Jered Weaver’s diminishing velocity a major concern for Angels
You can argue that spring training games really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but the stories they tell sometimes resonate far beyond an afternoon in March.
For the Los Angeles Angels and longtime starter Jered Weaver, the story that was told on Wednesday is one that will create much uneasiness in the days and weeks ahead.
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The 33-year-old right-hander was unable to tame the loaded Los Angeles Dodgers lineup, allowing five runs on six hits — including three home runs — while striking out zero in 2 2/3 innings. Those numbers alone are enough to draw attention to the outing. But a greater concern was revealed by scouts in attendance, who noted that Weaver’s fastball was barely registering above 80 mph.
Another scout noted that Weaver managed to reach 81 on occasion, but that’s of little consolation to Weaver or the Angels. He’s still a long way from where he needs to be, and that’s especially discouraging coming off an offseason that was dedicated to rejuvenating the life on his fastball.
According to MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez, Weaver committed himself to a strict stretching regimen aimed at adding a few ticks to a fastball that consistently reached 90-91 as recently as 2011. Unfortunately, Weaver’s best fastball on Wednesday was actually two or three notches below where he was during his disappointing 2015 season.
“I wake up every day hoping this is the day that it’s going to click,” Weaver said. “It just hasn’t happened yet. I just have to keep grinding.”
While it’s not time to panic just yet, it’s time for concern. The lack of life on his fastball last season led to his worst season in MLB. Weaver finished with a 4.64 ERA and 5.1 strikeouts per nine innings, which was 2.4 below his career average coming in. If that’s how rough things were with Weaver sitting 83-84, it will only get worse now that he’s sitting more in batting practice fastball range.
Also, not surprising, Weaver’s lack of heat is quickly becoming a hot topic around baseball. In some cases, it has even become the butt of jokes.
It’s no joking matter to the Angels though, especially knowing that the dip in velocity isn’t just exclusive to his fastball. It’s impacting every pitch he throws, according to this Brooks Baseball graphic.
The Angels are a team with a quickly shrinking window of contention, which means there’s pressure on their key players to not only stay healthy, but stay productive. If they can’t count on Weaver, that would be a significant blow to their rotation.
Weaver was limited to 159 innings last season with hip and shoulder ailments, so he’s shown signs of wearing down. Whether that can be reversed or at least controlled through stretches or other means of strength and conditioning is the big question, and the Angels could really use a positive answer sooner than later.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
