A.J. Minter adapts pitching style with Mets

A.J. Minter, now with the Mets, has adapted his pitching style after hip surgery last summer. He shifted focus from relying solely on fastball velocity to mixing pitches effectively, improving his performance in the second half of 2023. Minter's fastball velocity dropped from 96.6 mph in 2022 to 95.8 mph in 2023. He credits former teammate Jesse Chavez for mentoring him on how to pitch effectively at lower speeds, emphasizing the importance of strategy over sheer power. This spring, Minter has shown progress, pitching a scoreless inning against the Nationals. He now uses two types of cutters and a changeup, which opponents struggled against last season, demonstrating his new approach to getting batters out.