Velocity control may protect young arms
Evan Ventura has always thrown hard. But the Austin Prep senior knew he had to reinvent himself after spraining the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow two years ago.
So Ventura started by dialing back velocity. Instead of throwing pitches at 100 percent effort, he worked on effortless velocity — throwing at a speed that exerted less energy, but still proved effective. He also spoke with strength coaches and conducted online research, eventually finding an arm care routine he could implement between starts.
“The only thing I can do to prevent injury is prepare myself every day,” said Ventura, who will pitch at Army next year. “It’s about how you exercise, stretch, eat, and sleep, It’s about building the right habits that work best for you.”
It’s no secret that arm injuries like Ventura’s are plaguing baseball right now, at all levels. In
MLB, a long list of star pitchers have been shut down with elbow or shoulder problems in recent months.
The rise of these injuries has also trickled down to the high school level, where programs across Massachusetts are scrambling for answers about what’s causing arm injuries, and more importantly, how to prevent them.
“It’s like a buffet table,” said J.P. Pollard, Ventura’s coach at Austin Prep. “Pitchers now are doing a little bit of everything. They’re pulling bands, they’re playing long toss, throwing bullpens, lifting weights. They’re taking little bits of something from everything and then they don’t know what’s going wrong.”
In a January interview on MLB.com, Dr. James Andrews, the leading orthopedic surgeon for arm injuries, said the obsession with velocity and spin at the youth level is having a devastating impact on arms.
Walpole coach Chris Costello agrees. He watches high school pitchers fixate on the number flashed by a radar gun. Everyone is motivated to throw harder, attract attention from colleges, and post their velocity on social media.
“It’s a problem in high school baseball right now,” said Costello. “You’re getting a lot more kids chasing velocity and they’re doing it the wrong way. They’re trying to throw as hard as they can in a winter showcase and it’s like why? It’s leading to all these injuries.”
When Costello pitched in the minors with the Dodgers and Yankees organization in the 1990s, most pitchers put their gloves away for the winter and picked them back up in the spring. But playing at the next level now requires a year-round commitment, with players competing in the high school season, summer tournaments, fall ball, and winter showcases. Costello feels that’s the other layer to the problem — there’s too much going on.
“I believe less is more,” said Costello.
The stakes are high for everyone involved. An arm injury can disrupt careers and halt recruiting since surgery requires at least one year of rest. Coaches don’t want to be responsible for that onus. So what’s the solution? At Austin Prep, Pollard diligently tracks pitchers on individualized schedules, looking at pitch counts, spin rate, and velocity throughout the season. He also makes contacting club coaches over the summer a top priority. Pollard’s goal is simple: Don’t let anyone get overworked.
“We’re the adults in the room, so if we’re not communicating and figuring this out, we’re setting the kids up for failure,” said Pollard, who directed AP to the 2022
MIAA Division 3 state title before Austin Prep transitioned to NEPSAC.
Milton Academy coach Brendan Morrissey believes a proper winter ramp-up period can be crucial to preventing injury. At the Matt Duffy Academy in Weymouth, Morrissey works with pitchers through a detailed threemonth throwing program leading into the spring season.
However, Morrissey, who guided Milton High to consecutive Division 2 titles the past two seasons, understands not everyone has that luxury. The MIAA doesn’t allow coaches to work with players in the offseason, so pitchers who don’t belong to a club team or play a winter sport often show up to tryouts at square one. Since regular-season games typically start two weeks later, they are forced to build arm strength in a shortened period.
“I think every high school pitcher needs to go through a throwing progression period in the winter,” said Morrissey. “It’s the most valuable time for pitchers to build strength up and make sure they do those steps properly.”
Coaches feel pitchers who pace themselves and don’t overtax their arms are in a much better position to avoid damage. It’s a philosophy Catholic Memorial ace Brett Mulligan has adopted after battling arm injuries as a youngster.
Following the summer season, Mulligan went nearly two months without throwing. When he started throwing again in the winter, the Northeastern-bound senior eased into it. Mulligan never maxed out velocity until his first start of the season for the Knights. But he senses many high schoolers aren’t following the same strategy.
“You need to know when to take an off day or a have light day,” said Mulligan. “It’s about finding the right balance.”
Like Ventura, Mulligan plans on pitching for at least four more years, so staying healthy has become top of mind. And for coaches — who already face roster decisions, in-game strategy, and the pressure to win — the arm epidemic across all levels of baseball has created a new problem they must learn to navigate.
“At the end of the day, it’s about the player,” said Pollard. “We all need to collectively talk about the player and do what’s best for the player. It’s not about us right now.”
Extra bases
R Swampscott took down Winthrop, 6-5, in a 16-inning thriller Saturday, with Jack Spear producing the winning run for the Big Blue, who are off to a 3-2 start . . . Holbrook eighth-graders Bryan Prioli (6 innings, 13 strikeouts) and Ricky Farry (1 inning, save) combined for a beauty in the Bulldogs’ first win of the year Thursday, a 3-2 takedown of Avon. The Bulldogs’ pitching staff this year is made up entirely of eighth-graders . . . Georgetown is off to a 6-0 start, with five wins coming by 10 or more runs. The Royals are plating an average of more than 11 runs per game.
R No. 6 St. Mary’s wrapped up a trip to Myrtle Beach with a fiverun seventh inning to take down School Without Walls (D.C.). Shea Newhall plated three runs in the seventh with a walkoff triple. The Spartans also defeated Skowhegan (Maine) and Sacopee Valley (Maine) while in South Carolina.