San Diego Padres: Birthday Boy Eric Lauer Brings The Heat

San Diego Padres LHP Eric Lauer is celebrating his 23rd birthday today after pitching very well Saturday night against the Cincinnati Reds.

Eric Lauer finished off his 22nd year of life by recording his second win as a Major League Baseball pitcher. The San Diego Padres rookie pitched one of the best games of his very young career last night at Petco Park, propelling the Padres to an 8-2 victory.

Lauer went five innings, giving up five hits, one earned run, and two walks with 87 pitches. He struck out Cincinnati four hitters on the night.

Not only did Lauer excel on the mound, he drove in the first run of his pro career with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second inning, scoring A.J. Ellis.

Something was different about Eric Lauer on Saturday night. He definitely did not look older. It wasn’t his delivery. Believe it or not, it was his fastball.

According to Baseball Savant, Eric Lauer’s hardest thrown fastball through his first seven starts was clocked in at 93.5 mph. That pitch came in his major league debut at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies.

Taking a look at his three most recent starts (before his game vs the Reds), Lauer averaged 90.3

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mph, 90.1 mph, and 89.1 mph with his fastball. That last reading coming against the Miami Marlins, his lowest velocity out of the season.

Against Cincinnati, Lauer’s fastball averaged 91.2 mph and reached a top speed of 95.2 mph. That’s nearly two miles per hour faster than his previous peak velocity.

Not only was Lauer’s velocity up, but he was putting more spin on his fastball. His average spin rate readings prior to Saturday night were 2169, 2191, and 2182 rpm. Last night’s spin rate jumped up to an average of 2237 rpm. It’s nothing extravagant and in fact, even his 2237 spin rate is extremely average.

Typically, higher spin rates result in higher swings and misses. Lauer produced only two whiffs with his fastball, his lowest percentage of the season. What it did produce is a drop in average exit velocity from 92-93 mph over his last two starts, down to an innocent 82 mph (outside of Curt Casalii’s home run in the second inning)

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Was Saturday night a result of playing the Cincinnati Reds? Anticipation for birthday celebrations? Or Eric Lauer taking a small step forward in his development? Let’s see what he does in his next start but until then, happy birthday Eric Lauer.