Detroit Tigers: An update on the Anthony Gose experiment

Detroit Tigers player Anthony Gose is currently in the minors, working his way through a transition to the pitching mound from the outfield grass.

The Detroit Tigers former outfielder is currently playing with the Advanced-A affiliate, the Lakeland Flying Tigers.

Recently, Gose was making headlines when he hit 99 MPH in a game.  He looks to be a future addition to the bullpen.

But slow down on the dreams of seeing the fireballer.  It is a tough transition to become a pitcher at this level.

Right now, he is struggling mightily in the lower levels of the Minors, posting an 0-2 record with an 18.59 ERA through 4.1 innings of work.

To his credit, he has struck out four batters.  But that has been negated by his five walks.

It is not surprising to see control issues this early in the transition. As I said it is not easy. He will be given time, but there are two huge parts he has to work on: mentality and mechanics.

Mentality

This is perhaps the toughest aspect to adjust to when pitching.  There are no drills to get the head right.

Part of the mentality is learning how to pitch, not throw. And there is a HUGE difference.

With a fastball touching 99, Gose is going to have the instinct to gas up everyone. That is throwing.

If he can develop a secondary pitch and control, he can hit corners and set hitters up to get his fastball by them. That is pitching.

The second part to this is being able to think. I know it gets said that the game should be played on instinct, but pitching is a different animal.

For example, when a batter is early on a changeup and fouls it off, the instinct is to go with a fastball to blow it by him. A thinking pitcher throws another off speed pitch.

Here is why, if the hitter is early on the changeup, a fastball will get to the plate quicker. Therefore the timing of his swing will be just right to hit the ball.  His bat is sped up by the faster pitch.

The last big part to mentality is composure.

The best example of this is Armando Galarraga.  When his perfect game was blown by the umpire  in the ninth with two outs, he did not freak out.  He gathered himself and got the next batter.

When things go wrong, the mentality on the mound doesn’t change.

If the ump is squeezing the strike zone, instead of dwelling on a pitch that should have been a strike, Gose needs to be able to think he needs to come back with a better pitch.

Mechanics

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Now, clearly Gose has the mechanics to throw hard.  But there are some key mechanical flaws that come when fielders turn to pitchers.

Based on his velocity, Gose strides well, which is one of the common mishaps.  So that is good.

But based on his walk numbers, he is not finishing the pitches. That is a combination of inexperience and arm path.

The arm path will be the biggest issue for Gose moving forward. An outfielder’s arm motion is different from one that will be successful from the mound.

Just take a look at the different angles of the ball. An outfielder releases the ball in the air to get it to the base, whereas a pitcher is throwing down hill.

I always say this with mechanics, the arm needs to be ready to throw when the rest of the body is.

For an outfielder, he is ready to throw forward and up.

Gose needs to adjust his mechanics so his arm is out front when his body is ready to release the ball.

The easiest way to learn that is to get on the mound and throw.  The muscle memory will take over from there.

Conclusion

If Gose can learn to pitch, there is no reason he won’t be in a Detroit Tigers uniform in the future.

It will be a long path for him, but it can be done.  He is not the only one trying to transition.  Rowan Wick in the St. Louis Cardinals organization is going through the same thing.

Next: V-Mart To The DL, Hicks Called Up

Patience is a virtue in this situation and both Gose and the Detroit Tigers organization knows it.  The questions is, can he put it all together?