There is a ton of great writing on the web from those who can statistically break down a pitcher or a hitter has done, but too few who can explain the why behind their successes or failures. Enter Carlos Gomez, the Swami of the Sidearmers who brings his understanding of mechanics that helps us to know more of the why. Stats can tell us 100 ways on how Josh Beckett has taken his game to another level, but Gomez tells us how Beckett has altered his arm slot and has kept himself more compact, leading to a big part of the why to his breakout. Stats can tell us that Dontrelle Willis has regressed for a number of reasons, but Gomez breaks down how the DTrain has slowed down too much for his own good, leading to his lackluster #’s. The bottom line is he knows his stuff. I asked him about some of the Cardinal players and prospects and players, and he was kind of enough to respond. Enjoy.
First of all, what is your baseball background?
I played college baseball at Purdue University, where I had a truly “poopy” career. I went through periods of Ankielities (Steve Blass disease), getting bombed and just plain not pitching well. My college stats are pretty terrible. After graduating with an Industrial Engineering degree, I was getting ready to go work a “real job”, but I had six months until the job started. I had no real shot of playing any form of pro baseball since I was so messed up by the time I graduated (I could barely break 80mph). So I re-invented myself as a sidearmer and found success with it. The first tryout I went to (a Phillies tryout in Valparaiso, Indiana), I hit 87mph several times. I eventually gave up a great job in Atlanta to go play independent ball. I played about 3 years of independent baseball along with a stint in the Puerto Rico Winter League.
So I take it your “poopy” er..um, overall lack of athleticism that pushed you into studying mechanics?
Well, I’ve been a student of mechanics mostly because I’ve been obsessed with figuring out the most efficient way to throw a baseball. That said, you are totally right. I’m not a great athlete, so I needed every edge I could get.
When you’re looking at pitchers, what are some of the main things you look for? What are the things that make you say “I think we may have something here”, and what are the red flags?
Arm action is very key to me, although as you may know, I like to see an aggressive lower body/hip/torso move as well. When a pitcher is able to coordinate all those moving parts quickly and it is matched up to a at least a decent arm action, then I think to myself “there’s something there.” For me, a quick tempo and good rhythm are signs of athleticism. I like athletes that pitch, if that makes any sense. Red flags (performance-wise) are the passive, really “pitcher-looking” types that stay over the rubber forever and don’t really go after it. Some succeed with such a passive approach, but I like pitchers that go after it. Red flags injury-wise are long arm actions and abrupt finishes a la Nick Schmidt, the Padres’ 1st rounder.
Same question, only hitters this time?
Good traits are (again) a good hip/hand load followed by efficient rotation with the hips and hands working in unison. Matt LaPorta in this year’s draft is a really good example.On the flip side, “disconnected” swings send up a red flag. In other words, those are swings where (for example) the hands get out in front of the body too quickly. It generally leads to long swings and/or a lack of power.I happen to like power swings, so I’m generally tough on singles’ hitters swings.
Speaking of non power swings, you’ve caught the ire of some Cardinal fans when you called Kozma out on having a turd of a swing in his draft video. Numerous sources have said the Cardinals had several scouts looking at him and thought the swing was apparently 1st round worthy, yet you are less then impressed to say the least.
He’s off to a decent start (last I checked) but his swing is terrible if you’re looking for power out of him. He has such a hands-driven swing that it’ll very hard for him to generate good power with it at the pro level. Sure, he’ll get into a few and put some backspin on some hard fastballs and he might get a wall scraper or two, but he won’t hit with consistent power with that swing. I don’t want a .280-.290 hitter with 5 bombs in my lineup unless he can pick it like Adam Everett. There is hope though…. He’s apparently very coachable because he learned the “throw the hands at the ball” cue REALLY well. Maybe someone down the line will teach him how to use his hips to generate power.
Based on your assessment, is Kyle Russell’s swing worth his reported $1.4 million asking price?
hmmm, $1.4 is mid 1st round money, isn’t it? I thought he was more of a late first rounder. $1.4 is maybe a little too much, but there are worse players that get that kind of money. I’d give him the 1.4 myself. I love his swing, even if it is long.
Clayton Mortensen didn’t put up stellar numbers in college, but so far so good in the minors. You seemed to really like his mechanics and he’s proved you right so far. Can you elaborate a little bit on your thoughts about him?
He’s that athletic/quick tempo pitcher that I tend to prefer. Watch his video and watch him race through his motion. What I didn’t mention in the review is that it seems like he has a “heavy”, good tilt, sinking fastball that could play better against wood bats.
I understand you’re pretty high on Memphis’s closer Chris Perez. What do you like about him. and is there anything you’re not liking?
I had him at #14 on my list last year, so yeah I was high on him. His arm action is superb, and he’s really aggressive and again has that quick tempo I prefer. Oh, and his slider is LEGIT. I’m not liking his walk totals and I’d have to go back and take a look if it’s mechanics related.
Eddie Degerman is a rare bird, some say his delivery pretty Iron Mike, me personally I say it’s well, I don’t know how to describe it. Just plain bizarre. He was dominating in low and got shelled in high. Do you think he’s just a novelty that was destined to get exposed against the higher levels, or does he really have some big league potential?
I think he can succeed at the big league level but I think a move to the bullpen is inevitable. He doesn’t have overpowering stuff and his fastball is pretty straight (tough to get movement from that arm angle). I think he’ll have to rely on commanding his off speed and his “different-ness” to succeed. The Cards have been smart to not move him there yet, but I’d guess it’s coming soon. Degerman is precisely the type of guy you want to make your bullpen unique and have a different look. What if the Cards traded for Chad Bradford and you (as a hitter) had to face Bradford and Degerman in back-to-back at bats? No thanks.
I don’t know if you’ve witness P.J. Walters pitch at anytime, but I’ll let you in on the numerous scouting reports we’ve heard. Good slider, 85 MPH fastball, and a change up with serious screwball movement. And silky smooth mechanics with great command. He’s done nothing but destroy hitting between low A to AA levels, but can he survive with that low of velo?
I’ve never seen Walters pitch, but I’ll try to find video and info on him. There’s plenty of low velo pitchers that succeed in the bigs, but his command has to be legit for him to do so. I’m sorry, that’s a stock, Joe Morgan-ish answer.
I don’t know how much of Anthony Reyes you’ve seen. He was the #1 prospect in the Cardinal system 2 years running but hasn’t good success in the majors quite yet. Stat heads seem to think he’s bound for a rebound but watching him he seems to have a real trouble repeating his delivery and can’t pitch out of the stretch consistently? Pretend you’re his pitching coach. What do you tell him?
I haven’t seen Reyes pitch in a while, but from what I remember, he’s a typical old-school Tom House guy—meaning that he doesn’t use his lower body well at all to throw even throw he has great front-side mechanics. I’d try to make him more aggressive in every facet of his delivery, beginning with his lower body. To hell with being “smooth,” and pitching to contact. Let’s get him driving hard at the hitters and throwing the living s#*% out of the ball.
Any other players in the Cardinal system you’ve seen that you like?
Jess Todd: Love his aggressiveness. Like I said in the draft review, he might have he’ll probably end up in the pen and have a Turk Wendell-like career….or better.
What do you think of Rick Ankiel’s swing?
It’s actually pretty good, although I haven’t seen a whole bunch of swings. He stays behind the ball well. He loads the hands/shoulder pretty well and turns on the ball. He does not “throw the hands at the ball.” I don’t think his power is a fluke. I hope the HGH stuff doesn’t undermine his accomplishments.
The Cardinals preach heavy on the “pitch to contact” philosophy, which equates to the thought that about all their starting pitchers learn to throw the 2 seam fastball. Some, like Reyes and Ottavino have struggled to adapt to it. Your thoughts?
I’m sure the “pitch to contact” thing works on some, but I am against it with some types of pitchers. I mean, Reyes was a guy who (I thought) would profile as a strikeout pitcher. He has a hard, riding 4-seamer and decently sharp breaking stuff. Yes, there are contact pitchers that can succeed with that approach, but the ability to strike hitters out is great predictor of future success. Why would you take that away? I preach an aggressive attack of the middle of the strike zone early in the count, but well, again, I just know don’t why you’d curb a strikeout pitcher’s ability to strike people out.
Thanks to Carlos for his time. You can read his work at BBTF and the Hardball Times. You can also read other’s interviews of Gomez at Baseball Prospectus
and Jack Cobra.
Filed under: Interviews
erik
azruavatar
fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
“To hell with being “smooth,” and pitching to contact. Let’s get him driving hard at the hitters and throwing the living s#*% out of the ball.”
Love that quote, I think it tells all about Reyes really.
Glad you liked the quote, LOL.
Erik, thanks a bunch for the interview. I’ll check throughout the day if anyone has any questions or comments that I can help with.
Carlos
Carlos-
What are your thoughts on lau’s art of hitting .300?
BJM
Great interview Erik and Carlos, thanks for stopping by. If you are around Carlos I have a few questions for you:
1. What do you think of Bryan Anderson’s swing — how projectable?
2. What do you think of Mark McCormick’s mechanics?
3. Daryl Jones - Any serious swing issues?
Thanks.
Kendall
In what universe did the Anthony Reyes with decently sharp breaking stuff exist?
BJM–
Don’t remember much from it anymore except for “Weight transfer” and “one-arm finish.”
I like the weight transfer part, but it seemed like Lau really emphasized the “knob to the ball” thing that leads to handsy swings. Also, I understand the level swing and “swing down” so that you can get backspin and more carry, but if you chop down too much you create too much backspin. The swing is not level, it should have a slightly upward arc. I’m much more in favor of Ted Williams’ approach.
Kendall—
Basing these on their ‘05 draft videos, which I just saw really quickly:
1) Anderson–OK swing, maybe a tad handsy. Didn’t really make me jump out of my chair and say WOW, there’s power there. I can see some power potential there as he stays behind the ball decently well and really tries to lift the ball. But it did seem like he had too much of an uppercut there as well. He also seemed to spin on his back foot rather than turn against his front foot. OK, not great.
2)McCormick–aggressive, yes. Decent arm action, yes. Didn’t look like he loaded his hips that well, but somehow got 97. Red flag–His lead arm mechanics are REALLY bad. My guess would be:
a)Control problems?
b)arm problems? I would guess front of shoulder/biceps tendonitis stuff.
3)Jones–WAY to hands-driven of a swing. Don’t like it at all. Bad disconnect, power? I don’t know how he’ll hit for any power with that swing. Remember what I said about Revere, the Twins’ pick this year? Think Revere with maybe a tad more power potential, which is not saying much.
BTW, I swear that I didn’t look at McCormick’s scouting profile, but I just did some digging and found this….
http://hstexas.scout.com/a.z?s=378&p=9&c=2&cid=675148&nid=2900302&fhn=1&ssf=1&RequestedURL=http%3a%2f%2fhstexas.scout.com%2fa.z%3fs%3d378%26p%3d9%26c%3d2%26cid%3d675148%26nid%3d2900302%26fhn%3d1
Shoulder surgery last year? Yikes, sometimes you hate to be right. This kid obviously throws hard and I’m sure that it’s part of the high risk/high reward thing.
Hi Carlos,
Thanks for the interview and for stopping by.
How much have you seen of Kozma’s hitting - live ABs vs. example clips, or what? My curiosity stems from wondering how precise his swing really is - and the hope that the inconsistencies that often come from being an 18-yr-old athlete are a positive in this case. Maybe his hands-driven approach is not very ingrained?
I saw another example of Kozma’s swing that confirmed it for me:
http://perfectgame.org/
Go to the bottom left of that page and there’s video of his swing there as well. Not good, same thing.
As to this:
“Maybe his hands-driven approach is not very ingrained?”
I think it might be. And I seem to remember an interview where he talked about how he had really bought into it because of how a coach of his (???) had told sold him on the benefits of extension and getting the hands out. To try to convince him otherwise is gonna be really tough.
“In what universe did the Anthony Reyes with decently sharp breaking stuff exist?”
Back in the day, people used to talk about his slider as being plus. Look of scouting profiles of years’ past and you’ll find that.
Thnx for answering our questions–was wondering if you could take a quick look at some of the scouting videos of some other draftees and give us your initial impressions…
link here http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2007/drafttracker.jsp?p=0&s=30&sc=pick_number&so=&st=number&ft=TM&fv=stl
in particular hooker, eager, kopp and henley? er.. and hage, zawacki…yes i’m getting greedy.
Carlos-
The Lau vs Williams thing kinda begs the question. Should there be different swing for players of differing skill sets? Williams was a extremely gifted hitter–Lau, not so much. I totally agree with you about Kozma not being a first rounder because teams should try to find the Ted Williams (supremely gifted) of the bunch. But that said for Kozma to be succesful as a major leaguer, he might have to rely on a more handsy swing than you would teach.
What I have been wondering if there is a arguement in pitching mechanics (since that is what I teach) along the lines of Williams/Lau? Are there thing that I should be teaching less talented pitchers to do, that would differ from the more talented pitcher?
I also have a question on you delivery. It appears that the side arm motion actually loads the scapula well and the upper body doesn’t have to travel far to get in a good finish position. I am curious though, does the side arm motion force you to release the ball sooner?
Sure thing Erik—
Hooker: Ugly, ugly mechanics. Talk about “not clean.” Check out his lead arm action. He seems like he has good stuff, with a big deuce that might dominate low-level hitters. He’d be a no for me though
Eager: another no. Looks really tense up there. What is that little ritual before every pitch? Looks too “pither-like” to me? Arm action is fair and has abrupt finish. I like his effort though.
Kopp: Kopp I’ve liked, but I wish he’s use his body more aggressively to really get out there more instead of trying to be so effortless. Good arm action, OK finish, good lead arm stuff. I wish they had video from the side to check out though.
I couldn’t get Henley;s video to work, but how about….
Descalso: Very nice hip/hand load. Lots of extra noise in his setup at first, but he gets in good hitting position. I like this guy.
Stutes: Really quick arm, although he has what some consider to be a risky arm action. His elbow gets higher than his shoulder on the way back (shoulder impingements???)
BJM—
Great question and you’re right. Some of my kids can’t seem to able to do some of the more advanced things. In those cases, you have to adjust to their athletic ability.
re:sidearming
I don’t know about the release point, but I would think it is similar. We can’t go north-south, but the release point (in a way) has to compensate for being so out towards the 3rd base side, that you would have to hold on to the ball a little longer. I’m not totally sure on that though.
On the sidearm question. I think you and I are on the same page that pithcers that release closer to home seem to have sneakier velocity on the pitches. I was wondering if you could acheive the same effect from the side-arm angle?
In response to the sharp breaking pitches of Anthony Reyes…
In December 2005 Baseball America said Reyes had the best slider in the system. Wonder why we’ve never seen it in the bigs.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/features/05top10s/cardinals.html
Carlos, how locked in are guys mechanics by the time the reach the minor league level? Do they often change significantly or is it a question of what you see now is what you´ll probably get? (maybe seperate naswers for pitchers and hitters)
Carlos Gomez wrote “Hooker: Ugly, ugly mechanics. Talk about “not clean.” Check out his lead arm action. He seems like he has good stuff, with a big deuce that might dominate low-level hitters. He’d be a no for me though”
I hope you feel good about making me cry now Carlos.
The Cardinals really have outdone themselves by wrecking everything Anthony Reyes used to be.
When the kid came up, he was a gunslinger that could fire his mid-90’s fastball in four quadrants of the strike zone, had a hard sluve, and a bugs bunny change that could sometimes reach 20 mph off of his fastball. Disgusting.
Now his delivery is completely out of sync, he can’t pitch out of the stretch, can’t hit spots, can’t throw hard, and can’t command his changeup. He can only hit numbers in about a 10 mph range now. Not to mention the psychological damage the juggling of the rotation caused. Go out there, pitch to contact, and if you pitch badly you’re going to Memphis in favor of a guy that’s much worse than you, but has experience. Go get em, no pressure.
The next step is to sell him for pennies on the dollar, or schedule an MRI. It’s almost over, and it’s a shame.
Great Q&A, thanks for taking the time to do this for us.
Have you looked at Adam Wainwright? Mostly interested from the injury risk aspect since he looks to be a very important part of the teams future.
Nice interview. I wish he would have addressed PJ Walters better. It is safe to say that he is our best pitching prospect.
Despite Walters success this year, he still lags behind a few pitchers in the system.
thats true az , but hes gaining fast.
“On the sidearm question. I think you and I are on the same page that pithcers that release closer to home seem to have sneakier velocity on the pitches. I was wondering if you could acheive the same effect from the side-arm angle?”
OK, I’m gonna sound like a geek, but here it goes. Take a pitcher that is 6 ft tall and after his stride and drive releases the ball say, 5 1/2 feet up from the ground. For a low strike at say, 2 ft up from the ground at the plate. So it’s thrown from say 54 ft to the front of the plate. So, the pitcher’s release point is not 54ft from the front of the plate, but the hypotenuse of the 54 ft by 3.5 foot triangle. Now that isn’t much, and the calculation comes out to maybe 2 inches of extra distance. If a sidearmer were to stride the same distance and release at waist high and throw it “straight at the hitter” (I know gravity affects the ball greatly), he is throwing it (in a way) closer to home plate. All that said, I think sidearmers look “sneaky” cuz it’s different.
“Carlos, how locked in are guys mechanics by the time the reach the minor league level? Do they often change significantly or is it a question of what you see now is what you´ll probably get? (maybe seperate naswers for pitchers and hitters)”
Really tough question to answer although I would think that mechanics and swings would change a bit while developing. The reason I’m so harsh with guys whose mechanics are terrible and whose swings are terrible is because dramatic changes in either take time. In the case of Kyle Russell, for example, his swing is long, yes. But the “Base” of his swing is solid, so the changes there would be easier to implement than changing Kozma’s swing.
Shhh—
sorry. His mechanics are just not good, very sloppy.
I haven’t looked at Wainwright in-depth, and I apologize that I haven’t been able to see what Walters can do and his mechanics.
I get a lot of requests on Anthony Reyes, and I might have to think about tackling him because the Cardinals’ fan are 1) very good to me (despite Kozma..LOL) 2) very loyal fans
as much as i like walters, few of his ilk would rate the top pitching prospect in any system.
he’s behind guys like herron, garcia, ottavino and mortenson in my book.
hey carlos, what’s your thoughts on ottavino?
I was pretty harsh on Ottavino last year. I took a look at him more closely and started liking his mechanics and stuff a little more….based on his draft video.
I hate how SLOW he is early in his delivery and wish he’d just get it going a little more. I said that he’d probably plateau at the AA level last year, and while that may end up being true, I might’ve been premature with that assessment. Speaking of which, why was he not given at least a taste of AA?
Based on that video, he looks like a back of the rotation starter
i dunno why ott wasn’t given a shot at AA exactly, other then PB was just a few games back in their division but they could’ve moved somebody up, like tyler herron or someone else. springfield probably could’ve used him, given the failures of adam daniels and others who should be moved to the bullpen.
Thanks Carlos,
I really appreciate your insight.
I’ve watched probably 90% of the pitches Anthony Reyes has thrown in the majors.
It boggles my mind that BA thought he had the best slider in the system in 2005.
I don’t know how people can take what these guys say as gospel.
i’m with ya mitch, most of their stuff is 2nd, 3rd, 4th hand. i trust mckamey a lot, because he actually goes to a lot of games. what we really need is more fans to go with video cameras and post their stuff at firstinning.
Well at least I respect that Carlos at least had a basis for that opinion.
According to ESPN’s Inside edge Anthony has thrown only 4% sliders this year. Maybe he does not realize it’s the best in the system.
Carlos,
I know you haven’t seen video on him, but he started CF for Rice sometime in the future could you track down some video of him and let us know what you think. I am probably obsessed with his success. He reminds me of a young Dykstra when he came up with the Mets.
Any thoughts on Herron?
Reyes’ never really had a slider, it always looked more like a hard curve to me. Either way, he doesn’t throw it as hard as he used to, and relies on it too much runners on base.
When he was right, his breaking ball was his third best pitch.
If Carlos is still floating around and looking for ideas, I would love to see a comparison of his delivery out of the stretch. He has gotten murdered with runners on base this year, there has to be a reason. Something has go have gone wrong mechanically, or he’s just a basket case.
Carlos, Im a sidearm lefthander and have been given conflicting advice on what my front side should look like from a sidearm angle, or my frontside checkpoints. I am at a pretty straight sidearm arm angle but do not alter my spine level as much as some guys do. I dip, but not to the point where my back is paralel to the ground. What would you suggest for my front side?