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Osuna added upper-body muscle during the offseason and has been working on staying more upright and balanced in his delivery during spring training in an attempt to regain the velocity he lost in 2017, John Lott of The Athletic Toronto reports.
Compared to his first two years in the big leagues, Osuna saw his velocity drop on each of his three primary pitches last season, including a decline in his fastball from 96.6 miles per hour in 2016 to 95.0 in 2017. Despite that minor dip, Osuna turned in the best season of his career based off his peripherals, with his 1.74 FIP and 29.7 K-BB% representing significant improvements from what were already strong marks the previous two seasons. The fact that the 23-year-old Osuna is already mindful of exploring ways to maintain velocity this early in his career offers encouragement that he'll have some longevity as one of the game's top closers, but even if he fails to regain any ticks in his pitches 2018, he's already shown his arsenal is good enough as is to net elite numbers.
