Brewers' Jeremy Jeffress: Credits split-finger changeup for resurgence

Jeffress attributed some of the success he's found so far this season to the addition of a split-finger changeup to his arsenal this season, Tom Haudricout of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Exclusively a fastball/curveball pitcher for most of his career, Jeffress sought the addition of another off-speed offering to his arsenal after re-signing with Milwaukee this winter, ultimately opting to implement the split changeup teammate Junior Guerra relied heavily on during a breakout 2016 campaign. At five miles per hour slower than his fastball, Jeffress' split changeup -- which he has used 21.6 percent of the time -- has excelled at keeping hitters off balance and has usurped his curveball (19.4 percent) as his top secondary pitch. The three-pitch arsenal hasn't resulted in an uptick in Jeffress's strikeout production, but his 61.7 percent groundball rate and 2.4 BB/9 are his best marks for any season he has pitched at least 15 innings. Avoiding free passes and keeping the ball out of the air are essential for most pitchers to enjoy sustained excellence at Miller Park, which has consistently ranked as a top-10 venue in baseball over the past decade in terms of inflating home-run production.