SPECIAL TO SPORTSNET.CA
By Nick Ashbourne
@Nick_Ashbourne
Dunedin, FLA – Tom Robson has become a very different player than the one the Toronto Blue Jays drafted in 2011, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
The 20-year-old right handed pitcher from Ladner, B.C. is coming off a season where he not only went undefeated and won a Northwest League championship with his hometown Vancouver Canadians, but also completely remade himself as a sinkerball specialist.
Robson credits Bluefield Blue Jays pitching coach Antonio Caceres for encouraging him to take up the pitch that has now become the focal point of his arsenal.
“There were a few outings in extended [spring training] last year where I got hit around a bit and Antonio said, ‘Why don’t you try throwing a sinker.’ I threw it in the bullpen and it was pretty good and [Caceres] loved it,” said Robson. “By the time I was in Bluefield that’s what kind of pitcher I was … I’d throw sinkers.”
As a pitcher whose game is in transition, Robson has looked to the major leagues for examples of ground-ball pitchers he can model his game after. When asked for a specific example, he pointed to newly acquired Washington Nationals starter Doug Fister.
“I remember watching him in the World Series [with the Detroit Tigers]”, said Robson. “I like watching him and comparing myself to him just because he’s a long, lean guy and he throws from a high arm slot just like me.
“I’d watch a lot of his starts and try to focus on what he does.”
Considering Robson had never even toyed with a sinker before 2013, the early returns on his transformation are promising. Last season he forced more than three times as many ground balls as fly balls, and allowed only one home run on the year.
In Robson’s estimation, his 2013 couldn’t have gone much better.
“All of my expectations were [met] if not more,” he said to describe a season where he went 6-0 with a 1.12 earned-run average across two minor-league levels.
Going forward Robson looks to maintain the same approach that brought him the success he enjoyed last year. He’s living by a simple mantra that applies to all pitchers, but especially those that lean heavily on the sinker.
“If you keep the ball on the ground you always have a chance to get the out.”
