Revamped slider turned Anthony Banda into key reliever

The Los Angeles Dodgers relied heavily on their bullpen to reach the 2024 World Series, including contributions from names that are a byproduct of their outstanding player development.

Anthony Banda is one of them after being traded from the Cleveland Guardians to the Dodgers in mid-May. The 31-year-old has found new life in his eighth organization and 11 years at the major league level.

Banda worked with the Dodgers' pitching coaches to rework his slider with an emphasis on pronation. This was a major factor in him posting a 3.08 ERA and 1.25 WHIP over 49.2 innings (48 games) during the regular season.

“The idea was very simple. The biggest thing they communicated with me and understood was that I had a misunderstanding about how to throw the break ball,” Banda said. “I thought you always had to get your fingers to the front of the ball and all those other good things.

“But when they told me this would suit you and I would just throw it like a fastball and let it work on your pronation, the bottom line for me was: What do you mean by pronation?

“And then when I saw it on Edgertronic, the slow-motion camera, that really opened my eyes in the sense of, OK, we're turning the ball through the pronation part of it, not through putting the fingers forward of a baseball deal.

“I think that’s what really hit home for me and I understand that I could do it. And then when we tried it, it really worked. It wasn't anything special. But it was just the communication part to understand the idea behind it.”

Since joining the Dodgers, Banda's technique, which measures the physical properties of each pitch, including vertical and horizontal movement, release point, pitch speed and spin rate, has been on the rise. While 100 represents the baseline average, Banda's slider jumped to 109 after rating him below average during his 2023 season with the Washington Nationals.

In his 5.2 innings in both the National League Division Series and Championship Series, he posted a 1.59 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with seven strikeouts. With fellow left-hander Alex Vesia suffering an injury before the NLCS, Banda took on a prominent role.

How can Anthony Banda impact the Dodgers bullpen in the World Series?

As for Vesia's availability, the Dodgers could continue to rely on Banda until this point given his playoff feel. However, both can be great in their own way.

The New York Yankees have a few lefties in their lineup, including Juan Soto and Anthony Rizzo, but for the former, Banda's slider could be a big matchup plus.

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