The Mechanics List: My Top 5 Pitchers
I’m trying out something new. Rather than telling you what I think a pitcher does well or poorly, I just want to stay positive and show you some of my favorite throwers in the league. I say throwers because I’m focusing on mechanics only! When it comes to favorite pitchers, there is a few more factors at play. Right now, I’m focusing on their deliveries of the baseball. I’ll stick to my top 5 and what I find so neat about each of them. This is a tough task but here I go in reverse order!
Number 5: Edwin Díaz
Coming in at number 5, Edwin Díaz. Everything about the delivery is volatile and sexy. This is a 101 MPH fastball. By most standards, one would say that is gas. How does he do it? Well, Díaz is a freaky athlete. Back in the day before baseball players realized they had to lift weights, there were those anomaly gas throwers. They’d throw 100 and everybody would toss it up to them being a freaky/twitchy athlete. That is the correct prescription for Díaz.
On a point-by-point basis, his mechanics are quite wonderful. But I am not sure if Díaz is the type you tell young kids to throw like, if you will. But if they do, then let them have fun! One of my favorite traits of his is the mobility of his scapular retraction. That’s this point.
Lots of folks know this as T-spine mobility. When you hold your arms up to your sides parallel to the ground, it makes the shape of the letter T. T-spine mobility and scapular health are imperative for baseball players, or any rotational athletes. Díaz is a freak when it comes to T-spine mobility and it shows in his throwing when he makes the separation between his lead arm and throwing arm. I’d say its his signature quirk, and the big reason why I love his mechanics.
Number 4: Sixto Sánchez
Of course, Sixto had to come in the top 5 of this list. Why does Sixto throw 100? He’s just a diesel human being listed at 6’0, 235 lbs. A lot of people wonder how it is that a delivery which appears low effort can yield a 100.6 MPH fastball. When everything in a pitcher’s delivery moves in sync and at the right time, it appears low effort to the eye. A good comparison for this on the hitter’s side is Robinson Canó. Combine pure strength with efficient sequencing, and you get Sixto Sánchez slinging 100. He often gets the Pedro Martinez comps, which I kinda get, but Pedro did not throw as hard as Sixto and it’s probably because of the extra 60 lbs of mass.
But my absolute favorite trait of his is sick post-release leg swing. His front hip holds back a lot of his energy throughout most of the delivery, but when its time to go his rear leg comes firing. A lot of folks have struggled with how to rank Sixto because of his pitch mix or low-ish strikeout totals, but Ozuna’s face says a lot about what its like to be in the batter’s box against him.
Ha ha ha. Yeah, I’d be just as shook if I was him.
Number 3: Luis Patiño
Coming in at #3 is Tampa Bay Rays prospect, Luis Patiño. As you can see, I have a sort of affinity for Latino hurlers. There’s just something about these three pitcher’s mechanics that makes me want to get in my backyard and imitate their deliveries in a nice game of wiffle ball. I must say, Patiño’s leg kick is Kershaw-esque.
When I see this delivery, I think flexibility. In his short career, he has gained the reputation of being a superior athlete. It certainly comes across in his delivery and allows him to throw this 100.3 MPH fastball.
Let’s get to my favorite Patiño trait. It’s tough to not pick the leg kick. It’s not something many pitchers can control or repeat. The reason why I find it so unique is because he makes sure his hands and leg are moving together. Check it out.
It’s as if his hands are attached to his knee as they move in sync. This is very important. One way that many pitchers sync up their upper and lower body is by going hands over head in their windup, but Patiño does so by shifting his hands throughout the delivery, especially as his leg lifts. The upper body is almost catching the energy shift of the lower body. This is difficult to repeat, but Patiño does so with ease.
Number 2: Luis Castillo
I love love love Luis Castillo’s mechanics. The arm slot is so unique and a big reason why you see these right-on-right changeups work so well. It’s so deceptive and tunnels very well with his fastball. The one thing that is special about the delivery is he somehow manages 97.5 MPH on the sinker and 4-seam despite throwing from a unique, lower arm slot.
He’s able to do this because his arm slot is almost perfectly on his plane of rotation. By holding superb posture, his shoulders stay relatively parallel to the ground throughout rotation. To get his arm on this plane, it must appear as if he is a side winder.
Traditionally, we don’t expect pitchers who throw like this to sling such gas, but it matches Castillo’s rotation perfectly. Some pitchers are absurdly unique! These types of traits are what make them special. And don’t think I forgot about the finger gun.
Number 1: Walker Buehler
Figuring out 2–5 was hard for me, but I knew #1 the entire time. I am obsessed with Walker Buehler’s mechanics and you should be too. He’s listed at 6’2, 185 lbs but he looks lanky as can be. The old school mechanics are sweet. Like I said before, there are some pitchers who go hand over head in their windup. It is a quiet movement that one would not think has a significant influence on a pitcher’s sequencing, but it really does! The way I like to put it is that he is building controlled momentum. Scientifically speaking, it is a great way to sequence the hips with the upper body.
Most movements in baseball are all about rhythm. The longer a pitcher can keep his hips in rhythm, the better off he will be. From glove over head to continuous hip movement, Buehler is always in perfect rhythm. One common trait among some of these pitchers is the sidestep in the windup. Why do they do it? To keep that wonderful rhythm moving smoothly. Buehler’s sidestep is great for him because it aligns his direction with home plate before leg lift.
Can you tell what is perfect in all 3 of these frames? The posture. If I was to teach a little kid one thing he could do to throw harder, it would be to always maintain good posture. It lets him use his hips more than his quads to rotate down the mound. I could go on about Buehler for days, but the thing I always come back to is that posture. It allows him to even everything out in his mechanics. It’s such a simple fundamental, but it really is a pure skill!
That rounds it out though folks. Let’s do a quick recap:
1. Walker Buehler
2. Luis Castillo
3. Luis Patiño
4. Sixto Sánchez
5. Edwin Díaz
All super cool throwers who can get it up to 100. Coincidence? I think not. Sorry to the soft-throwing aces like Kyle Hendriks, but the 100 MPH hurlers have fascinating mechanics. Here are a few that just missed my top 5 in no particular order:
· Marcus Stroman because of the body control
· Gerrit Cole because of the perfection (although I’ve nitpicked him before)
· Jacob deGrom because of the continuous progression to perfection
· Luis Severino for the wonderful lead leg block that leads to full knee extension
I really hope you all enjoyed this mini trip into my baseball brain. I love mechanics. Baseball players have very similar traits at times, but each player has something unique that makes them special. That includes hitters! That list will be next.
