The Washington Nationals‘ “neighbor to the north,” has opened a pitching lab to help provide its pitching staff. According to the Baltimore Sun, the Baltimore Orioles opened a pitching lab where they hope to find the “best version” of the team’s pitching in partnership with MedStar Health, the pitching lab will help the team optimize its pitchers’ deliveries for performance and injury prevention through motion capture video and other tools.
“It’s something that is becoming standard practice for sort of modern development of players in general, the usage of this type of technology,” Orioles director of player development Matt Blood said in a recent article in the Baltimore Sun. “The key, though is, yes, being able to collect the data, but then being able to accurately and effectively use it. The other piece of this puzzle is you have the equipment, you have the information, and then what do you do with it once you have it? And I think that’s where their competitive advantage lies in regards to player development.”
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The Orioles have enjoyed a historic turnaround from their pitching staff; one example is Austin Voth, who lowered his ERA to 2.77 ERA after posting a 10.13 mark with the Washington Nationals. The Baltimore Sun says, “The hope is the lab will allow them to continue maximizing pitchers’ abilities throughout the organization while keeping them healthy and on the field. By throwing 15 to 20 pitches in the lab, the players are supplying the Orioles with enough data to find ways to help them further improve.”
The Orioles pitching lab will be located within about an hour’s drive of Camden Yards. Two of the Orioles’ minor league affiliates, numerous pitchers in the organization, have been able to throw a bullpen session at the lab, offering insights that their pitching coaches, strength and conditioning coaches, and trainers have been able to apply to their subsequent work.
