Phillies Star Reliever Has Best Two-Pitch Combo in Baseball Entering Season

The 2024 season did not go well for Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Jose Alvarado.

Coming off an incredible 2023 when he recorded a 1.74 ERA across 41.1 innings with 64 strikeouts, his production slipped.

He made 66 appearances, throwing 61.2 innings and striking out only 63 batters, going from a 13.9 K/9 to 9.2. His ERA+ also plummeted from 249 in 2023 to only 100 in 2024, which is league average.

With his effectiveness waning to the tune of a 4.09 ERA, manager Rob Thomson began losing trust in the veteran lefty. He moved down the pecking order as the season wore on, no longer in the mix for high-leverage situations.

The loss of confidence was punctuated when Alvarado was called upon once in the NLDS against the New York Mets and he recorded only two outs, giving up two earned runs on two walks and one hit.

Heading into the offseason, he took some time to get himself right and put an emphasis on two areas: getting into better shape and expanding his repertoire.

Alvarado looks to have succeeded at both, based on the numbers he was putting up during Grapefruit League games in spring training.

He was unhittable, making nine appearances and throwing 9.0 shutout innings. Only three hits and three walks were allowed, while he racked up 20 strikeouts against 34 batters faced.

That came out to an obscene 20.0 K/9, numbers not even thought capable of achieving in a video game. Opponents had no chance against him, as he was dominant every time he took the mound.

As shared by Pitch Profiler on X, Alvarado had the third-highest proStuff+ score during spring training with a 125. Only Justin Martinez of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Andrew Walters of the Cleveland Guardians were higher with 128 and 126, respectively.

2025 Spring Training Reliever proStuff+ Leaderboard pic.twitter.com/Q7Jjkzg744
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) March 26, 2025

Expanding his repertoire certainly helped, as having a four-pitch mix makes it tougher for batters to sit on certain offerings. Just the threat of dropping a four-seam fastball or curveball during an at-bat is enough to keep opponents on their toes as he still relies heavily on his sinker and cutter duo.

Entering the 2025 season, it would not be a stretch to say that is the best two-pitch combo in baseball.

The numbers for each pitch have been off the charts this spring, punctuated by an outing against the Detroit Tigers.

His sinker generated a 50.0% whiff rate with a proStuff+ score of 142, averaging 100.1 mph. The cutter was even more unbelievable with a proStuff+ score of 155 and a whiff rate of 66.7%.

So, I'm going to be completely honest—I've never seen a sinker or cutter grade as highly as José Alvarado's do pic.twitter.com/DqxeEoaakp
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) March 23, 2025

With Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez both moving on in free agency this past offseason, others are going to have to step up this season at the backend of the bullpen.

Alvarado looks ready to assume a prominent role once again and bounce back after a tough 2024 campaign.

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