Tyler Wells interview

[wildcard]

Throwing and controlling all of his pitches before he left the Twins rehab this season.   Was 310 pounds in 2017.  Lost 50 to 60 pound before ST of 2018 and had a good season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK70GOcjm5s

38 minutes

[Roll Tide]

6 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Throwing and controlling all of his pitchers before he left the Twins rehab this season.   Was 310 pound in 2017.  Lost 50 to 60 pound before ST of 2018 and had a good season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK70GOcjm5s

38 minutes

That’s a lot of weight. Unless he had gastric bypass I’m guessing his weight will be an issue again 

[MCO'sFan]

5 hours ago, Roll Tide said:

That’s a lot of weight. Unless he had gastric bypass I’m guessing his weight will be an issue again 

I agree. Not a good indicator when such a young guy struggles with his weight. I can't remember if it was Sid Fernandez or Ron Darling who lost all that weight and then stunk. He put the weight back on and was affective again.

[Roll Tide]

6 hours ago, MCO'sFan said:

I agree. Not a good indicator when such a young guy struggles with his weight. I can't remember if it was Sid Fernandez or Ron Darling who lost all that weight and then stunk. He put the weight back on and was affective again.

Sid Fernandez was huge when he was with the Orioles. As a young guy I was shocked that he was an MLB player.

[jamalshw]

10 hours ago, MCO'sFan said:

I agree. Not a good indicator when such a young guy struggles with his weight. I can't remember if it was Sid Fernandez or Ron Darling who lost all that weight and then stunk. He put the weight back on and was affective again.

There are a lot of young people who struggle with weight. If he was able to lose 50-60 pounds ahead of the 2018 season and has managed to mostly keep it off until now, that's a good sign to me. It shows dedication given that many of us (myself included) have gone the other direction during this pandemic.

[scOtt]

9 minutes ago, jamalshw said:

There are a lot of young people who struggle with weight. If he was able to lose 50-60 pounds ahead of the 2018 season and has managed to mostly keep it off until now, that's a good sign to me. It shows dedication given that many of us (myself included) have gone the other direction during this pandemic.

The interview sounds like a mentor, LaTroy Hawkins, really set a light bulb off in his head. Challenged him to read some books and it made him really take responsibility for his life. Turned a corner. Hope so.

[Sports Guy]

I’m going to go out on a limb and say weight will have very little to do with why he isn’t a ML success.

[Just Regular]

I'm almost positive it was Sid that had the anecdote of being browbeaten every spring, finally turn up to camp trim one spring, and without his fastball, begetting a different series of questions.   I remember Cardinals rookie Lance Lynn, but the White Sox new guy has found his greatest success in basically Full House mode.

We know in the instances of offensive linemen that to maximize strength the optimal physique isn't the classic picture of In Shape.  Each Homo Sapien pitcher has certain attributes and it certainly seems reasonable some of them pitch better bigger.

[MCO'sFan]

2 hours ago, jamalshw said:

There are a lot of young people who struggle with weight. If he was able to lose 50-60 pounds ahead of the 2018 season and has managed to mostly keep it off until now, that's a good sign to me. It shows dedication given that many of us (myself included) have gone the other direction during this pandemic.

I was not trying to suggest that young people don't struggle with weight but, I venture to say that most young elite athletes don't struggle with weight to this extent. I hope for his sake both from a baseball and health standpoint that he continues to have success in managing it. My concern is what happens when he isn't as motivated to keep it off. 

[NCRaven]

A waist is a terrible thing to mind.

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, MCO'sFan said:

I was not trying to suggest that young people don't struggle with weight but, I venture to say that most young elite athletes don't struggle with weight to this extent. I hope for his sake both from a baseball and health standpoint that he continues to have success in managing it. My concern is what happens when he isn't as motivated to keep it off. 

That’s a concern far down the road.    And there have been quite a few pitchers who were heavy but very good.   At 6’8”, Wells can carry a good bit of weight.    The bigger issue is whether his stuff will play at the major league level.   

[bobmc]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

That’s a concern far down the road.    And there have been quite a few pitchers who were heavy but very good.   At 6’8”, Wells can carry a good bit of weight.    The bigger issue is whether his stuff will play at the major league level.   

His uncle (?) David pitched (pun intended) well carrying 3 bills or more right?  I believe he had a no-no in da Bronx.

[Frobby]

55 minutes ago, bobmc said:

His uncle (?) David pitched (pun intended) well carrying 3 bills or more right?  I believe he had a no-no in da Bronx.

Yeah, it did occur to me that Tyler is not even the fattest pitcher named Wells.   

[Frobby]

23 hours ago, Roll Tide said:

That’s a lot of weight. Unless he had gastric bypass I’m guessing his weight will be an issue again 

Take a look at the interview and the photos at the beginning.  The guy doesn’t look heavy at all.    He’s apparently kept the weight off for three years, so this is the least of my worries.    I didn’t watch the whole interview, but Wells impressed me as a very mature young man.  

[MCO'sFan]

2 hours ago, Frobby said:

That’s a concern far down the road.    And there have been quite a few pitchers who were heavy but very good.   At 6’8”, Wells can carry a good bit of weight.    The bigger issue is whether his stuff will play at the major league level.   

Maybe, but who knows what motivates or demotivates. It may be sooner rather than later. Again, I am not expecting much out of him either way. I fully expect us to send him back. Frankly, I would rather have ZP anyway.