Scott Feldman, Texas Rangers' RHP Mechanical Breakdown

• Height: 6-7
• Weight: 230
• Bats: L
• Throws: R
• Born: Feb 7, 1983 - Kailua, HI
• College: San Mateo (CA) JC
• Draft: 2003 - 30th round by the Texas Rangers

Scott Feldman’s flawed mechanics are similar to what causes a number of the 50% of MLB starting pitchers to land on the DL during the season. His mechanical flaws include throwing across his body, landing on his heel, opening his hips early, and an incomplete follow through.

By throwing against his body, he puts extra stress on his elbow, shoulder, and his lower back. Notably, his command and control are also affected significantly in a negative manner with this type of delivery.

Landing on his heel causes him to lose even more of his command and control…chiefly, by elevating his pitches. He’ll have to compensate (and usually over compensate) in an effort to keep his pitches down. When fatigue sets in, expect his pitches to be up in the zone again creating “fat” pitches for the hitters.

Besides landing on the heel of his stride foot, he lands with his toe open. Pitchers should stride so that the ball of their lead foot and toe will land at a 45 degree angle. This ensures proper hip rotation after their lead foot lands, and that they’ll be using their legs as well as their arm in their pitching mechanics. From my experience, by not doing this and what Scott Feldman is doing incorrectly, will lead to scar tissue to build up in the rotator cuff group which leads to a loss of velocity down the line that surgery can’t bring back.

Lastly, his incomplete follow through is the ultimate control killer. For control of your pitches, your front shoulder heads (points) to the location you want your pitch to go. After delivery, your back shoulder will point toward the same target that your front should was targeted at… which greatly improves control accuracy and will occur naturally with the correct follow through. This is what pitching coaches call “full rotation”. Secondary effects include a loss of leverage on certain pitches that bite in their rotation. A third effect is that stamina and early fatigue are associated with this “high”, incomplete type of follow through.

In conclusion, Scott Feldman would best serve the Texas Rangers, as well as himself, by returning to the bullpen and bolster an already strong corp of relief pitchers. This move would minimize the number of pitches he would throw as a reliever as compared to a starter. Essentially, he would be prolonging his career in MLB as a pitcher with mechanical flaws.

Caveat, Disclaimer, etc.: I don’t write my articles to belittle players, pitchers, coaches, or others, but, instead, to educate and aid pitchers and players in becoming effective and efficient in their skill development & performance and to extend their playing careers. As far as coaches, some are like parents...they already know it all. That being said, I try to keep an open mind, like some coaches, and am willing to change if I find a better way to do something. So, feel free to remediate me.<g>