Pretty obvious what kept Trevor May from finishing the seventh inning today. He was completely gassed before his 95th pitch. Huffing and puffing, he still managed to heave a 91mph BP heater to Tim Beckham, who eagerly deposited it into the left field seats.

 

Up to his last batter in the 6th, May had looked pretty good. His heater was moving, and averaging about 93mph. But the seventh inning was like he ran into a ten mph head wind. Remember what Nolan Ryan used to do, AFTER finishing a nine-inning game? He'd walk out to the bullpen and pedal a workout bike. Hard. For twenty minutes.

 

Nothing complicated about this. If you want pitchers to go deeper into games, they have to have more energy. As Nolan Ryan demonstrated, that means pushing your body to keep going, right after you come out of a game. What did Trevor May do? He went to the bench and sat down, hanging his head. If he wants to get better, he should be sitting on a bike, pedaling like an ambitious young hockey player.

Edited May 17, 201511 yr by jimbo92107

I'd rather see May go on the Dr Tom House program with weighted balls, the same as Mike Pelfrey. http://velocityplusarmcare.com/tom-house-million-dollar-arm/

The Cardinals use these techniques and everyone praises their farm system.  It would be even better if May rode the bike AND used the weighted ball techniques.

 

Clearly, May needs to pitch at the same pace, whether he is struggling or not.  Watching him slow down and stand around is agony.  It must be even worse for the fielders.  His pitch count was fine till the end.  This is what the Twins need to find. Pitchers that can work thru the batting order more than 2 times.

Obviously endurance is important for starting pitchers but what works for one pitcher might not work for another. And there is a difference in the amount of potential endurance in one player than in another. I would hope the Twins can work well with all their starters to maximize each individual pitcher's endurance.

I think it's standard for a pitcher to sit on the bench and watch the rest of the inning. Going straight to the clubhouse when removed mid-inning even gets construed as sulking, if I'm not mistaken about those 'unwritten rules' - the runners on base are his responsibility and he should care what happens, yadda yadda. I wouldn't hang Trevor for that particular action.

95 pitches will have a lot of pitches gassed. The endurance will be built up by going deeper into those games.

95 pitches will have a lot of pitches gassed. The endurance will be built up by going deeper into those games.

Also known as, put those guys away on 0-2.

Also known as, put those guys away on 0-2.

And there's the heart of the problem. 100 pitches don't get him past the 6th inning most times.

Finishing major league hitters is part of the growth process of transitioning from AAA. You can't learn this pitching in Rochester.

Finishing major league hitters is part of the growth process of transitioning from AAA. You can't learn this pitching in Rochester.

Agreed 100%. You learn it by learning the weaknesses of the hitters you'll be facing. And that takes time and experience.

My point is that if you want a pitcher to be able to throw 100 effective pitches, he's got to have enough stamina to throw a couple dozen more than that. There are various ways to train for that load, but Nolan Ryan's old exercise bike is still one of the standards.

 

I'm not even saying that May isn't in great shape. Of course he is. He's in his mid-twenties, a pro athlete, he runs, lifts weights, etc. However, I've seen the difference that post-performance workouts can make. It extends your fitness just a little farther, so when you "dig a little deeper" there's a bit more energy left. The Trevor May I saw at pitch 85 was still strong. Ten pitches later, he was exhausted, minus a couple mph and with no movement on his heater.

 

Agreed 100%. You learn it by learning the weaknesses of the hitters you'll be facing. And that takes time and experience.

And good scouting and coaching.