DeRo breaks down Yoshinobu Yamamoto's return to action

The Dodgers have desperately dro needed rotation. Good news and that comes in the form of Yamamoto. Dave Roberts said fastball command both sides of the plate. He joked we'll take this every single start from here on out. Thank you very much. Yeah, lauren, and you're gonna get even more good news if you dive in because potentially Tyler Glass now throws a SIM game on this coming Saturday. What I saw last night with him, Jack Flaherty if Yamamoto is right and glass now is right with this bullpen and add in Jack Flaherty, they not only go from starting pitching being a concern to, they might have the best three going in. So a lot of things were on the line last night and I think we forget 12 years, 325 million. I mean, it's the largest contract ever given out to a pitcher. So not only does he have to be available for us, he's gotta be win day. So I wanted to make sure he went out there, he threw 59 pitches and we can get into it. I wanted to see his stuff exploding through the zone. I wanted to see him start to get a feel for dominating the moment and kind of realizing that in order for them to win another World Series, he's gonna have to play a major role and make a bunch of starts for this team. So keep it rolling right here and we'll bring up the fielding , independent pitching and I wanna dive in on what that is. It is what a pitcher can control. Just eliminate the defense. It's strikeouts, it's walks, it's home runs. Those are the things he can control. And when he's on the bump, these are the five game that do it. The best chris sale is gonna win the National league. Cy Young. Tarik Skubal is gonna win the American League Cy Young and Then sandwiched in there is Yamamoto. So when he's healthy and go back , he's made a ton of starts this year outside of the injury and he has been completely dominant. He made the one start in Korea against the Padres his first time out on the bump and he got shelled and it's kind of skewed his numbers. So he has been pitching like some of the game's great. So pause this real quick. I wanted to bring up his pitch usage last night in comparison. Don't let it just stay with the highlights, fastball percentage overall. He's usually 37.3% of the time, ok, against righties, he uses it about 42% of the time lefty. A little bit different. But when you dive in on what he does with these three pitches, you don't know if you're getting heat or curveball? 00, he has got the ability to throw it? 00. And we'll get into some at bats and Then he can wipe you out with it. But what you do know is 53% of the time when he gets two strikes on you. He wants to put you away with that split. So he's got three weapons that he could go to at any time. I'm gonna take you to the top of the first. It's going Ian happ, it's going Dansby Swanson and Then it's going Saya Suzuki. So we're going 97 block away. Now we got wrinkle curveball 02. Pause. You're sitting there, you're trying to get loose in the game. You're Ian happy you come into the box. You're like, all right, I'm probably not gonna ambush tonight. I'm going, 00 I'm gonna take this heater boom snap, paint away. OK. Now throw me like you're split down the zone. Let me get 11 even with the count. And Then it's wrinkle curveball and you're 02 and you're like, wait a second, I'm not loose yet. So run this split down pause. You got to play multiple choice. The only problem is you can't eliminate anything. So you have no idea if you're Ian hap, I'm in a 12 count, I guess. You stay on the heater and eliminate poolside. So you stay on the offspeed run this, he swings at a 58 ft curveball. So he's got, he's wa running down to first base going that A B did nothing to lead to my next A B and he's got nasty stuff on his breaking ball. Pause this and bring up the curveball, vertical break board. Most vertical break versus average on his curveball. It's still in season and it's yamamoto. This thing is getting height and Then it is falling off a table. So his second A B, if you're Ian happ, I just punched out on a 58 ft curveball. What do you probably think he's going to the plate thinking I'm getting that curveball at some point again. Let me sit on it. So let's get back into the tape this second A B and he gets it and swings through it. Now, he's got to get off that pitch. He goes split down heater away, pause. It's the cat and mouse. He threw a curveball. It's the only pitch that he was kind of timed up for in this A B latest. Heck on the heater, sort of split pretty decent. Do you think that he could pretty much throw him anything he wants in this situation? And he's got him as long as he doesn't hang a breaking ball, he's probably gonna punch out again, run this split down and away. And this thing is dirty. Get tight on this shot for me. Badder. Look at that. Austin Barnes does a heck of a job right there. All right. Batting second. Dansby Swanson. His first A B wrinkle curveball 01. Payne Pellet away. 97 changeup. He's shown them all three and Then punches him out with a split that he tunnels right off it. So now you're telling yourself if you Dansby Swanson the second time I come up, I got to make sure I see the split up. It's gotta be up or it's a ball. He gets a heater away. 10 breaking ball in the zone. He's back in there. 11 good spit, 21 curveball. 22. Pause. This your Dansby Swanson. You can't eliminate anything. The only thing you're telling yourself is I got to make sure the splits up. He struck me out with it. My first A B he probably thinks he can go to it again. So I gotta stay back on this off speed and see it up. Run this pitch 97 black away. He just putting their heads in a kind of a blender. To be honest with you, he's just throwing three elite pitches in the zone. Say Suzuki run this curveball down. You would think he'd throw it again. Nasty split 11. You just can't think there was guys that I faced throughout my career that I just couldn't get on what they were thinking. Johnny Cueto. Being one of them every time I thought heater it was slider and vice versa. So you're sitting there. He's worked a good A B he gets a call black away to the edge. Pause this bring up the fact that he hits the edges better than anybody. Highest percentage of a percentage of pitches thrown to the edge of the zone. But look at who's doing it. It's the touch and feel guys. The Mart-n Perez is the kyle Hendricks, the Ross Striplings. I love the fact Barrios is in here, but Yamamoto's got elite stuff and he's hitting corners all day long. Let's wrap it up with say Suzuki's last at bat when you as a hitter cannot eliminate pitches, the game gets very hard heater away, split down 20 You should be getting a fastball right here and he rolls a curveball that's got depth and life on it. So now as a hitter, you're just super confused as to what he's going to throw you. And he was awesome. The one thing I will say watching him pitch last night and it's the first thing I asked Nas when I rolled in, if I was facing him in the playoffs, it appeared to me against right handed hitters. He never comes inside with a four seam heater. Everything was painted away, painted away. So I wanted to dive in on that. I'm like Nas is that the norm with him? And it's not really. Yes he leans towards heater down and away, but he will show in last night it was spot on. I mean, you could have almost eliminated it and I think I would dive in on this if I was facing the Dodgers in the postseason of just eliminating inside half of the plate to right handers and trying to lean out over and shoot him the other way. But he was really, really good.