Detroit Tigers: Anibal Sanchez and Mark Lowe Are Making Mechanical Adjustments
By Matt Snyder
Two maligned Detroit Tigers pitchers are making tweaks to their deliveries in an attempt to gain lost velocity.
Anibal Sanchez and Mark Lowe must be feeling the pinch. The two struggling pitchers are reportedly working on mechanical adjustments as they fight to earn spots on the Detroit Tigers‘ opening day roster.
The Detroit Free Press has run articles on back-to-back days about the two pitchers making mechanical tweaks in an attempt to gain lost velocity. The first was by George Sipple and centered around Lowe working with catcher James McCann.
"“Me and Mac looked at some stuff the other day, going back to 2015 when things were going good,” Lowe said. “Saw something really small, but small things go a long way.”Lowe said it was just a matter of getting his hand out of his glove sooner."
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The second, this one by Anthony Fenech, discussed the work Sanchez has been doing to find a new arm slot. Ausmus recently caught for Sanchez during a bullpen session and talked to Fenech afterward.
"While not saying it explicitly, the thought is that perhaps Sanchez — who has struggled this spring and for the better part of the past two seasons — could find more velocity on his fastball that way.“It’s not routine,” Ausmus said. “It’s hard to change your arm slot because it’s so ingrained in your muscle memory. It’s not an easy thing to do. It has to be done repetitively in the bullpen.”"
With Matt Boyd appearing to take the lead as the front runner for the fifth rotation spot, Sanchez, with Lowe and Mike Pelfrey, are left to fight for one of the final spots in the bullpen. The fact that Sanchez and Lowe are willing to alter their deliveries to squeeze more out of their arsenals is a sign that they’re fully aware of their tenuous positions on the roster bubble.
As Ausmus notes, mechanical changes are extremely difficult for pitchers to master. The key is time and repetition. If the changes aren’t fully ingrained into muscle memory, there’s every chance of a pitcher reverting to old habits when the games get real, the pressure mounts, and fatigue begins to set in.
The question for Lowe and Sanchez is twofold: (1) will the changes make any positive difference at all and (2) will there be enough time for them to fully master the tweaks with only 20 days remaining until opening day?
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These changes are the pitchers’ equivalent of a Hail Mary pass or a full-court heave. They’re unlikely to work but sometimes you don’t have any other choice but to try.