Jason Aguiar has seen the studies about injuries to pitchers.
The Northeastern strength coach and owner of Pinnacle Health and Sports Performance (Norwood, Mass.) understands that a recent MLB Report on Pitcher Injuries attributed a consistent rise in Tommy John surgeries to pitchers’ collective desire to increase velocity and spin rates.
Aguiar doesn’t see an easy fix.
“Everyone’s chasing that number,” Aguiar said. “Everyone is going to showcases, trying to get seen. Pitchers always tell me they’re going to three or four showcases each summer. They’re throwing hard at those things.
“The coaches who invite them say, ‘We don’t care about velocity; we just want to see you compete.’ But they’re kids. What are they going to do?”
The MLB released its Report on Pitcher Injuries in December, and the findings were generally met with knowing nods from strength coaches across all levels of baseball. The study showed that three main factors have contributed to the rise in pitcher injuries:
