The baseball world has been taken over by discussion of the torpedo bats trend, but a Chicago Cubs pitcher is getting in on the new pitch that is more quietly taking over.
Cubs veteran Jameson Taillon is one of the latest players in baseball to debut a new ‘kick-change.’
This new changeup is characterized by the fact it spikes down towards the plate. It seems to be a mix between a normal changeup and a splitter.
Last year saw the sweeper officially take over and now this seems to be the biggest pitching trend of the year.
Eno Sarris of The Athletic, known for his knowledge on pitching and creation of Pitching+ advanced statistics, commented on Taillon’s first start using the pitch and has officially declared it the ‘torpedo bat of pitching.’
Jameson Taillon throwing this new kick-change pitch, already has two whiffs on three thrown today. Jack Leiter threw it today, and had a great start. It’s the torpedo bat of pitching. https://t.co/HS5qkpsyoU
— Eno Sarris (@enosarris) April 2, 2025
One thing that Sarris added in his further exploration on the pitch in an article forThe Athletic (subscription required), is that every pitching has a different approach to the kick-change.
Taillon’s is noted for having more horizontal movement on it than most. That could be from his grip, which is more of a straight-on claw grab than the more offset hold of someone like Jack Leiter.
Great work by Jameson Taillon in the first inning, 1-2-3 with a couple of Ks.
He induced 5 whiffs, 2 coming on his kick change (video below). pic.twitter.com/iOKSzMh01T
— The Wrigley Wire (@TheWrigleyWire) April 2, 2025
While the start to this season has been uneven for Taillon, his new changeup looks like it could transform his approach.
He has always had a changeup in his mix, but it is the last option and almost his worse pitch. It is now more than a tick slower and has much more movement. Expect to see the usage start to go up this season as he gets more confidence with it.
Over the first four years of Stuff+ data, his changeup averaged just 79.75. After just one game of data, it was all the way to 97 this year. That will be an intriguging stat to watch as the season goes on.
Taillon had a quietly dominant campaign last year and adding more to his utility bely could help him fully break out.
The 33-year-old got rocked in his first outing of the year, but bounced back with a much better game on Wednesday against the Athletics.
He pitched six innings of two-run ball, giving up four hits and striking out seven batters. His ERA is now at 6.97 for the year.
The new kick-change was thrown six times. One was a pop out, one forced a GIDP, three were whiffed and only one went for a ball.
This is certainly a pitch that Taillon should continue to work on.
