Edwin Uceta is an emerging relief ace

He signed on to the Rays with a plan, and became a better version of himself.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The Rays entered the second half of the season with plenty of unanswered questions, but bullpen depth was not one of them.

Tampa Bay has consistently produced quality pitchers, and this year was no exception. They had signed Uceta to a minor league contract with a plan for how he could take the next step as a pitcher. And when the Rays first called Edwin Uceta’s number on May 6th, he was ready. Since then he has made a name for himself by showing up in big situations. He has been nothing but outstanding so far.

The New Pitch

Uceta has put up impressive numbers in his first 28.2 innings of the season. He has accumulated a 0.94 ERA, backed up by excellent peripherals: a 34% strikeout rate and only a 4% walk rate over two months. One of the main challenges for Uceta was to become more consistent and reliable as a bullpen pitcher, and a tweak to his pitching arsenal has been part of the answer.

“For me, the biggest challenge has been earning the confidence of everyone [the coaching staff]; the consistency has been a challenge as well,” Uceta explained. “Attacking batters early and mixing my pitches effectively has been another challenge I must overcome this year.”

The 26-year-old right-hander has developed a new pitch, the cutter, which he has thrown just under 25% of the time, incorporating it into a three-pitch mix. The impact has been huge.

“The major adjustment I made this year is the creation of the cutter,” Edwin explained. “The idea is that the cutter will help me mix my pitches better, so the change-up can have a bigger impact.”

Uceta’s cutter itself doesn’t have outstanding results (.261 xBA, .413 xSLG, .299 xWOBA, 22% whiff rate), but this pitch has opened a new opportunity for Uceta.

“I’m using my cutter against both righties and lefties. Using my cutter frequently helps my change up to be as effective as it is. The cutter moves in the opposite direction of the change up, which plays into my favor because the change is the pitch that keeps batters on their toes.”

It’s true that Uceta has done most of his damage on his changeup (.167 xwOBA, 38% whiff rate) and his sinker (.138 xWOBA, 32% whiff rate), but the addition of the cutter has given him a strike-throwing weapon with horizontal motion in the other direction of those two pitches — without the cut fastball, the other two pitches would not stand out as they do.

The Two Main Ones

Indeed, the change-up is the weapon that keeps batters honest. However, what makes it so effective is how well Edwin combines it with his sinker. The change and the sinker are thrown at the same rate, at 35%. Their release points are almost identical. And both have significant armside run, which allows Uceta to beat hitters by working east-west — an ability that plays up with the addition of the cutter.

But the unusual aspect to Uceta’s pitch mix is how these two paired pitches, changeup and sinker, play north-south. Uceta’s fastest pitch is called a sinker by the Statcast classifications, but it doesn’t really sink. Measured by vertical movement vs average for its velocity, it has the second most rise of any sinker in baseball.

And because Uceta throws from a low release point, and is not afraid to use his sinker up in the zone, that vertical rise plays up.

According to Alex Chamberlain’s pitch leaderboard, Edwin Uceta’s sinker has arrived at the plate this season with the flattest (least downward) angle of any sinker in all of baseball, and with the 14th flattest angle of any fastball, including four-seamers.

In other words, Uceta’s sinker is acting at the top of the zone like a very good four-seam fastball. And the change-up itself mimics the sinker perfectly; however, while the sinker spins upward, the change-up drops down and away.

It’s a unique pitch mix that’s enabled Uceta to confidnetly work in three dimensions.

Get Ahead

Outside of Uceta’s pitch mix, there’s another improvement to his process that has helped him find success: his first-pitch strike percentage has skyrocketed. For reference, before this season his first-pitch strike percentage is was 59%; this year, he has elevated that number to 70%. The league average regarding first-pitch strike is 58%. Kyle Snyder, the pitching coach, has always stressed the importance of getting ahead, and Uceta has been no exception.

“I have put plenty of attention into getting the first strike,” Uceta mentioned. “What I have in mind is to throw the first strike and not focus so much on the pitch’s velocity. After the first strike, I can focus a little bit more on the location of the following pitches.”

Edwin Uceta is still 26 years old, and he signed with the Rays this season on a minor league deal. But he’s has solidified himself as a key guy not only in today’s bullpen but also potentially the 2025 bullpen. Uceta has pitched out of his mind during his brief stint in the majors, after remaking his process in Triple-A. The Rays hope he stays on track and can be part of the team’s future.

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Player quotes translated from Spanish to English by the author.