If you were to tell me in December that Reed Garrett would have a 0.73 ERA going into June, I would’ve laughed in your face. Yet here we are — the guy who left for Japan after 13 games with the Tigers, only to come back to America and get tossed around for two years with a 6.52 ERA, is currently one of the best relievers in all of baseball. How, you might ask? It’s because he got rid of his four-seam fastball.
After playing well enough in Japan to catch the eyes of major league ballclubs, Garrett’s ’22 and ’23 seasons with the Nationals, Mets, and Orioles were characterized by a high percentage of four-seam fastballs — a significant part of his pitching problem. Over those years, the xSLG of the pitch was .524, and batters hit .286 against it, per his Savant page. His other pitches may have been worse statistically, but Garrett barely threw those. Instead, he relied heavily on his four-seamer, a pitch that wasn’t working for him no matter how much he threw it.
When Reed Garrett returned to the Mets in 2024, he made a tweak that would change the course of his career.
The usage of the four-seamer dropped from 44.1% over the previous two years to just 16.8% in ’24, allowing Garrett to develop his cutter, splitter, and sweeper, finding more success when involving his other pitches. He finished the 2024 season with a respectable 3.77 ERA, but this year, he’s taken it to the next level.
In 2025, while involving his four-seamer a mere 5.3% of the time, Garrett has pitched to a 0.73 ERA as we enter June, thriving off the successes of his splitter, sinker, and cutter. The splitter, in particular, has led Garrett to success, as batters hit just .048 against it, with an xSLG of .152. As he continues to develop and improve his pitches, the four-seamer has less of a role in his repertoire. Using the four-seamer less, however, subsequently enhances the effectiveness of the pitch. Although Garrett’s thrown just 21 four-seamers this year, nobody’s gotten a hit off one yet, and its xSLG is .082.
A four-seamer’s typically the most common pitch in baseball — it’s what you learn to throw in your Little League years. But if a pitch isn’t working, it needs to go. Reed Garrett realized that, and it has contributed to his success early on. If he continues to develop his pitches and stick with what works, I can see him blossoming into a late-bloomer All-Star for the Mets this year, but only time will tell.
