Kaplan: Inside the Astros’ cutting-edge approach to minor-league pitching development
From Jake Kaplan at The Athletic on May 30, 2019:
Maybe it’s a byproduct of being undersized, but Brandon Bailey’s always been the type of athlete who craves more information.
Pitchers of Bailey’s profile, that of a 5-foot-9 right-hander, seldom reach the major leagues. Any little nugget of data could be the difference between him accomplishing his dream or stalling out in the high minors.
Like many others of his generation, Bailey was called to baseball’s analytics revolution. Five years ago, after his freshman year at Gonzaga University, he began training at Driveline Baseball in suburban Seattle, where he was first introduced to data-driven development. In January 2016, six months before he was drafted in the sixth round by the Athletics, he threw in front of a high-speed camera for the first time.
Read the full article here (subscription required): https://theathletic.com/990262/2019/05/30/inside-the-astros-cutting-edge-approach-to-minor-league-pitching-development/
Originally published: May 31, 2019. Last Updated: May 31, 2019.