Dodgers News: Walker Buehler Addresses Bulkier Look in First AAA Outing
Before Walker Buehler shut it down for the year, he suited up at Triple-A and made one rehabilitation start for the Oklahoma City Dodgers. It was an exciting moment for Walker, for the Dodgers, and for fans as he dominated for 2 scoreless innings.
In his return from his second Tommy John surgery, he switched up many things: His delivery and wind up, and his size.
People noticed that Buehler looked a little bigger on the mound in his Triple-A appearance where he tossed two perfect innings. He addressed it on the Just Baseball podcast recently.
Buehler has made many adjustments to his pitching, including speeding up his wind-up to comply with the new pitch clock rules and also adding some size to his frame.
“I’m not going to say that I don’t have more body fat now than I used to, but I’m 12-15 pounds heavier than I’ve ever been in the big leagues. It’s all this ‘mass times acceleration’ stuff and I’ve kind of always gone against the grain and not really cared too much about it… but, they cut you open twice, sometimes you’ve got to try something else”
(via Walker Buehler on Just Baseball)
Buehler is just 29 years old but is recovering from his second Tommy John surgery. As he’s explained in the past, he’s exploring why that is. What can he do differently to avoid going under the knife again? Part of it is mechanical. And part of it is more mass to help create acceleration he mentioned.
The ace is expected to be fully ready to go when spring training comes around next February.
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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