I apologize for the lack of posts this week. No real excuses here, I've just been a bit busy. Regardless, it is already Sunday which means its time for another segment of Big Leaguer Breakdown. This week, we look at a lesser known pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. His name is Doug Fister and just this past Saturday he threw 8 innings, giving up 2 runs and striking out four...the day after I added him to my fantasy team. (I take my fantasy baseball very seriously). Fister is a second year rookie this season after spending four seasons in the minors at various levels and making his big league debut last year and totaling 61 innings and a 4.13 ERA. He is 6'8" and uses his size to his advantage; throwing the ball on a great down hill plane and mixing his fastball with plus slider and change up. He is young and wet behind the ears but he is still this week's BLB.
Check out this great slow motion video by youtube user BrianDLarsen1988 to study his mechanics.
Hopefully, the first thing you notice about Doug is how long and lean he is standing on the mound. Fister clearly has the build that scouts look for as they project young college and high school talent. The first 4o seconds of the video shows Doug utilizing and over the head glove movement out of the wind up. Study his hands as the come back over his head and rest right around chest height. At the same time, as the hands come down, the knee raises to meet the glove at chest height. This requires very solid core strength and balance in the lower half as the knee raises past parallel. It is also great, however, for generating momentum as the leg works down and toward the plate.
At the 46 second mark, notice how the front foot is tucked back in toward the body. This small adjustment gets the foot in better position to stay along the mid line path toward the plate. Many young pitchers will allow the foot to stay loose and swing around the mound on its way forward. Unfortunately, this generally causes a multitude of other problems and should be avoided in the saw way that Doug has eliminated this issue.
However, if we watch the video from :46 to :53, we see Fister get all the way to foot-strike without ever getting into what I call the "athletic position." Instead, his back is arched back behind his heels and his front foot is landing closed. We see his glove side clear violently as he attempts to get over that front leg and finish downhill. What saves Doug here is the fact that he is so long and lanky that he is able to get his throwing arm up and through release as the front knee bends. Doug is also utilizes a very powerful hip turn and drive with the back leg which forces the upper half forward and down to release point.
So, at the :56 mark, we see the release point. The first thing we should notice is how far off the mid-line his head falls because of his improper body posture at foot-strike. However, as mentioned before, he is very athletic in his core and is able to get some extension on release. It is the opinion of this blogger that Doug could utilize even more extension if he were to stay athletic longer through the delivery.
Regardless, we see the video conclude with Fister's chest parallel to the ground and full elevation of the back leg. Two key signs that he is utilizing much of his lower half to throw the baseball. It remains to be seen if Doug will blossom into a perrenial all-star but he definitely has size and velocity (he throws 94) on his side. I'd say he is a risky permanent addition to a fantasy roster but with huge upside.
Let me know how your season are going in the real world and I'll answer any fantasy questions as well.
Until Next Time!!
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