http://www.baseball-intellect.com/breaking-down-the-struggles-of-tyler-matzek/ Coming out of the 2009 draft, Tyler Matzek was supposed to be the safe pick. With a deep repertoire of pitches, an advanced feel for pitching, clean mechanics, and an ability to throw all his pitches for strikes, Matzek was expected to advance quickly. But his career so far has been a disaster. In his debut season he walked 16.3% of all batters faced. This year he walked around 20% of all batters faced across two levels of competition. And unlike in 2010, Matzek was very hittable in 2011. Yes, he was better late in the season, but it took a decent finish just to get his total number of strikeouts in line with the total number of walks Matzek allowed. This is sure to affect Colorado’s MLB online betting odds at Luxbet as the Rockies are relying on Matzek to break through. Matzek’s velocity has been down this year and many suspect he’s been pitching hurt — and that could very well be. But I’ve also noticed Matzek’ s mechanics are out of whack and this extends to last year as well. So let’s go to the tape. Below you have Matzek in 2011 on the left and Matzek in 2008 on the right: There are a few of noticeable differences — the hand placement at the start of the wind-up, the arm action, the stride…but the change that jumps out at me the most is how Matzek has turned from a pitcher with a fast tempo — defined as the number of frames from the top of a pitcher’s leg lift to the point of release — to one of a deliberate, slow pace — painfully slow in fact. Notice how the 2011 version of Matzek is already in the middle of his leg lift. He’s further along in his delivery yet both versions release the pitch at the exact same time. This tells us Matzek’s body was moving at a much faster pace in 2008 compared to 2011. Let me give you another angle of Matzek. Below you have Matzek in 2009 on the left and Matzek in 2010 on the right: First, a couple things we have to take into account: the angles are slightly different and the frame rate is higher in the 2010 graphic, which means the 2009 version of Matzek is not actually that far ahead of the 2010 version of Matzek. So keep that in mind. The big thing we can take away from these clips of Matzek is how he drifted through his balance point in 2009 and did an excellent job of leading with his hips. In 2010, he turned into a tall-and-fall pitcher who reaches his balance point, and hangs over the rubber. So what is the significance of these changes? They can all contribute to a loss in velocity. Your body is moving more slowly, you don’t pick up a great deal of momentum, and you don’t use gravity to your advantage. But contrary to some opinions, slowing a pitcher down does not always translate into better control. If it doesn’t come naturally to Matzek, he’s not going to throw strikes. In fact, in watching Matzek he’s very tentative early in his delivery. It’s not fluid anymore. He looks like he’s consciously trying to slow himself down, and that means he’s thinking. One of the last things you want to be doing on the mound is thinking. Another difference I notice is that the 2009 version has much more force or power behind it. The stride was longer and his hips rotated more powerfully as evidenced by the action of the back leg as it rotates and thrusts forward. It’s also not just the mechanics that have changed. Check out the body types of the two versions above. Matzek has noticeably filled out, his lower body thicker than before. In my eyes, he looks less athletic, less agile. If a pitcher loses some athleticism, it becomes that much harder to repeat one’s delivery pitch after pitch. I can’t say I understand why Matzek’s mechanics have evolved like they have. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. But I think at this point, Matzek’s struggles extend beyond simple mechanics. It’s in his head. He looks unsure and tentative on the mound as he starts his wind-up. Mechanical problems are one thing to fix, but when the problem moves from your mechanics to your head, the problem gets a whole lot tougher to correct. Hopefully he can take his solid finish and carry it over to start 2012. --

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