Jacob deGrom’s improvement and where it came from

We have heard an awful lot about Jacob deGrom‘s improvement these last few years. However, we don’t get a chance to understand or hear from the announcers just how deGrom got so much better than he used to be. deGrom was drafted in the ninth round of the 2010 draft as a light hitting shortstop who threw 89 to 90 mph and was known to be a fielding wizard with a beautiful swing, that just seemed to have a hole in his bat because he had trouble making contact. When he was drafted the Mets were hoping he can develop into a #4 starter.

What has made deGrom as successful as he has been has to do mostly with desire and work. His training regimen mirrors Nolan Ryan’s, and we have heard Ryan say many times that a pitcher needs to pitch more often in order to have his best arm strength possible. In fact, deGrom’s leg drive has developed over the years to be more like Ryan’s and Tom Seaver’s. Every throw deGrom makes has a purpose and his release point is always exact, even when long tossing. This has allowed him to maintain the mechanical efficiency he has developed.

In fact, it is this mechanical efficiency that has allowed him to add 5 mph since he came in as a rookie in 2014 from an average of 94 mph on his fastball to 99 mph this year. He wouldn’t be the first pitcher to improve in his 30s: Randy Johnson won four straight Cy Young’s from his ages 35-38 seasons. But no pitcher has ever added 5 mph to his fastball after the age of 28.

While everyone is impressed with the 100 mph fastball, all of DeGrom’s pitches have increased at least four miles per hour over the same timespan. Further, the improved efficiency is expected to allow him to have sustainable velocity increases deeper into seasons and expectedly deeper into his career. Let’s go through these changes in his mechanics.

The first change and possibly most important is the change in his release point. In 2014, DeGrom’s release point was 5‘10“ tall. In 2020, DeGrom’s release point was 5’6” tall. This lowering of his arm slot has allowed him to get more thrust by staying on the rubber longer, not rotating his hips early to fly open and delaying the hip action as long as possible. Simply, in 2014 as the rookie of the year, deGrom did not have good timing as he was often throwing off his plant foot by being too tall. Now, by bending his knees more, thrusting better by turning over his back ankle and keeping his head back, DeGrom is able to get more power into the pitch. Keeping his head back is very important because it allows the back leg to fully unwind and give maximum thrust. This also gives a later snapping open of the hips to offer more whip into the throw.

This is called proper sequencing and deGrom did none of this as a rookie. In fact, it is his lack of experience as a pitcher is both good and bad. The good is that he’s basically still learning and that’s why he is still improving. The bad was that he needed Tommy John surgery early in his career due to sloppy mechanics of a shortstop that was trying to become a pitcher. In his video break down on deGrom, Ben Brewster of Trade Athletics talks about deGrom’s kinetic efficiency and how efficient timing can improve velocity. Brewster continues by saying that subtle sequencing time factors or variables can influence 2 to 3 mph differences. He offers that deGrom’s improvements aren’t from power or strength, but from improved timing and therefore they are more sustainable because power guys will break down as they get older but pitchers don’t lose timing as easily.

As we have accounted for three miles per hour of improvement, Brewster saw something small but quite significant that allowed deGrom to add another two miles per hour these last two years. DeGrom has stopped keeping his pitching hand in the back of his glove during his delivery. In fact, that he has already gotten his throwing hand out of the back of his glove from the start of his motion allows for less work for the arm since the ball is already disengaged from the glove. We can expect that at 100 pitches per game taking away an extra step will be just one more way of maintaining strength as the game progresses.

The last aspect of his improvement is how his elite athleticism will allow him to maintain flexibility and range of motion that other pitchers lose after the age of 30. As deGrom approaches his 33rd birthday next month he seems to be trending up when most pitchers are trending down. This elite athleticism combined with the lack of innings that deGrom has thrown over his college and professional career offers a pitching arm younger than his calendar years – compared to say a Trevor Bauer that has been pitching since six years old. In fact, deGrom has about 40% less innings than other top pitchers his age.