Tepesch spent off-season refining changeup

Nick Tepesch put an emphasis this off-season on getting more comfortable with his changeup. It’s a pitch that could become critical in his future success at the big-league level.

Tepesch threw his changeup less than 5 percent of the time last season, relying primarily on his fastball and slider. He knows that needs to change.

“I just didn’t utilize it as much as I should have,” Tepesch said. “So it was an emphasis I put on myself this off-season to get more comfortable with the grip and throw it more often. It’s felt good coming out and I am comfortable with it.”

Tepesch’s newfound changeup has already caught the eye of manager Ron Washington, who pointed to it as one of the positives he’s seen early on in camp.

This story was originally published February 20, 2014 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Tepesch spent off-season refining changeup."