Seattle Mariners: Bullpen breakout for local product Austin Voth

Seattle Mariners reliever Austin Voth did indeed see the Pitching Ninja’s enhanced video of the knee buckling curve he threw Baltimore’s Jorge Mateo.

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“I had a couple people send me the clips,” Voth said with a laugh. But he also had an admission.

“It wasn’t the location where I was trying to throw it but it worked out. Sometimes it just works that way.”

Voth, who spent his previous six seasons with Washington and Baltimore mostly as a starter, is now seeing success in the Mariners’ bullpen with a 3.19 ERA, 0.873 WHIP and 3.67 strikeouts per walk ratio in 39 appearances. Hailing from nearby Kent, Wash., the opportunity for the Kentwood High and UW Huskies product to sign with the hometown team was a huge draw when the M’s came calling last fall. But so was the chance to work with their pitching staff.

“Being on the east coast for so long, I got to see the Mariners and what they do on the pitching side from afar,” he said. “And I have always been told really great things about the staff and how they develop players and can take one piece you have and make it better, or even add pitches to make your arsenal even better.”

In his case, Voth said it was more about changing his usage with the emphasis on throwing his breaking pitches more in the zone to get outs earlier in counts.

“They wanted me to attack the zone as much as possible because they know I have three good breaking balls, and just trust the stuff I have,” he said.

The biggest adjustment has been learning to be available and ready to pitch in any bullpen situations. He has worked his way into higher-leverage situations and has been of particular impact in important pivot situations of late.

While Voth has returned to the Seattle area each offseason, he is home in the summer for the first time in many years. And playing for the Mariners?

“I’m just having a lot of fun,” he said. “Honestly it’s been a lot of fun playing for this team, playing for the city I always grew up watching. It’s been a blast.”

Catch the Clubhouse Insider on the pregame show on Seattle Sports before every Mariners game. Listen to Shannon Drayer’s conversation with Austin Voth in the podcast at this link or in the player below.

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