Arizona Diamondbacks Player to Watch: Trevor Bauer

Published: 12^th Mar 12 7:57 am

by Tom Froemming
MLB blogger

RANT It!

Arizona Diamondbacks Player to Watch: Trevor Bauer

Crystal LoGiudice-US PRESSWIRE

Baseball is a game resistant to change.These days, the last thing a manager wants to do is think outside the box. There is a “book” on what you’re supposed to do in most every situation. Managers follow the book or start working on their resume.

Why do teams use a five-man rotation? Because everybody else does. Why do they use their best reliever, the closer, in the completely irrational way dictated by the save rule? Because everybody else does. Why do they put basically every starter on a 100-pitch count? Becuase everybody else does.

In this era of copy cat pitching philosophy, 21-year-old Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Trevor Bauer may be the guy who helps break the mold.

Or his arm could fall off.

The No. 3 pick of the 2011 draft, Bauer has been on a uniquely brutal throwing program since he was 12. He plays long toss at extreme lengths, now reaching as far as 400 feet. That’s more than the length of an entire football field, from the back of one end zone to the back of the other.

It gets to the point where he needs two guys to play with him, one to catch and another to be the relay man to get the ball back to the 6-1, 175-pound Bauer. The program has yeilded impressive results, as Bauer routinely went over the 130-pitch mark in college and has never suffered an arm injury.

Bauer won the 2011 Golden Spikes Award after going 13-2 with a 1.25 ERA and NCAA Division I record 203 strikeouts over just 16 starts at UCLA. He also managed to make seven starts between High-A and Double-A after signing with Arizona. It was a small sample size, but Bauer posted a 5.96 ERA while averaging a jaw-dropping 15.1 K/9.

If his training techniques don’t catch your attention, his warmup routine certainly will. It’s hard to describe, so I won’t attempt. Here’s a YouTube video of Bauer’s first warmup pitch he throws every game:

The warmup antics make you think this kid is some kind of Kenny Powers type with a balls to the wall, you’re f’n out personality. While Bauer has an edge to him, he’s more of a book worm, pitching dork. A student of his craft, Bauer finished high school a year early and studied mechanical engineering at UCLA.

Here’s what Bauer told Arnie Stapleton of the Associated Press about his approach to pitching:

“Engineers are trained to be problem-solvers. So, you identify what your problem is and then you identify the process of how you’re going to go about collecting information to solve it and then you go about doing it. It’s a very linear thought process.”

We’ve never seen anything like Bauer in the states. But, Japanese pitchers are known for having intense throwing schedules. Some believe that’s why some Japanese pitchers like Daisuke Matsuzaka flame out. Their arms simply can’t handle the stress over the long MLB season.

No one can know for sure if Bauer’s program will ultimately help or hurt his arm, the only thing that’s for sure is Bauer will be a contributor on the Diamondbacks at some point this season. In fact, if ESPN’s Keith Law had his way, Bauer would break camp with the big club. Here’s an exerpt from Law’s March 4 blog:

“If Bauer’s two innings are a harbinger of what he’ll do across 180 innings this year, then he’d be the Diamondbacks’ best starter this year; every outing they give Josh Collmenter or Joe Saunders over Bauer shaves a tiny but nonzero amount off their odds of winning the NL West.”

When ever the team decides it’s Bauer’s time, he’ll be joining one of the best young teams in baseball. Arizona shocked the baseball world by winning 94 games last season, but it will be no surprise for this team to put together another great year. With additions Trevor Cahill, Jason Kubel and Takashi Saito, along with prospects like Bauer, the Diamondbacks look even better in 2012.