Washington Nationals: Examining Stephen Strasburg’s Decision To Eliminate His Windup

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg has looked the same as he always has this Spring, a hard thrower with four or five plus pitches, depending on the day.  There has, however, been one glaring change; Strasburg has eliminated his windup and has exclusively pitched out of the stretch.

For as long as Stephen Strasburg has been a member of the Washington Nationals, he has dealt with various injuries.  The former first overall pick has definitely had his fair share of aches and pains and has struggled to stay on the field because of it.

Strasburg is always among the best pitchers in baseball when he’s healthy, but is rarely healthy long enough to make a huge impact.  The Washington Nationals have made the playoffs three times and Strasburg has only been able to make one start due to injuries.

Now that the Nats have signed Strasburg to a seven year, $175 million extension, it is imperative that he stays healthy.  The Nats have committed a significant amount of money to Strasburg and he does them no good sitting on the bench.  In an effort to stay healthy, Strasburg has ditched his windup and will now exclusively pitch from the stretch.

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The biggest benefit of pitching from the windup is that the pitcher is able to generate more force, allowing him to throw harder.  Another benefit of the windup is that since your whole body is moving, there is typically less stress put on your arm.  This isn’t always the case and doesn’t necessarily apply to Strasburg because of his inverted W.

A major down-side of the windup is that it can be difficult to repeat.  There are lots of moving parts and it takes thousands of pitches to perfect.  If a pitcher does not repeat his delivery well, it can possibly lead to control issues and inconsistency.

There are many positives of pitching from the stretch, which Strasburg has undoubtedly considered. Conversely, the stretch’s mechanics are much simpler and therefore easier to repeat.  Maintaining consistency is a much easier task while pitching from the stretch.

Another benefit of the stretch is that it’s quicker to the plate than the windup and can throw off the hitter’s timing.  The hitter has lots of time to get set during a windup, but can be caught off guard by a pitcher throwing from the stretch.

Some negatives of the stretch are that sometimes it can impact velocity and it can be more taxing on the pitcher’s arm.  Both of these can be attributed to not having all the movement of a windup before the pitch.  If the pitcher’s delivery puts too much stress on his arm, it will cause him to not be able to go as deep into games.

The promising detail for the Nats is that Strasburg’s velocity has not suffered this Spring while pitching exclusively from the stretch.  Strasburg has been throwing 97-98 mph this Spring, so he has actually been throwing harder than he has in previous seasons.  He has not yet been asked to go deep into a game this Spring, so we cannot tell how pitching from the stretch will affect his endurance, but it shouldn’t be affected much, if at all.

While Strasburg’s switch to only pitching from the stretch is uncommon, it is not unheard of.  Some of the best pitchers in the league, including Yu Darvish, Carlos Carrasco, and Jake Arrieta pitch exclusively from the stretch.

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If everything goes as planned, Strasburg will be able to stay on the field more and he will be more consistent while on the mound.  It’s not a stretch to say that ditching the windup could lead to Strasburg becoming a top five starting pitcher in the league and possibly even an eventual Hall of Fame candidate.