We're excited to welcome Anaheim Angels starting pitcher Tyler Skaggs to the podcast. A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Jaeger Sports. Head to www.JaegerSports.com and enter the coupon code CSP to get 20% off on your order through May 31.
Show Outline
How Tyler’s experience as a multi-sport high school athlete facilitated his development as an athlete
Why Tyler progressed through minor league baseball and up to the big leagues quickly after being drafted out of high school in 2009
How Tyler has refined his curveball in pro baseball
How Tommy John surgery impacted Tyler’s career in 2014 and what his advice is for young pitchers who are going through major setbacks in their career
How Tyler is working to develop a slider and learning to differentiate this pitch from his curveball
How Tyler structures his throwing and training in season as a starting pitcher in a 5-day rotation
What Tyler’s routine is on the day of his start
How the game of baseball has evolved since Tyler was drafted a decade ago
How the use of technology in baseball has allowed Tyler to better understand his pitches and develop a plan to more precisely refine his craft
What characteristics in coaches have benefited Tyler’s development throughout his baseball career
How the role of the pitching coach is evolving to include a more holistic approach to player management
What the most common mistakes Tyler sees pitchers making when throwing curveballs
This episode is brought to you by Jaeger Sports, who specializes in arm health, arm conditioning, and mental training. Best known for their long toss protocols and popular J-Bands, Jaeger Sports has been helping baseball and softball athletes reach their potential on the field since 1991. Alan Jaeger has been a trusted resource to me for close to a decade, and many of our athletes use J-Bands every single day. Through May 31, you can get 20% off on your order at www.JaegerSports.com using the coupon code CSP.
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Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
With baseball athletes being the largest segment of the Cressey Sports Performance athletic clientele, it seems only fitting to devote a "Best of 2017" feature to the top baseball posts from last year. Check them out:
1. 6 Key Factors for Developing Pitchers - In this article, I look at some things I've learned from some of our peak performing pitchers at the MLB level - and how they can help up-and-coming players.
We've got one last "Best of 2017" list running tomorrow, so stay tuned for the closer!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
Go to just about any baseball field in America, and you'll find Jaeger Bands (J-Bands). They're well established as great tools for getting in some quality arm care - and doing so conveniently.
What you might not realize, though, is just how many exercises you can do beyond the traditional J-Band sequence. With that in mind, I thought I'd introduce ten exercises our guys often do with J-bands when they're looking to step up their training while on the road. Today, we'll cover the first five.
1. Chops and Lifts - Popularized by the innovative rehabilitation specialists at Functional Movement Systems, these exercises are awesome for teaching core stability as it relates to resisting excessive rotation through the lower back. Depending on the height of the band, too, they can also challenge an athlete's ability to resist extension (too much arching of the lower back).
2. 1-arm Rotational Row w/Weight Shift - I absolutely love this drill for guys who have poor extension down the mound and need to learn to accept force on the front leg. The goal is to get in and out of the front hip - and also learn how to "sync" this loading/unloading up with proper movement of the thoracic spine, scapula, and arm.
3. Lateral Lunge w/Band Overhead Reach - Similar to the chops and lifts from above, you get great core recruitment in resisting extension and rotation, but in this drill, we also add some additional upper body and hip mobility challenges.
4. Serratus Wall Slides w/J-Band - I love me some serratus activation drills - and the J-Band is a great way to progress these exercises. Before you try it with a J-Band, though, give it a shot with a foam roller using these cues:
Then, grab your J-Band and go to town on a dugout wall. If you don't feel "cleaner" scap movement at ball release, I'll be stunned.
5. Side Bridge w/Band-Resisted Hip Extension - Side Bridges are some of the best lateral core exercises there are - but some folks will do them with incomplete hip extension, thereby falling into a faulty stabilization pattern that overrelies on the hip flexors. I like using the band to teach that terminal hip extension. To make this challenging, do them "high-tension" style: brace as hard as you can, squeeze the glutes together like you're trying to crush walnuts between your buttcheeks, and exhale as hard as you can. If you're doing them correct, you should be struggling by the end of five breaths - and you'll probably gain some hip internal rotation in the process.
That does it for part 1! I'll be back in a few days with five more creative uses for a J-Band. In the meantime, you can pick up a J-Band at http://www.jaegersports.com/J-Bands-Cressey/.
*A big thanks to Marlins pitcher Tyler Kinley for the help with demonstrations for this article!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
