When Jeremy Hefner researched the 2022 version of Jorge Lopez, he noticed a sinker.
A lot of them.
Lopez also attributed his success that year (1.62 ERA heading into Dodger Stadium for his only All-Star appearance) to the grip.
Half of his 1,161 pitches were sinkers.
It flew over the plate at an average speed of 98 miles per hour.
So the questions from Mets pitching coach Hefner revolved around why he stopped throwing that pitch.
When Lopez’s career hit a spiral in 2023, he bounced back and forth between three different teams and his success was more like a fluke than a sustained breakthrough, but he hit sinkers at a 34 percent clip. I just threw it.
Lopez still has a “strong belief” in that, and it became the basis of his pitching blueprint for 2024.
If that doesn’t work, Hefner said, it will be up to the batter to decide.
Lopez’s first 13 appearances with the Mets suggested their vision worked.
He used the sinker 41 percent of the time, and opponents hit .143 and slugged .143 against it.
Since giving up a run in the opener, Lopez has posted a 0.77 ERA with just one run in 12 appearances since Tuesday. Emerging as a mainstay in the bullpen allowed Lopez to “rebuild his career again,” he told the Post before the acquisition. He made his second save of the season and allowed a run in the Mets’ 4-2 win over the Cubs on Tuesday.
“You’re going to be mixing four pitches against a guy you only see once in the series,” Hefner told the Post. “So the advantage is all his.”
Lopez’s sinker effectiveness directly correlates to his success against right-handed hitters, Hefner said.
They are hitting .100 against him this season.
And the resurgence is occurring even though Lopez’s sinker velocity has decreased since 2022, dropping from 97 mph last year to 95 mph so far in 2024.
“I don’t know,” Lopez said of the change in speed. “I don’t feel anything.”
Lopez, who started 25 games before being reassigned to the bullpen in 2021, learned that it doesn’t matter how hard he pitches.
Still, Hefner and the Mets hope to rediscover that speed as Lopez tries to avoid another abnormal situation as his promising growth fades over the next 130-plus games.
They’ve been working on some mechanical adjustments while checking to see if it’s a weather-based issue.
“He’s good with the sinker, so if he can add velo and not lose command, that’s at least an avenue we should explore,” Hefner said.
Midway through spring training, Lopez asserted that he still has the “material” for 2022.
His dynamic pitching and two draft picks before the trade made his trajectory clear.
“I’ve been trying to be the guy for 2022,” Lopez said Tuesday, and so far that approach with a sinker at its core has worked.
