Hunter Bigge’s baseball career was in limbo when he graduated from Harvard University in 2021 with a degree in physics. Drafted in the 12th round by the Chicago Cubs two years earlier, the 26-year-old right-hander had scuffled in High-A and was unsure if he should continue to pursue his boyhood dream or move on to a career outside of baseball. Returning to the Ivy League institution to complete his studies following that difficult season gave him options, but he still loved the game.
Fast forward to 2024, and Bigge was thriving in the big leagues.
Bigge debuted with the Cubs on July 9, then a few weeks later was dealt to the Tampa Bay Rays along with Ty Johnson and Christopher Morel in exchange for Isaac Paredes. He excelled in both uniforms. With 15 of his 19 appearances coming after the trade, Bigge worked 17 1/2 total frames, fanning 24 batters while allowing 17 hits and just five free passes. Moreover, he posted a 2.60 ERA, a 2.76 FIP, and a 32.9% strikeout rate. His heater played a huge role in his success. At 97.5 mph, it ranked in the 94th percentile among his contemporaries.
Bigge discussed his path to the big leagues, and his approach on the mound, during the final weekend of the 2024 season.
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David Laurila: Let’s start with one of my favorite icebeaker questions: Do you approach pitching as more of an art, or as more of a science?
Hunter Bigge: “I approach it more as an art. I’m pretty analytical, but I don’t think the analytical part of my brain is the one that allows me to play the best. I try to come at it with a little more flexibility. I let the science inform the high-level decisions, but when I’m out there, I’m thinking of it more like a dance with the hitter.”
Laurila: I assume it’s more of a science when you’re in the pitch lab?
Bigge: “Yes. I love the TrackMan feedback. I love being able to take [what I feel] and then see how it plays on the TrackMan, and talk to the pitching coaches about the profile — things like how it will play to a hitter’s swing decisions, [in] what grids.”
Laurila: Did you have access to information like that at Harvard?
Bigge: “No, not at all. When I showed up to the Cubs, they showed me my scatter plots and how all of my pitches moved. I had never seen anything like that before. I think we got a Rapsodo my junior year, but I didn’t take advantage of it at all. I’d never even heard of it. I was a two-way guy at Harvard, so I didn’t think about pitching that much, to be honest.”
Laurila: What was your initial takeaway from seeing the data?
Bigge: “The biggest one was my fastball. They said, ‘You have great carry on your fastball,’ and I didn’t even know what that meant. I’d always been taught to throw my fastball down in the zone, and they told me that I should start throwing it up in the zone more. That was the biggest lightbulb moment for me. Now I never want to throw a fastball down. In college, I was always trying to throw my four-seam down, which is not what you want to do.”
Laurila: What are the metrics on your four-seamer?
Bigge: “We just did an end-of-year review, and it averaged 19 inches of carry. I also got around five to eight inches of arm-side run. I’m getting less horizontal than I used to, because I’m getting behind it more. My fastball having more of that cut-carry profile has probably been the main change for me.”
Laurila: Are you getting actual cut, or is it just truer than it had been?
Bigge: “Maybe a few pitches have had an actual cut, but it’s more just… I want to backspin the baseball as much as possible. Of course, guys like Mariano Rivera and Kenley Jansen have had really good cut-carry. I think the Cubs are really big into that profile. Porter Hodge has really good cut-carry. I think hitters just don’t expect it to move like that, so it plays a little bit better.
“I don’t know if that’s best. If the ball is spinning toward, say, a two o’clock axis, it’s going to be harder for it to carry as much, it’s going to be harder to get on top of a bat. If I can get all the spin I possibly can, to make the ball go up, I’m going to get above barrels a little bit more.”
Laurila: You’ve added a lot of velocity. Where did that come from?
Bigge: “After I got drafted, I started sleeping a lot more, so I had more energy. I also got converted to a reliever. That added some adrenaline; I could just blow it out for an inning. I went from sitting 91-95 to getting up to 99. Then I tore the labrum in my left hip — I had some injuries and just wasn’t able to consistently touch those higher level velocities — but then I started changing how I train a little bit. It was less focus on power lifting, and trying to move better.
“I’ve cleaned up my mechanics a good amount. I’m transferring forces through my body to the ball a lot better now. My arm stroke has gotten a little bit shorter. I’m able to use my raw power more efficiently. So, a number of things, including health, have helped me get better. There wasn’t a magic bullet that made things click for me.”
Laurila: Fastball aside, what is the story behind your repertoire?
Bigge: “I was always a four-seam, 12-6 curveball guy in college. I also threw a slider, but it was more of a slurve that was the same speed as my curveball. The Cubs told me I shouldn’t throw it anymore. They had me learn kind of a bullet, gyro slider that I can throw a lot harder than the curveball. It came pretty naturally. I just offset my hand a little bit from my fastball and throw it as hard as I can. Metrics-wise, it’s around zero. It’s anywhere from 5 vertical to -5 horizontal — in that triangle.”
Laurila: Any final thoughts on your development as a pitcher?
Bigge: “I think the biggest thing that’s allowed me to throw harder, and get to the big leagues, has been confidence. Like a lot of pitchers, I can get too caught up in the numbers, the TrackMan and all that. You don’t want to go out there and be too focused on those things, and not enough on the competition. The art of pitching we were talking about — leaning into that a lot more has allowed my advanced analytics to be better. The mental side of the game is something that I didn’t appreciate as much until this year.”
Laurila: What were your expectations when you got drafted? Did you expect to pitch in the big leagues?
Bigge: “Not really. I didn’t even expect to get drafted. When I got drafted, I was so happy. I wanted to get to the big leagues, but it was more of a dream. It felt less like a concrete thing that was going to happen.
“In the minors, there were ups and downs. I would be pitching well and thinking, ‘I’m for sure going to pitch in the big leagues.’ Then I’d be pitching bad and it would feel so far away. I focused on putting one foot in front of the other, trying to do the best I could every day, but when you’re not pitching well in High-A, you start asking yourself questions.”
Laurila: Did it ever reach the point where you began looking for a job outside of baseball?
Bigge: “I never got to where I was actively looking, but I thought about quitting numerous times. But I really had no idea what I wanted to do. Maybe Silicon Valley, working in the startup world. I think that would be cool. Looking back, I probably didn’t believe in myself enough as a pitcher to where I felt that I could get to the big leagues. Baseball is a roller coaster, and I wasn’t having fun.
“With about a month and half left [in the 2023 season], I got sent down from Triple-A to Double-A. I was devastated. That’s when I was really thinking about giving up. But the Double-A team was making a playoff push, so I decided, ‘Let’s just finish this season, play for my teammates, and try to win a Southern League championship.’ Basically, I stopped caring about myself as much. Then I started having fun again. The velo was coming up, I was striking guys out, and we were able to win the championship. It was the most fun I’d had playing baseball since college, pretty much. That was really good momentum for me, and it kind of carried me to where I am today.”
Content Source: blogs.fangraphs.com