2026 SABR Analytics: Watch highlights from Career Paths in Baseball Biomechanics Panel
At the SABR Analytics Conference on Friday, February 27, 2026, in Phoenix, Arizona, the Career Paths in Baseball Biomechanics Panel included Franky Mulloy of the Cincinnati Reds; Hillary Plummer of the San Diego Padres; Megan Stewart of the Milwaukee Brewers; and Will Vandenberg of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The panel was moderated by Will Carroll, Under the Knife columnist.
- Watch: Click here to watch a video replay of the Career Paths in Baseball Biomechanics Panel (YouTube)
Here are some highlights from the panel:
On how they utilize biomechanics in their roles
- Plummer: “My title is Quality Assurance Specialist, but basically, I am a Sports Scientist. I do a lot of workload monitoring data mainly focused on pitchers and keeping them healthy.”
- Vandenberg: “I focus mainly on field performance, less with the weightroom and trainers. Trying to understand baseball from a biomechanics perspective. What makes players good and help understand baseball better.”
On communicating biomechanics data to coaches and players
- Plummer: “All we can do is give the coaches the information that we have, and we can give our suggestions. How they use that data is up to them, it’s their decision. I have noticed that a lot of pitching coaches don’t want to touch arm action. So, we focus on the lower body side, sinking up the lower half and the trunk to try and correct that to see if it cleans up the arm action a little bit. But, really, it’s kind of up to the coaches, front office, and scouts. They all make that decision if they want to make a big mechanical change.”
- Stewart: “I think it all depends on the level too and where they are at in the organization. I think a big aspect of it is trust and having that relationship with them. So, it took me many seasons to be able to be at a place where I am with our current coaches and players as well. So, you want them to trust you when you say something.”
- Vandenberg: “If a player looks good or bad, but if they are performing, and the data doesn’t say the same story what do you do? I think that’s the biggest question I face. When players are at a lower level performing well, and we don’t like their mechanics whether it’s hitting or pitching, do you trust that this performance will carry to the next level? If we can solve that we will be good.”
- Mulloy: “We don’t know what causes injury. So, anyone that tells you that, we can get predictors or things that are higher risk categories, but we cannot say conclusively what caused that injury. It is important to understand your coaching staff when you’re integrating with them. If there is a particular pitching style they have or like, if the data aligns with that good if it counterargues that, make sure you have your reasoning for why that is different and don’t be afraid to do that. It will take a couple years to build that relationship and trust with the players and coaches.”
On the value of changes in biomechanics data
- Mulloy: “I think it depends on the individual. Knowing the player. There are some players I don’t want to give any information to because they go down a massive rabbit hole trying to change everything. There are other players who are incredibly good at siloing information and what they use. Some guys can make those adjustments very quickly; other guys you have to create constraints for them to play with and feel it out a little more.”
On using biomechanics data in the draft process
- Stewart: “I think it’s going to vary by team on how involved you are in that process. For us, we definitely get consulted. We do write-ups on guys. We talk with our scouting group all the way down to the scout that is directly interacting with that player, up to our top end VPs of scouting.”
Transcription assistance from Ryan Belina.
For more coverage of the 2026 SABR Analytics Conference, visit SABR.org/analytics.
Originally published: May 1, 2026. Last Updated: April 29, 2026.