The Secret to Hogan Harris' Recent Success

Jason Burke | Jun 25, 2024

Jun 12, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Hogan Harris (63) pitches against the San Diego Padres during the second inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Oakland A's starter Hogan Harris didn't make the best first impression. His big-league debut came last season in an April game against the visiting New York Mets. After starter James Kaprielian had walked seven batters in 3 2/3 innings, Harris was brought in to begin the fourth. He ended up walking five and giving up six runs on one hit. He recorded just one out and left his MLB debut with a 162.00 ERA.

After being thrust into the rotation at the end of May due to mounting injuries the team was facing, Harris has been the team's best starter the last five turns through the rotation. He holds a 2.32 ERA, allowing just seven runs in 27 2/3 innings, and in his three most recent outings the key for him has been his slider.

On the year, Harris has used his slider just 10% of the time, which makes it his least-used option overall. However, beginning with his outing on June 12, Harris started incorporating the slider a bit more, using it 14.5% in that start, then 23% on June 18, making it his second most-used pitch behind his fastball, and then on Sunday he chose it 15.7% of the time.

A's manager Mark Kotsay spoke about the left-hander's development in recent weeks following his outing on Sunday.

"The focus for Hogan is [to] throw it in the zone. You know, you've got good life on the heater. Now you can see a slider that he's developed here, at the big league level, which is going to be a solid pitch for him. Overall, the strides he's made, that's what we're talking about for these guys. We want to see this incremental growth. The success that he's having, maybe not wins and losses for him right now. It'll translate to wins and losses if he continues to just make the steps in the right direction."

When comparing the slider that Harris is throwing this year to the one that he had in his arsenal a year ago, there are a couple of key differences. The big one is that he's throwing it two miles per hour harder than he did in '23.

The second is more about the shape of the pitch. This year's version has less vertical drop, but it has an inch and a half more horizontal break. Another interesting tidbit that wasn't mentioned postgame is that his curveball has gained nearly seven inches of vertical drop this season. He's also throwing that one more on the year, using it 16.9% of the time, and it's his biggest whiff pitch, getting a swing and miss 28.9% of the time.

We also asked Harris about the ball that Royce Lewis hit off him in the first inning of Sunday's game that resulted in a spectacular catch and throw from left fielder Miguel Andujar.

MIGUEL ANDÚJAR ROBS ROYCE LEWIS AND THROWS OUT MANUEL MARGOT AT THIRD 😱 pic.twitter.com/fQZxHg5fEc

— A's on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) June 23, 2024

"Well, my first thought was 'looks like a high launch angle.' After that, I was actually kind of hoping [the runner on second] would run to third because I've seen Andujar's arm all year. He's always right on the money."

As for the slider, the key for Harris has been to differentiate the pitch from his curveball. "I've kind of figured out how to throw it a little bit different way to where it actually has a more of a slider movement to it. So now I have four true different pitches instead of three and just one's harder or softer.

"Having that, being able to have a fourth pitch for them to have to think about is just gonna continue to help me down the road."