White, Strasburg, and Gibson: Hyperabduction, Hyperabduction, and Clean Respectively

[TJ Wrangler]

http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/ProfessionalPitcherAnalyses/StephenStrasburg.html

I posted this in another thread, but I think this has a place in this discussion too. Here is Chris O'Leary's take on Strasburg's mechanics.

[rhall]

I figured this was worthy of its own thread. Someone asked me about Alex White's mechanics in another thread, and I thought the tidbits I discovered deserved to be posted here. Here is what I posted.

http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1634481&postcount=42

White has a terrible hand break that looks to be leading to a huge timing problem, and he has a severe case of hyperabduction. This is terrible news for his shoulder.

Curious what your thoughts are in comparing Alex White and Aaron Crow. Do you see them pretty similarly, at least mechanically?

[TJ Wrangler]

Curious what your thoughts are in comparing Alex White and Aaron Crow. Do you see them pretty similarly, at least mechanically?

Well Crow definitely had a hand break that I don't like. He breaks with his elbows as well and he doesn't appear to stride with his foot sideways.

His arm also is lagging behind his torso, as it is just getting to the high cocked position after his torso has rotated. This means his timing is bad and he is rushing. His shoulder and elbow will take a lot of abuse as a result.

I also don't like how he cocks his wrist after he breaks his hands. This unnecessarily fires his forearm and puts strain on the tendons in the elbow. I'm not a fan of wasted movement, and this is not an exception.

This was all I could come up with in a few minutes, but I don't have the time right now to go into depth. Sorry, but does this give you a general idea?

[rhall]

Well Crow definitely had a hand break that I don't like. He breaks with his elbows as well and he doesn't appear to stride with his foot sideways.

His arm also is lagging behind his torso, as it is just getting to the high cocked position after his torso has rotated. This means his timing is bad and he is rushing. His shoulder and elbow will take a lot of abuse as a result.

I also don't like how he cocks his wrist after he breaks his hands. This unnecessarily fires his forearm and puts strain on the tendons in the elbow. I'm not a fan of wasted movement, and this is not an exception.

This was all I could come up with in a few minutes, but I don't have the time right now to go into depth. Sorry, but does this give you a general idea?

Yes, thank you, that's a good picture of your thoughts on Crow.

When I saw that you saw White as having a big hyperabduction and timing problem, I just wondered if you saw them similarly.

If you had to pick between the two, who would you rather take a chance on? Not necessarily who is the better prospect, but who's mechanics would you take to work with?

[TJ Wrangler]

Yes, thank you, that's a good picture of your thoughts on Crow.

When I saw that you saw White as having a big hyperabduction and timing problem, I just wondered if you saw them similarly.

If you had to pick between the two, who would you rather take a chance on? Not necessarily who is the better prospect, but who's mechanics would you take to work with?

Thats a tough one. White has less mileage on his arm, but Crow's arm action is better and could be easier to fix. I'd probably take Crow, but it's a close one.

[dbc33]

White struck out 14 in 6 innings last Saturday, and Strasburg struck out 16 in 6.2 last night.

[TJ Wrangler]

White struck out 14 in 6 innings last Saturday, and Strasburg struck out 16 in 6.2 last night.

Yes, they both have amazing talent. I want to change my post earlier and now say I'd take White over Crow.

With that talent comes injury potential due to poor mechanics, but I can't argue the talent of White or Strasburg.