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bavarianinnman
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LAKELAND, Fla. -- It's easy to forget that Rick Porcello is so young, because we heard so much about him before he was drafted out of New Jersey's Seton Hall Prep, because there was a lot of anticipation before he made his major league debut, and because he's already spent three years in the big leagues.
But Porcello just turned 23 a couple of months ago, and he's younger than Stephen Strasburg and just a little older than Matt Moore. He's got 89 starts in the big leagues, but is still developing, still learning.
He made a significant adjustment in this offseason, and already feels better for it. Last year, Porcello started his throwing program right after New Year's, which is standard operating procedure for a lot of pitchers. But it wasn't until after Porcello started playing catch in January of 2011 that he slammed his index finger in a door, creating a bubble of fluid underneath the nail. He had to have the fingernail drained, and couldn't start throwing in earnest for a while. When spring training opened in February, Porcello was behind. He felt like he had to push to catch up, which set him back, and he opened last season with the worst fastball velocity of his career.
"I didn't get full strength back until later in the year," he said the other day at the Tigers' spring training facility.
Changing velocity
From Justin Havens of ESPN Stats & Information, Porcello's month-to-month fastball velocity the past three years. As you can see, his velocity spiked at the end of last season. MONTH 2009 2010 2011
April 92.0 91.0 89.7
May 90.4 91.3 90.1
June 90.8 92.0 90.1
July 89.9 91.6 91.1
Aug. 91.4 91.6 91.0
Sept. 91.4 90.0 91.1
Oct. 91.5 89.7 92.7
By October, Porcello had finally regained his fastball (see table), generating some of the best velocity of his career, and his start in the playoffs against the Texas Rangers was among his best. He shut out the Rangers into the sixth, but more importantly, it all felt right to him. The ball was coming out of his hand better, Porcello thought; there was more zip on his fastball, and his breaking ball was sharper.
Having gone through the frustrating experience of always trying to catch up last year, Porcello decided to start his throwing program earlier this winter. He picked up a ball for the first time and started playing catch Dec. 1, a month earlier than last winter, and while the Tigers haven't formally started spring training, he's already bullpen sessions, throwing from a mound.
"I'm really trying to get myself to midseason form at the beginning of April," Porcello said. "I want to give myself the best chance to do well right off the bat, and not be concerned about mechanical things or arm strength. I just go out there and compete."
"I feel great; there is definitely a noticeable difference. There's no tightness. My workload is more right now. I'm on track."
But Porcello just turned 23 a couple of months ago, and he's younger than Stephen Strasburg and just a little older than Matt Moore. He's got 89 starts in the big leagues, but is still developing, still learning.
He made a significant adjustment in this offseason, and already feels better for it. Last year, Porcello started his throwing program right after New Year's, which is standard operating procedure for a lot of pitchers. But it wasn't until after Porcello started playing catch in January of 2011 that he slammed his index finger in a door, creating a bubble of fluid underneath the nail. He had to have the fingernail drained, and couldn't start throwing in earnest for a while. When spring training opened in February, Porcello was behind. He felt like he had to push to catch up, which set him back, and he opened last season with the worst fastball velocity of his career.
"I didn't get full strength back until later in the year," he said the other day at the Tigers' spring training facility.
Changing velocity
From Justin Havens of ESPN Stats & Information, Porcello's month-to-month fastball velocity the past three years. As you can see, his velocity spiked at the end of last season. MONTH 2009 2010 2011
April 92.0 91.0 89.7
May 90.4 91.3 90.1
June 90.8 92.0 90.1
July 89.9 91.6 91.1
Aug. 91.4 91.6 91.0
Sept. 91.4 90.0 91.1
Oct. 91.5 89.7 92.7
By October, Porcello had finally regained his fastball (see table), generating some of the best velocity of his career, and his start in the playoffs against the Texas Rangers was among his best. He shut out the Rangers into the sixth, but more importantly, it all felt right to him. The ball was coming out of his hand better, Porcello thought; there was more zip on his fastball, and his breaking ball was sharper.
Having gone through the frustrating experience of always trying to catch up last year, Porcello decided to start his throwing program earlier this winter. He picked up a ball for the first time and started playing catch Dec. 1, a month earlier than last winter, and while the Tigers haven't formally started spring training, he's already bullpen sessions, throwing from a mound.
"I'm really trying to get myself to midseason form at the beginning of April," Porcello said. "I want to give myself the best chance to do well right off the bat, and not be concerned about mechanical things or arm strength. I just go out there and compete."
"I feel great; there is definitely a noticeable difference. There's no tightness. My workload is more right now. I'm on track."
