Ober frustrated by lower velo, but learning to do more with less

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Although he pitched four effective innings against the Phillies in Tuesday's 2-0 loss, Bailey Ober had the look of a man searching after the game.

Ober’s average fastball velocity in his one-run, two-hit, two-walk start dipped to 88.2 miles per hour. And while Ober knows better than anyone that velocity isn’t everything – just look at the results against a good Phillies lineup – it is an indicator.

An up-and-down search by the big right-hander for the delivery that made him one of the American League’s best and most consistent starters from 2022-24 is on a bit of a downswing this week. Ober is confident that he can adjust and pitch effectively, and that his velocity will creep back up again. But he’d also like to regain the form he had before a hip injury sidelined him for a chunk of 2025 and caused his delivery to get out of whack.

“Things were trending, and then hit a lull, and then trended back, and now I’m back in a lull,” he said.

He has thrown harder at times in camp, so he knows it’s in there. He was at 89.9 in his first start, and said that he was at 90-91 in some of his throws before the game started. So he’s confident it will come back, and when it does, he expects to be a better pitcher for having learned to make do at lower numbers.

“One run over four without my best stuff, I feel like I’m not necessarily pitching to contact but I’m picking and choosing how to throw to guys without my swing-and-miss stuff,” he said. “Kind of stealing strikes when I can and locating stuff when I can. It’s a different way than I’ve normally pitched in the past, but so far this spring I’ve had fine success with it. So I feel like whenever my stuff does come back and I’m able to pair those two, I feel like I’ll be in a pretty good spot.”

Ober said he feels good physically. He’s just still searching to lock in his delivery, something that is harder for a pitcher listed at 6-foot-9 than one with shorter arms and legs. He consistently expressed enthusiasm over the winter and early in camp, and even through his first two starts. On Tuesday, he acknowledged frustration, though certainly not resignation.

“It is frustrating, obviously,” he said. “You always want to be at your best at all times. Especially when you face big league hitters. But it is what it is. I can’t go out there and change what just happened. Pitched fine, just without my best stuff. And now tomorrow just get back after it and try to get back in sync. That’s all I can do. That’s kind of where my head’s at.”

Twins officials have confidence in Ober. They note that even at his best, velocity has never been his calling card. And, again, he has a 2.08 ERA in three spring starts.

Those extra long levers have an upside as well, since the ball is on a hitter sooner when it comes from him than from a shorter pitcher. And unlike last year, when he was battling pain in his hip, he has confidence in his other offerings. He feels much more equipped to succeed with a fastball in the high 80s than he would have last year.

“I definitely feel that way,” he said. “Today was a great example of that, just being able to locate pitches a little bit differently than just like, ‘All right, here’s my stuff, try and hit this,’ and get a bunch of swings and misses and strikeouts.”

Of 58 pitches from Ober on Tuesday, only 15 were four-seam fastballs. He threw more changeups than anything else, and also mixed in a slider, sinker, curveball and sweeper. The average exit velocity against him (87.8 mph) was lower than last season (89.6 mph), and he allowed only three hard-hit balls (23 percent), compared to 39 percent last year.

“Obviously if I don’t have my fastball then I have to rely on some other stuff,” he said. “Using my changeup, it’s one of my better offerings, so that usage is going to be higher than most. I have six, seven pitches, so being able to mix everything and try to keep them away from sitting on the heater.”