MASH Report and Velocities (3/23/15)

• It is nice to see the American Journal of Sports Medicine was able to verify my concussion work with zero reference to my four-year-old study.

• Last week, I noticed Jon Lester (-1.5 mph) and Hyun Ryu (-2 mph) lost velocity compared to last season. Both are now dealing with arm issues.

Lester is dealing with a dead arm and it happens regularly with him.

“You can ask every pitcher; it’s an every-year thing for everybody. It’s nothing out of the ordinary.”

There is no pain or discomfort, according to Lester.

“It’s one of those things that you have to go through to understand,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like anything. It’s more total body deadness, and everybody puts a label on it as far as ‘dead arm.’ It’s nothing to be alarmed about. There’s no point in trying to grind through it right now. These games don’t mean anything. If it was April 15, it wouldn’t be an issue.”

Ryu is dealing with soreness in his throwing shoulder which will cause him to start the season on the DL.

Dodgers starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu was sent to Los Angeles on Sunday to have his injured left shoulder examined by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, and manager Don Mattingly conceded that the left-hander will start the season on the disabled list.

Ryu attempted to play catch Sunday, four days after receiving a cortisone injection for the type of shoulder stiffness that sidelined him twice last year, but the discomfort returned.

Mattingly said Ryu reported immediate improvement from the injection but was barely able to lob the ball during a brief session of catch.

Just a reminder that pitchers don’t intentually throw slower without a reason.

• Anthony Rendon may miss some time to start the season.

Anthony Rendon's knee remains sore, esp. when hitting. Matt said plan is still rest. Rendon may run out of time to be ready for opening day.

— James Wagner (@JamesWagnerWP) March 23, 2015

• Daniel Murphy may also miss some regular season games with a pulled hamstring.

• And it is close for Koji Uehara (hamstring) being ready for the season.

• It looks like Jorge de la Rosa will not be ready for the season’s start with a groin pull. More information will be coming aout in a few days.

It’s unclear if De La Rosa’s injury will keep him from starting the April 10 home opener against the Cubs. He is receiving treatment and expects to know more next week.

• Orioles pitching prospect, Hunter Harvey (#36 overall prospect) will miss four to six weeks with a fractured fibula.

• My favorite deep sleeper, Cory Rasmus, will miss 6-8 weeks with a core injury.

• Adam Jones gave Josmil Pinto possible brain damage after hitting him three times in the head with his backswings.

• Keep an eye on Mike Fiers. He left a game with shoulder soreness. The teams says he will be OK, but wait to see if he throws again.

• Chase Utley’s ankle just won’t seem to heal.

 

Velocity Readings

Velocity is one of the few spring training stats which is extremely reliable which Mike Fast (now with the Astros) found few years back at Baseball-Prospectus. Here are some velocities of interest comparing spring training values to last year’s average.

From Pitchf/x stadium (homes of Royals, Rangers, Padres and Mariners). The values are mph increases or decreases.

Gainers
Zach McAllister +3 (Moving to bullpen)
Tanner Scheppers +2 (Moving back to bullpen)
Derek Holland +1.5 (back to 2013 levels)
Neftali Feliz +1.5
Adam Ottavino +1

Same
Jason Vargas
Jordan Lyles
Rex Brothers
Carlos Carrasco
T.J. House
Taijuan Walker
Ian Kennedy
Kevin Quackenbush
Neftali Feliz
Roenis Elias
Brandon Morrow
Randall Delgado
Odrisamer Despaigne
Kyle Lohse
Yovani Gallardo

Iffy
Ryan Madson -1 (Down 1 mph from 2011 time in the bullpen)
Colby Lewis -1

Losers
James Paxton -1.5
Danny Farquhar -2
Luke Hochevar -2 (going on rehab assignment to start the season)
Wade Davis -2
Greg Holland -3

From Twitter searches

None

Players with Injuries Going into 2015

(*) 15 Day Disabled List
(**) 60 Day Disabled List
(***) 7 Day Concussion List
(****) Free Agent
Red colored entries are updates since last report.