Choose-Your-Own-Adventure: MLB Pitcher

First off, we start off with a very important question.

Right-Handed Pitcher

Left-Handed Pitcher

Right-Handed Pitcher

So you chose to be generic… Of course, you did! However, that is okay. over 75% of the pitchers in the 2019 draft class were right-handed, and the majority of hitters are right-handed as well, meaning you will be just fine as a right-hander in today’s MLB.

As this right-handed arm, do you want to start or be a closer?

Starting Pitcher

Closer

Left-Handed Pitcher

Taking a southpaw? I always pegged you as a tad bit off. But what comes with being weird is a side of dominance. Some of the game’s greatest have been left-handed and maybe you will become a great too!

Choosing a role is just as important as the side you throw from, so are you a guy that thrives under pressure out of the pen or a tone-setter from the get-go?

Starting Pitcher

Bullpen

Right-Handed Starter

Welcome to your destiny as a right-handed ace! Both the Cy Young Award winners of 2020 were both right-handed starters, so why not win the next one?

The next step of your journey is to choose where you want to play.

American League

National League

Right-Handed Closer

I hope you understand what you are getting yourself into. Closers are the most important pitchers out of the bullpen, and with good reason. Ask any baseball player, getting the last three outs of a game are the toughest outs.

Next on your journey to stardom, where you want to shut down ballgames.

American League

National League

Left-Handed Starter

Some of the best starters in the league are left-handed, so what is stopping you from becoming a star MLB pitcher? I can tell you; it’s where you want to pitch.

American League

National League

Left-Handed Closer

A rarity in today’s game is the southpaw closing pitcher. However, those that do make it are in MLB’s elite class of bullpen arms

Where do you want to shut down the 9th inning, Lefty?

American League

National League

AL RHP Starter

Welcome to the American League! However, you have to be careful. There are some known cheaters that walk our grounds. So, what is your best pitch going to be to get by these known cheaters?

Fastball

Curveball/Slider

Changeup

AL RHP Closer

A closer in the AL? Wise choice. The next step of furthering your dominance is choosing what your best pitch will be!

Fastball

Curveball/Slider

Changeup

AL LHP Starter

A southpaw in the American League? Be careful where you play and what you choose as your best pitch because there are some right hand heavy teams in the AL.

Fastball

Curveball/Slider

Changeup

AL LHP Closer

As I keep reiterating, left-handed pitchers are a rarity, but a southpaw closer? That is even more unique. But hey, whatever floats your boat! Choose your best pitch to take the next step into your journey.

Fastball

Curveball/Slider

Changeup

NL RHP Starter

All three Cy Young award candidates were right handed starters, so why not take the road to success. Which pitch will lead you to a Cy Young nomination?

Fastball

Curveball/Slider

Changeup

NL RHP Closer

There are plenty of closers in MLB and the NL are the majority are right-handed, but what is going to make you stick out? What is going to be your best pitch?

Fastball

Curveball/Slider

Changeup

NL LHP Starter

Pitching in the NL has been a tad easier over the past few years without the presence of a designated hitter. But this year things changed, and we saw the NL take a step in the right direction for more offense. What pitch are you going to be relying on to dominate this offensive surge in the NL?

Fastball

Curveball/Slider

Changeup

NL LHP Closer

What do we have here? A southpaw closer in the NL? Interesting. Few have walked this path, but each had a dominant pitch. What will yours be?

Fastball

Curveball/Slider

Changeup

Career Trajectory: Gerrit Cole

Cole is an American League right-handed ace with a dominant fastball that can run up to triple digits. Welcome to the MLB, kid! Hope you do well with that dominant fastball of yours.

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Career Trajectory: Justin Verlander

Verlander has a handful of dominant pitches, but his best is clearly his slider. Inducing a chase rate of 51%, JV’s display of dominance stems from his breaking pitches, just like yours.

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Career Trajectory: Lucas Giolito

He may be young, but his changeup is no joke! You can only hope that your career starts off as fast as the young Chicago ace’s did. Rely on that change of pace, because it will make you dominant early in your MLB career.

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Career Trajectory: Liam Hendriks

A dominant fastball will lead you into a lot of success in the MLB. Just ask A’s closer, Liam Hendriks. Reliant on his upper 90s fastball, Hendriks is one of the best bullpen arms in MLB, much like you will become with your dominant fastball.

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Career Trajectory: James Karinchak

Certainly a young arm and tough to project his career, but early signs show dominance. That dominance stems from an impressive curveball. As said previously, it is tough to project, but with as dominant a curveball as Karinchak’s, your career will be off to a great start.

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Career Trajectory: Tommy Kahnle

It is a rarity to have a closer rely on a changeup. But a reliever of Kahnle’s stature is close enough. The Yankees set-up man has one of the best changeups in baseball, and with the caliber of changeup you are hoping for, this career is going to be very solid for you!

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Career Trajectory: Blake Snell

There are few better things than having a career trajectory of last year’s Cy Young award winner. Taking a dominant fastball from the left side is a good decision as few southpaws in MLB possess it. Good choice on the career path!

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Career Trajectory: Chris Sale

Sale has some of the best stuff in MLB. His most dominant pitch is the frisbee-esque slider that he throws. Against lefties, it is almost untouchable, and for righties, well, they’d better watch their feet! Another solid choice, taking the rarity of a left-hander with dominant breaking stuff.

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Career Trajectory: Sean Manaea

Few pitches can be more effective than a good changeup. The Oakland ace possesses one of the best in MLB. The change of speeds is tough as it moves away from right-handed bats, and slows the swings down of lefties. Good choices lead you to the trajectory of a solid young lefty out in the bay.

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Career Trajectory: Aroldis Chapman

When Chapman came into MLB, hitting triple digits as often as he did was a rarity. But now you are coming into the league with that same potential! Few southpaws have the ability to run it up near 102 MPH, but now you can, and your potential is through the roof!

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Career Trajectory: Brad Hand

Hand hits the free-agent market this offseason, but that does not discount the dominance he showed in the AL Central. A left-hander with a slider as good as his is hard to come by, but now you are here, set on a career path of one of the best relievers in the MLB.

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Career Trajectory: NONE!

Welcome to becoming a unicorn! Very few closers are left-handed, and then the few that are do not specialize in using a changeup. So be the first great to do it in the AL!

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Career Trajectory: Walker Buehler

As mentioned, being right-handed is common in the MLB, but what stuck out about Buehler is his devastating fastball. Now you are here and want to exude as much dominance as we saw out of Buehler this postseason. Welcome to the gas station, as you will be throwing heat and dominating the rest of the MLB with your fastball.

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Career Trajectory: Jacob DeGrom / Max Scherzer

Two of the deadliest weapons in MLB, Scherzer and DeGrom’s slider… and that is what you hope your career leads you to. As there are a ton of right-handers in the league, developing a pitch of this caliber will lead you to many strikeout championships! Good choices led you to two of the games best!

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Career Trajectory: Luis Castillo / Kyle Hendricks

Castillo and Hendricks may be foes in the NL Central, but they both share one thing, a dominant changeup. You will be in good hands with this pitch, as it will lead you to nothing but continued success in MLB.

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Career Trajectory: Jordan Hicks

Hicks’s fastball is not the traditional four-seamer, rather an aggressive sinker with a lot of movement! Some unique choices led you to this trajectory, but much like Hicks, the ceiling will be the sky for you as you close games in the National League.

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Career Trajectory: Craig Kimbrel

Kimbrel may not be as dominant as he once was, but a devastating knuckle-curve has thrust his name among some of the game’s greatest closers. Much like Kimbrel, you too will develop a devastating bender, and use it to become one of MLB’s best closers!

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Career Trajectory: Devin Williams

This year’s NL Rookie of the Year may be young, but developing a changeup as dominant as his will put you on a similar trajectory as the Brewers’ right-hander. He may not be a closer, but a set-up man can be just as important in some scenarios. Some unique decisions have led you to a unique career trajectory.

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Career Trajectory: Max Fried

Fried is a young left hander in Atlanta, and much like Hicks, relies on a non-traditional fastball. The young southpaw throws a hard tailing fastball, and much like him, you too will be reliant on that hard-biting two-seamer to make your way through MLB.

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Career Trajectory: Clayton Kershaw

Arguably the game’s greatest lefty in its rich history, every baseball fan knows how special Kershaw’s ‘Cooperstown Curveball’ can be. So if you saw this one coming as you picked through your options, kudos, because you are on a path to greatness.

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Career Trajectory: Cole Hamels

The former Philadelphia Phillies ace has been reliant on his circle-change to build his impressive resume. Hamels has never been the most overpowering pitcher, so using a change of speeds has been his best friend during his illustrious career. Similar to Hamels, you better get used to locating that changeup, because it can lead you to a Hall of Fame career.

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Career Trajectory: Josh Hader

Becoming a hard-throwing southpaw in the NL will put you on a similar career path as Hader, barring any social media dilemmas, but in all seriousness, the Brewers’ closer has an incredible fastball and has built an impressive few years out of it. Much like Hader, the four-seamer is going to put you over the top as well, reliant on its impressive velocity to start your career off on the right foot.

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Career Trajectory: Andrew Miller

Miller has been a fixture in the bullpen of playoff teams, and that is much due, in part, to a wipeout slider. Coming up as a lefty specialist, Miller turned himself into one of the game’s most valuable assets in any bullpen. Hopefully, you do the same, and not turn into just a specialist.

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Career Trajectory: Tony Watson

Unique choices bring you to an interesting bullpen arm. Watson has been one of the more underrated southpaws in MLB. A career ERA of 2.80 and a WHIP of 1.09, it is nothing to get excited about, but certainly, nothing to scoff at either. Left-handers out of the pen that rely on changeups are a rarity, hence why a unique arm’s career path is the one you are put on.

Start Over

Thanks for Playing!

Start Over

Enjoy the Offseason and Stay Safe!

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