Cubs Quick Hits: Mike Montgomery More Than Just Pretty Curves

It’s probably not difficult to close your eyes and envision Mike Montgomery’s curveball because that was the pitch that secured the Cubs World Series championship. But he has more than just an above-average bender in his arsenal of pitches. One of his other useful weapons is the changeup.

Montgomery made batters whiff at 29 percent of the changeups he threw last year, which was in the top half-percent in MLB dating back to 2012. Even if batters did make contact, most of it was on the ground, as the lanky lefty recorded a superb 70 percent grounder rate. It was Montgomery’s changeup, not his curve, that rated as the sixth best pitch for all MLB relievers last year according to Eno Sarris.