How Tall Is Blake Cederlind?
Blake Cederlind stands at a height of 1.93 m.
Some things have altered more than others with the new season. From his first Spring Training in 2020 to this year’s camp, Pirates manager Derek Shelton noticed one significant difference in reliever Blake Cederlind.
Cederlind says he’s growing it back, but it’s still a work in progress, like so many things in Spring Training.
He’s also brought a handful of items to work on in his arsenal as he tries to develop himself into a leverage option or a possible close candidate.
Cederlind’s spring success continued on Friday, as he pitched one inning against the Phillies in a 3-0 loss at BayCare Ballpark.
His only error came against Andrew McCutchen, who he got into a 0-2 count against before the former Pirate hit a solo home run against the current Pirate.
Cederlind is a two-pitch reliever with two powerful pitches. He boasts a sinking fastball with movement and velocity, with a top speed of 100.4 mph last season (and 98.8 mph on Friday), and a cutter with a good horizontal break.
“Throwing 99, 100 [mph] with sink and movement isn’t something you see every day, right?” Joe Hudson, who made his Spring Training debut against the Blue Jays on Monday, paired with Cederlind.
Cederlind did not throw a four-seamer in his inning on Friday, but he did say he wants to add a four-seamer into the mix a bit more this season talk about velocity.
He also stated that the shape of his breaking pitch is being reworked. He claimed the pitch should have more slider motion this season than it did last year when it was more of a cutter.
Cederlind’s success will be determined as much by his command as by his abilities.
After issuing 34 free passes in 58 innings in his first full pro season, he has been able to lower his walk rate throughout his rise through the Minors.
With only four Major League innings under his belt, it’s difficult to say how much of a working point it will be this season, but the coaching staff has made that obvious to him.