For generations, we have known how much baseball is a constantly evolving sport in all facets of the game. With evolution being a theme of 2023 where we have seen pitch timers, the shift, and larger bases, another new point of discussion is a “new” pitch called “the sweeper”. A sweeper is similar to a slider but with even more horizontal movement, and less vertical drop. While the concept of a sweeper has existed for a while, it has only recently been officially added to MLB’s tracking systems.

One pitcher who has been using the sweeper before it became an official pitch is Adam Ottavino. Ottavino is known for throwing his sweeper with 18-20 inches of horizontal movement. Another pitcher who threw a lot of sweepers in his prime is Sergio Romo, who had up to 18 inches of horizontal movement on his sweeper.

In this year however, by far the best and most effective sweeper we have seen comes from Shohei Ohtani, who can get up to 20 inches of horizontal movement on his:

With the addition of the sweeper as an official pitch, more pitchers are now incorporating it into their repertoire. One of the latest pitchers to emerge as a sweeper pitcher is Steven Wilson of the San Diego Padres. When asked about what a sweeper is, Padres manager Bob Melvin said, “I don’t know,” Melvin said, laughing. “It’s new-age baseball talk. A slider’s probably got a little more depth and the sweeper probably comes across a little more. I’ve made that joke, too. I still write it down as a slider.”

The sweeper is a pitch that is designed to move horizontally, which can be an effective tool for a pitcher. It can be especially effective against left-handed hitters, as it moves away from them, making it more difficult to hit. Additionally, the sweeper can be used to set up other pitches, such as a fastball or a changeup.

One of the advantages of the sweeper is that it can be thrown at different speeds and with different amounts of movement, depending on the situation. This makes it a versatile pitch that can be used in a variety of situations, from striking out a batter to inducing a ground ball for a double play.

According to fangraphs, the sweeper has caused a multitude of popups, with a total 10.8% pop up rate on the pitch. It has shown so far to be a pitch to draw the weakest possible contact.

Another advantage of the sweeper is that it can be difficult for batters to pick up. This is because the pitch looks similar to a fastball out of the pitcher’s hand, but then breaks sharply to the side, making it hard to track.

Despite the advantages of the sweeper, there are also some drawbacks to using it. One of the main issues with the sweeper is that it can be difficult to control. Because the pitch moves so much, it can be hard to get it to go exactly where the pitcher wants it to.

Another issue with the sweeper is that it can put extra strain on a pitcher’s arm. This is because the pitch requires the pitcher to use a different arm motion than other pitches, which can lead to fatigue and injury over time.

Despite these concerns, many pitchers are still using the sweeper with great success. With its ability to generate more horizontal movement than a slider, the sweeper is a pitch that can be used to get many more swings and misses.

It will be interesting to see if the sweeper becomes a more widely known pitch, similar to how the sinker/2 seam fastball came into play in the last 5-7 years. It can certainly become an effective pitch that will get many swings and misses.