Video: Neftali Feliz and Tae Kyung Ahn
Here're the next pitchers in my Texas Rangers Prospects video series: Neftali Feliz and Tae Kyung Ahn.
almost 3 years ago
NoNameOnCard
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I recall you mentioned a few mechanical flaws in Holland as well.
Between him and Feliz, who would you say is at greater risk for injury? Or, who could potentially see the greatest gains from mechanical adjustments?
Neither of them has a flaw that guarantees injury.
Calling them flaws is sort of misleading, since just about every pitcher on the planet shares them. Of course, this is why elbow injuries are so common. Predicting injuries is pointless, but you can identify risk factors and make an attempt to address them before something goes wrong.
It’s kind of like smoking cigarettes. They’ll put you at risk for all kinds of disease, but some people smoke way more than others. Other people can smoke their whole lives and never suffer any major ill effects.
At this point in time, I like Holland’s mechanics better than Feliz’s mechanics, even though Feliz’s mechanics are the picture of efficiency.
I’ve also always wondered why Holland throws a slider instead of a curveball. I assume he just never figured it out or it’s never been very good. From that arm slot, it’s not very easy to throw a classic supinated/supinating curveball. His arm slot is high enough, and he’s got the mechanics to allow him to throw a pronated curveball. Considering the quality of his slider, I’d really like to see him give it a shot.
by NoNameOnCard on Apr 16, 2009 11:22 AM CDT up reply actions
Yeah, I was trying to think of a better word...
but I woke up at 5:45 this morning and haven’t exactly functioned on a high level today, so I couldn’t think of the appropriate word. Your smoking analogy does put this stuff in perspective. I’ve always taken the biomechanics stuff with a grain of salt in the sense that it isn’t a perfect science, but more or less figured that specific actions more or less guaranteed an injury.
If I understand you correctly, you’re essentially saying that Holland’s slider isn’t really that great of an offering, and given his fastball, he’d benefit more from a curve?
It's based on the [lack of] quality of his slider and his mechanics.
He needs a solid breaking pitch, and I think he could have a really good curveball, especially compared to his slider.
His fastball doesn’t really factor into my thinking on that.
by NoNameOnCard on Apr 16, 2009 12:49 PM CDT up reply actions
Gotcha.
I’m sure it’s obvious to you, but I’m still trying to make pitching development make sense. It seems to me like pitchers learn their pitches in a somewhat arbitrary fashion (I say this because I’ve never been a baseball player and know little about player development), and I wondered if it made more sense for a guy who throws a hard fastball to compliment it with one particular breaking pitch over another.
So, yeah. Hopefully that explains all the random and potentially stupid questions.
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