Ponce de Leon, who allowed three earned runs on four hits over three innings in a 10-8 Grapefruit League loss to the Mets on Sunday, worked on developing his curveball this winter after using it sparingly last season, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.
The promising right-hander used the curve occasionally in the minors, but he essentially kept it in mothballs during his 2018 big-league stint. Ponce de Leon only threw 18 curveballs across his 581 major-league offerings, but he focused on developing it this winter in an effort to enhance an arsenal that already includes a four-seam fastball, changeup and cutter. Ponce de Leon focused more on fastball command during his Sunday outing against the Mets, however, and his use of the power pitch helped lead to three strikeouts. Ponce de Leon is one of several candidates for the Cardinals' open rotation spot after generating a solid 2.73 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 31:13 K:BB across 33.0 innings over 11 appearances (four starts) last season.