Andrew Abbott Building Up Strength For the Long Haul After Historic Start to Big League Career

Abbott is looking to refine his stuff but not change how he gets outs on the mound.

Author:
Rick Ucchino
Publish date:
Dec 1, 2023 10:29 AM EST

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Andrew Abbott had the kind of introduction to the major leagues that 'Nuke' LaLoosh could only dream about. He announced his presence with authority. There's not a bit of hyperbole with this statement.

It was a historic start. The Reds left-hander achieved a number of monumental feats over the course of his first half dozen starts in the big leagues.

Dating back to 1893, when the pitcher's mound was moved to 60 feet 6 inches from home plate, no starter had ever thrown three consecutive shutouts of at least five innings to begin their MLB career. That was until Abbott took the mound three times last season.

Abbott was also the first pitcher since 1900 to record at least 40 strikeouts, while allowing 5 or fewer runs over his first six starts. I could rattle off more ridiculous stats, but I'm sure you get the point already.

As unbelievable as Abbott pitched early on, it was equally believable that he was unable to continue that pace over the course of the entire season. He admitted that fatigue may have played a factor.

"My arm was great. My arm was ready to go, but my body was just like, maybe I'm not getting a 100% out of it. Maybe I'm only getting 90, 80, whatever it may be," Abbott said. "That has an impact. It's not an excuse by any means, but it has an impact and it's a good thing for me to know."

Abbott is back in Cincinnati for Redsfest this weekend at the Duke Energy Center and he has a family trip coming up this winter. But after a little rest and relaxation, he is set to travel down to Texas to train with some of his teammates, including Tejay Antone, ahead of spring training.

The 24-year-old will focus on strength and conditioning as he aims to avoid a similar falloff in 2024.

"Big thing [is] longevity for me," Abbott said. "I knew to expect to throw a lot innings this year, but I wanna throw even more next year. So, it's just about having the [109.1 IP] as the floor and then being able to go deeper throughout the entire season and not having a dramatic fall off or anything like that. Just trying to be nice and stable the entire time."

When Abbott ran into issues during his rookie campaign, he found himself unable to limit hard contact against opposing hitters. So, another goal for him this winter is to really refine his curveball and slider.

"Get 'em back to what they were at the beginning of the season and not where they were at the end," he said. "So when we come out of the gate, then hopefully we hold it the entire time."

On the surface, Abbott is not a pitcher that is built to have sustained success at Great American Ball Park. Statistically, he is a heavy fly ball pitcher. Wielding a 51.7% fly ball ratio over his 100 plus innings of work last year, compared to rolling up a ground ball just 28.6% of the time.

Give Abbott credit though. It worked for him. Yes, he gave up his fair share of home runs, 16 of them last season, but when compared with the rest of the league that's not an astronomical figure.

Had he pitched enough innings to qualify, Abbott's 1.3 home runs over nine innings would have ranked him 34th in all of Major League Baseball, right behind old friend Luis Castillo.

Bottom line, don't expect Abbott to change his approach heading into next season.

"We have identities as players. Some guys hit homers. Some guys hit singles [and] steal bags. Some guys are average guys," Abbott said. "I think pitcher's are the same way. There's guys that throw a hundred that are strikeout guys. There's guys that throw in the low nineties that are more of like your command-ish guys that kind of rely on that. And I've always relied on my fastball and I've always relied on flyballs. Because that's just always been the makeup of me, ever since I began pitching. So I don't think it's a thing to kind of change it. Maybe I would love to limit it a little more, for sure."

Abbott is just one of a number of talented young pitchers competing for a spot in the starting rotation next year.

Hunter Greene, Graham Ashcraft and Nick Lodolo were supposed to be the three anchors that held down the starting rotation in 2023, but a series of injuries derailed that plan. Forcing the team to lean on the likes of Abbott, Brandon Williamson and Connor Phillips down the stretch.

That experience for the younger guys could prove to be invaluable should they be called upon to throw significant innings again next season. Just like on offense, the depth of talent available for the starting rotation is deep. Abbott believes everyone is going to play a vital role in the success of the team next year.

"It's gonna take all of us to get the job done at the end of the day. It's not gonna be one or two of us, it's gonna be all five. Or guys that come up and fill the slots like we saw last year," Abbott said. "If we don't add [a veteran], then I think we have the pieces to go. Obviously, that would help if [we] get a... whoever's out there on the market. I'm sure there's plenty of options out there. But I think we do have the pieces to make a run without 'em, but I think it would help if we do get 'em."

The Reds have already signed Nick Martinez to a two-year deal worth $26 million this offseason. He primarily pitched out of the bullpen for San Diego the past two years, but the front office could view him as an option for the starting rotation.

Martinez made 19 starts for the Padres combined in 2022 and 2023 with a respectable 4-4 record and a 3.39 earned run average.

Cincinnati has also been linked to multiple pitchers on the trade market this offseason, including the Rays' Tyler Glasnow and the Guardians' Shane Bieber.

Abbott will be ready for a significant role, regardless of any moves the front office makes over the next few months.

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