Cubs embracing next pitching trend: Splitters

MESA, Ariz. — Pitching trends tend to go in cycles.

Until recently, the splitter was somewhat of an old-school pitch. Mark Leiter Jr. was the only Cubs pitcher at the major-league level who featured it in his arsenal last season, although his is more of a forkball.

‘‘I was lucky,’’ Leiter said. ‘‘My dad pretty much threw the forkball, and he changed the grip because the hitters were telling him something. And then I basically got the finished product that he worked on.’’

The elder Leiter’s major-league career spanned more than a decade (1990-2001). Then his son made the pitch, which requires a pitcher to wedge the ball between his index and middle fingers, a highlight of his own arsenal.

This year, split-finger fastballs and changeups (in a range of variations) have spread through the Cubs’ clubhouse. During the offseason, the Cubs signed left-hander Shota Imanaga — who came over from Japan, where splitters are much more common — and reliever Hector Neris, who has built a career around his version of the pitch.

Veteran left-hander Drew Smyly picked up a splitter while working out at Driveline Baseball during the offseason. And three young power pitchers — Daniel Palencia, Luke Little and Porter Hodge — added the pitch to their repertoires in the last year.

The splitter is the new ‘‘it’’ pitch this year, supplanting the sweeper of recent years and the spike curve before that.

‘‘They’re really effective,’’ Cubs assistant pitching coach Daniel Moskos said in a conversation with the Sun-Times. ‘‘They’re relatively platoon-neutral, so for guys who struggle to have an offspeed pitch that works to both batters’ handedness, it’s a really good option.’’

Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy separates the Cubs’ new splitter pitchers into two categories: those who added it as a putaway weapon, such as Palencia, and those who want it to round out their repertoire, such as Smyly. But each pitcher reaches the desired effect in his own way.

In every version of the pitch, the pitcher spreads his middle and index fingers — ‘‘splits’’ them — around the ball to get it to drop. Where pitchers put their fingers on (or off) the seams varies.

‘‘There’s so many different grips out there,’’ Moskos said. ‘‘You really want to try to attach it to the way a guy’s delivery works and set the grip up for success, rather than him having to manipulate the ball to get the desired outcome.’’

Imanaga

‘‘It doesn’t really matter what grip I use,’’ Imanaga said through an interpreter. ‘‘It depends on how it feels. But pretty much I throw it the same as a fastball, the same fastball release.’’

Imanaga began spring training using one consistent splitter grip. But he has multiple in his bag and has been known to switch if the pitch feels off.

‘‘Where the splitter’s at right now, I don’t think we’d change a thing,’’ Moskos said. ‘‘It honestly looks better than it even did in
Japan from a shape perspective, and you saw it perform against the Dodgers’’ in Imanaga’s first spring start.

Imanaga’s fastball and its unique ride have stolen the spotlight this spring, but he has a full arsenal.

‘‘I think [the splitter] has a chance to become his best secondary offering,’’ Moskos said. ‘‘And especially with what his fastball is, being able to play the vertical game off of that makes a lot of sense.’’

Neris

Early in Neris’ minor-league career (2010-13), he said he went away from the splitter. The pitch has evolved since he brought it back.

‘‘Everything with this pitch is how you feel the ball and how you finish the pitch,’’ he said.

Neris’ splitter usage peaked in 2019 with the Phillies, when it accounted for 65.3% of the pitches he threw that season. He threw it at a 28.8% clip last season, second to his fastball.

Neris’ splitter grip sets itself apart in the way he curls his index finger on the side of the ball. The pitch had a 42% whiff rate last season, the key to his high strikeout numbers.

Smyly

Smyly experimented with different grips at Driveline during the offseason before landing on one he describes as a ‘‘one-seam/two-seam’’ splitter. He always has gravitated toward spinning the ball to create different movements, so it has been a learning process.

‘‘This is my 13th year of playing [professional baseball], and that’s new to me,’’ Smyly said. ‘‘I didn’t realize that with just a different grip, you can completely change how the ball is coming out.’’

Little

Little started throwing a hybrid changeup in Single-A Myrtle Beach two years ago, but it slowly morphed into a splitter. He completed the transition last season.

Because of his low arm slot, Little said he never has had a consistent changeup. His splitter gives him a different offspeed offering.

‘‘It’s been a lot easier to throw than a changeup,’’ he said.

Little threw the splitter in minor-league games last season. But when he made his major-league debut, his only warmup splitter went to the backstop.

‘‘I think [catcher Yan Gomes] was just like, ‘Maybe we’ll just go with fastball, slider,’ ’’ Little said.

Palencia

Palencia also threw mostly four-seam fastballs and sliders in his rookie season last year. This offseason, however, he focused on adding a splitter and sinker.

‘‘Right now I feel very confident with those pitches, that they will be really good for my arsenal,’’ he said.

With his splitter moving down and his sinker and slider breaking in opposite directions, he describes it as a triangle effect.

Hodge

Hodge, whom the Cubs added to their 40-man roster this winter to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, learned how to throw a splitter around the All-Star break last year.

‘‘My fastball cuts, then my slider’s sweepy,’’ he said. ‘‘So I have to have something that goes down and away. That would really just make my arsenal much better.’’