The Windup Newsletter ⚾ | This is The Athletic’s MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox.So much can change for a starting pitcher who is traded at the deadline. Not only do they get a new set of defenders behind them, a new lineup supporting them and a new lease on life (for those leaving bad teams for contenders), but they also get to interact with a new coaching staff.The acquiring team almost certainly had a plan in place for the pitcher when he was acquired. Good enough is not good enough — the new pitching coach and his staff are usually eager to change the pitch mix, alter some mechanics and see if they can squeeze a little more quality out of their new arm.Let’s take a look at five of the starting pitchers who made the most aggressive changes since they were dealt and see if they’ve uncovered some hidden upside in the three weeks since. I’m Eno Sarris — welcome to The Windup!Tarik Skubal, LHP, Los Angeles Dodgers No pitcher traded at the deadline saw their stuff numbers improve from July to August as much as Skubal has thus far. (Here’s a refresher on what “stuff” means.) And when something like that happens, you look first to the velocity.In July, Skubal’s fastball dipped to 96.4 mph, the lowest average velocity in a month for him since April 2024. In every game with the Dodgers since, he’s averaged over 97 mph and recovered the kind of velocity that spurred him to two straight Cy Young wins.That’s not the only thing that changed when Skubal moved west. His changeup, which had been flattening out, gained an inch of drop, and he started featuring it more than he had all year. But even that made him more like he was last year and less like he was earlier this season with the Tigers.Maybe he’s a little further out from the elbow surgery he had earlier this year and is feeling healthier. Or maybe moving to a team with another championship on its mind spurred another level of competitiveness.“Pressure has always been a privilege to me,” Skubal said in his first comments after joining the Dodgers. “I’m excited. It’s what fuels me.”José Soriano, RHP, Toronto Blue JaysHow much should you throw a pitch that is not great by itself but opens up better possibilities for your other pitches? This is a core question that has had different answers over time. Baseball has shifted back and forth between “just throw your best pitches the most often” and “throw as many pitches as possible.” And it looks like the Angels and Blue Jays may have had different perspectives on this debate.Soriano is, at heart, a sinker guy. He throws a high-90s bowling ball that has five inches more drop than average, and few starting pitchers get more ground balls from their sinkers. But strikeouts still matter, and to open up the bottom of the strike zone for his curveball and splitter, he’s thrown an OK four-seamer at the top of the zone.