On Monday night, Mets ace pitcher Tsudai Chiga tested a new weapon, the two-seam fastball, in his Grapefruit League debut to deal with the lack of pressing power on the right-hander. The Japanese power-shooter threw three two-seam speedballs against the Marlins, averaging about five miles slower than the four-seamer, but pitching coach Jeremy Hefner stressed that it was deliberate: "He's looking for a touch, and the speed gap will close in the future." "

In their debut season in the 2023 major leagues, Chiga relied heavily on four-seam speedballs, cutter balls, and ghost forks, and was extremely strong against left-hand strikers (0.562 OPS), but slightly less powerful against right-hand strikers (0.679 OPS). Hefner believes that the two-stit speedball could be a powerful weapon against right-hand strikers: "If you can make a rolling ball, combined with Francisco Lindor's Golden Glove guarding, it will be a huge increase in efficiency." "

Head coach Carlos Mendoza added: "It makes it harder for hitters to lock down his cross-finger and sliders, which can be very dangerous if used correctly. Chiga's ball handling ability is very diverse. "

In addition to the new ball test, the Met is even more pleased with Chiga's health. He started only once last year with shoulder, tricep and calf injuries and returned to the playoffs but not at his best. After four months of recuperation, Chiga progressed in the spring training, and finally completed two rounds without conceding points and two strikeouts.

"I'm glad to be able to finish pitching healthy," Chiga said through an interpreter, "and I tried a lot of things I wanted to do, and it felt great to be on the pitcher's mound." "As the season approaches, it will be interesting to see if the Japanese ace's new weapon can be the key to victory.