On Ziegler's success, Kenny said: "So how does he survive? Well the severe groundball rate near 70 percent, incredibly high. Over the last three seasons only Zach Britton has induced groundballs at a higher rate and above this he sticks to his plan and he executes his pitches even when things are looking grim." Kenny added: "I like guys who are zigging when everybody else is zagging. And the fact is that he has an unorthodox way of coming at you that you don't normally see, the groundball rate is allowing him to thrive."
As we discussed yesterday, Brad Ziegler is far from the archetype of a closer, who hasn't thrown a single pitch even as fast as 90 mph since 2012. But over the past couple of seasons, his save percentage of 95.6% trails only Mark Melancon, among all pitchers with 10 or more saves. He is the very epitome of "zigging when everybody else is zagging," and Diamondbacks' fans love him all the more for that.