Scouting Report: How Andrew Heaney Can Shut Down The Chicago White Sox
(6/19/23) Can Andrew Heaney bounce back from an underwhelming start against the Los Angeles Angels?
Originally published on Medium on June 19, 2023.
The Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox are two teams that have performed in opposite directions, relative to expectations heading into this season. The Rangers currently have a commanding 4.5 game lead in the American League West, while the White Sox have fallen well-short of expectations, with a current record of 31–42.
Getting the start for the Rangers in this matchup will be Andrew Heaney. Currently in his first season with Texas, Andrew Heaney has had an “up-and-down” season, with his strikeout rate around career-average, while he has been walking batters at a rate above his career average. In his last start against the Los Angeles Angels, Heaney pitched 3.2 innings, striking out 5 batters while allowing 4 walks and 1 earned run on 95 pitches.
Andrew Heaney’s pitch arsenal consists of three pitches: a Four-Seam Fastball, a Slider, and a Changeup. According to Run Values and FanGraphs’s Stuff+ model, Heaney’s Fastball is his best pitch, followed by his Changeup and his Slider. Heaney utilizes all three pitches when facing right-handed hitters, and utilizes only the Four Seamer and the Slider when facing left-handed hitters.
Heaney likes to primarily utilize his Four-Seamer up in the strike zone, and he has found success executing the pitch in this location due to his vertical approach angle (VAA). With a VAA of -3.9 degrees, the vertical approach angle on Heaney’s Fastball is one of the flattest in all of baseball, creating a rising effect which allows him to generate Whiffs when utilizing the pitch at the top of the zone.
Heaney likes to utilize his Fastball up-and-in to hitters, especially on the first pitch, as well as when he is behind in counts. Heaney also likes to utilize the changeup when he is behind in counts to right-handed hitters, and rarely uses it with 2 strikes. When he’s ahead in the count, Heaney likes to use his Slider and is not afraid to use it backdoor to right-handed hitters (especially on 3–2 counts).
Chicago White Sox — Projected Starting Lineup:
Tim Anderson, Andrew Vaughn, Luis Robert Jr.:
After four straight seasons of above-average offensive production (by measure of wRC+), Tim Anderson has struggled to begin the 2023 season, slashing .250/.291/.293 (63 wRC+) with 0 home runs and 10 runs batted in over 220 plate appearances. The root of Anderson’s struggles this season has been his dramatically increased ground ball rate, currently at 65.3%. As shown in the scouting report, mixing in a Changeup (especially when Anderson is behind in the count) will be an effective way for Heaney to induce a ground ball. Anderson also takes inside Fastballs on first pitch and when he’s ahead in the count, while frequently chasing Sliders low-and-in when he’s behind in the count.
Andrew Vaughn struggles on Fastballs up in the zone, and I would expect Heaney to attack Vaughn with a lot of high Fastballs due to the characteristics of his Four Seamer. Vaughn has shown to be very productive on Sliders against left-handed pitching (.759 wOBA, 60% Hard Hit Rate), however he frequently takes backdoor Sliders on first pitch, as well as when he’s ahead in the count.
Luis Robert Jr. is a very good Fastball hitter, with a Run Value of 10 on the pitch against pitchers of both-handedness, as well as a .432 wOBA and 42.9% Hard Hit Rate on the pitch against left-handed pitchers. It appears that Robert hunts Fastballs against left-handed pitchers, as he does not have one Hard Hit against left-handed Changeups and Sliders. Besides utilizing the pitch on 0–0 up-and-in, Heaney should avoid Fastballs against Robert, utilizing Sliders when Robert is behind in the count and Changeups when Robert is ahead in the count.
Eloy Jiménez, Jake Burger, Andrew Benintendi:
Similar to Luis Robert, Eloy Jiménez is very good against Four Seamers thrown by left-handed pitchers. It also appears that Jiménez hunts Fastballs, as he will take Sliders on the first pitch, as well as when they are thrown backdoor when he’s ahead in the count. Jiménez frequently Whiffs at Fastballs thrown up-and-away, however he also hits for a high Slugging Percentage in that part of the zone when he does make contact, so pitching him in this area can be a risk. Jiménez will also chase low-and-away Changeups and low-and-away Sliders when he is behind in the count.
Jake Burger has been off to a hot start to the 2023 season, with his very high isolated power (.335) being the driving force behind his offensive production, as he possesses a low walk rate and high strikeout rate. Burger is eager to swing at Fastballs upstairs, which might give Heaney some trouble as this is where his Fastball performs best. Burger will take backdoor Sliders on first pitch and when he’s ahead in counts, and will chase at Changeups low-and-away when he is behind in counts.
Signed to a 5-year, $75M contract this offseason, Andrew Benintendi has been off to a slow start as a member of the Chicago White Sox, slashing .275/.345/.360 (95 wRC+) with 1 home run and 18 runs batted in over 276 plate appearances this season. Benintendi has struggled against upstairs Fastballs from left-handed pitchers, rarely swinging at them up-and-in on first pitch, and frequently Whiffing at them up-and-away in all counts. Benintendi also frequently chases downstairs Sliders when he’s behind in counts, and takes low-and-away Sliders when he’s ahead in counts.
Yasmani Grandal, Clint Frazier, Elvis Andrus:
Despite being a switch-hitter, Yasmani Grandal struggles against left-handed pitching, particularly on Sliders. Grandal does not swing on first-pitch Sliders anywhere in the strike zone, and takes outside Sliders when he’s ahead in counts. Grandal can be challenged with up-and-in Fastballs when he’s ahead in counts, and with outside Fastballs when he’s behind in counts.
Clint Frazier joined the White Sox Major League roster at the end of May, so there is a small sample size available of him facing left-handed pitching this season. When he faced Clayton Kershaw earlier this month, it appeared that he was hunting Fastballs against the left-hander, as he took first-pitch Sliders and was caught looking for a strikeout on a backdoor Slider. Therefore, I would attack Frazier with a first-pitch Slider and challenge him with Changeups when he is ahead in counts.
Elvis Andrus has struggled heavily this season, slashing .195/.271/.249 (46 wRC+) with 1 home run and 13 runs batted in over 189 plate appearances. Andrus takes first pitch outside Fastballs, and will chase upstairs Fastballs when he’s behind in counts. Andrus will also chase Sliders low-and-in when he is ahead in the count.
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