A pitcher breaking the mold

Trevor Bauer, the third pick overall in the 2011 draft, will not be babied. Bauer, well-known for his Tim Lincecum-like pitching mechanics and his unorthodox workout regimen, has scared some major league teams due to his high pitch counts and the fear that he may injure himself due to all the stress he puts on his body.

Bauer disagrees. From a recent Sports Illustrated article:

Bauer saw what those organizations did and then weighed it against information he collected from coaches, classes, books, videos and personal experience. “I just felt like there was a more efficient way for me,” he says. He concluded that his throwing regimen actually strengthened his arm, as long as it was in concert with extensive stretching and sound mechanics. Before this year’s draft, he arranged face-to-face meetings with representatives from the clubs interested in him. He wanted to explain the specifics of his routine and the rationale behind it. He was willing to sacrifice a better slot in the draft—and therefore potentially accept a lower signing bonus—to be with an organization that trusted him.

“I told them all: ‘This is what I do, it’s what I believe in, and if you let me stick with it, I’ll pitch in the major leagues for 20 years,'” Bauer says. “Some were open. Some weren’t. But they needed to know what they were getting into.”

The idea that a lot of hard work and unorthodox training will cause injuries is shortsighted. As the Sports Illustrated article points out:

The gunslingers of America are entering an industry that for more than 20 years has failed to protect them. The most promising one of all has done what he can to protect himself.

Teams are making the same mistake that they made when they thought Brandon Morrow, Brad Lincoln and Andrew Miller were all better and safer choices than a quirky undersized right hander with a weird delivery: Tim Lincecum.

Bauer struck out 203 batters in 136.2 innings and paired it with a WHIP of 0.80 (source: CollegeSplits). He has an insatiable work ethic and a brilliant mind for the game.

Scouts and draft experts should know better by now. If the Diamondbacks are in contention in the NL West this year, Bauer figures to pitch down the stretch.

Maybe they’ll get a firm reminder on why they shouldn’t judge a book by its quirky cover.


Kyle owns Driveline Baseball and Driveline Biomechanics Research, and has authored The Dynamic Pitcher, a comprehensive book and video set dedicated to developing elite youth baseball pitchers. He is also a consultant for an MLB team and a major Division-I college program. Follow him on Twitter @drivelinebases or email him here.
3 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Lucas Apostoleris
12 years ago

I’d love to see some PITCHf/x on Bauer and his 19 pitches.

Kyle Boddy
12 years ago

I bet it would be mostly like Lincecum’s slider/shuuto (sinker/screwball combo) that he displays in his PITCHf/x graphs, as well as a curveball and two or three distinct fastball patterns (two-seam, four-seam, cutter).

Greg Simons
12 years ago

This is very interesting stuff, and I know you had a related article a few months ago, Kyle.  I’ll certainly be paying extra attention to Bauer’s career.