Slimmed-down Jose Alvarado hits 100 mph, strikes out two in spring debut

Jose Alvarado has now thrown exactly one (1) inning this spring.

But it was a good one.

"I had a great offseason," said Alvarado after striking out two and hitting 100 mph in a 1-2-3 inning on Thursday. "I changed my routine about eating. I lost weight. Latin people, we eat a lot of rice and beans. I switched for more protein, veggies. I came in in good shape and I'm so happy about the result today."

The work Alvarado put in this offseason was clear even before he took the mound against the Yankees for his spring debut:

Based off of a workout video he shared to Instagram, José Alvarado might really have a case for being in the best shape of his life when Spring Training starts. @OnPattison pic.twitter.com/BDhnXJKetC

— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) January 28, 2025

Contrast that to last spring, when Alvarado was, uh... probably not in the best shape of his life:

"bro I feel like a fat boy. I'm fucking fat." -Jose Alvarado pic.twitter.com/w15DS5C7fw

— Absolutely Hammered (@ah_pod) March 18, 2024

We'll need to see much more from Alvarado, of course, before we declare that he's once again the force of nature that he was in 2023: 42 games, 41.1 innings, 1.74 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 3.9 BB/9, 13.9 K/9.

In 2024, the lefty's numbers fell off a cliff: 66 games, 61.2 innings, 4.09 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 4.1 BB/9, 9.2 K/9. That K/9 rate was the lowest for Alvarado since his rookie season in 2017. But if Thursday's outing was any indication, the strikeouts will be back this season.

"I saw my cutter like 95 today," Alvarado said. "I don't think I need to change anything right now."  He has thrown the cutter about 40% of the time since 2022 (according to Statcast data), and has relied on the pitch for a whiff rate around 45% the past couple years. It averaged 92.5 mph in 2024, down from a high of about 94 mph a few years ago. 95 mph would be something new.

© Jonathan Dyer | 2025 Feb 12

But it's Alvarado's sinker that sometimes hits triple digits, and that pitch has also decreased in average velocity over the last few years: from 99.6 mph in 2022, to 98.7 mph in 2023, to 97.8 mph in 2024. The reliever seems confident in his ability to reverse that trend.

"Long time I was waiting for this moment," he said Thursday.

He's not the only one.