always is a benefit. But, ultimately, the thing that matters the most with our pitchers is who gets out. I don’t care what you do. Just get them out, however you get it done.”
Waldron is looking to throw his knuckler around 30 percent of the time this spring, up from roughly 27 percent last season.
In the end, Waldron is "trying to complete with an uncompetitive pitch," and maybe, it will work in his favor.
