Toronto Blue Jays hire Cory Popham as an assistant pitching coach

polo007 · Post #1 » by **polo007** » Wed Jan 9, 2019 6:52 am

Post #2 » by **Schad** » Wed Jan 9, 2019 7:58 am

If it seems odd to be hiring from a school that has produced only one draftee in the past 45 years (a 40th rounder, who made it to low A before being released), the Driveline connection probably played a big role. Presumably, he'll be coaching somewhere in the lower minors.

Black Watch · Post #3 » by **Black Watch** » Wed Jan 9, 2019 8:04 am

Why is this a thread?

Skin Blues · Post #4 » by **Skin Blues** » Wed Jan 9, 2019 2:28 pm

Black Watch wrote:Why is this a thread?

You should look into Driveline to see why hiring somebody that came from them is noteworthy. It's like a team in the mid-2000s hiring a former Baseball Prospectus numbers geek. Trying to get ahead of the curve by taking advantage of a somewhat underground group that is using innovative technology to improve upon the slow moving goliaths that are currently part of the status quo of talent development at the MLB level.

Trevor Bauer and Adam Ottavino are two of the notable players that have taken the Driveline approach to improving their pitch repertoires. Fine tuning the pitches you throw, improving mechanics to be more consistent, improving arm health by reducing elbow stress, increasing velocity, etc. They use tons of technology that most teams are now using as well, but they've been using it a long time (and in some cases developing it themselves) and are just better at using and interpreting the tools. It's a things like ultra high speed cameras, motus sleeves, physical tools such as weighted balls, and lots more.

So, the Jays hired a guy that was with Driveline very early on. A lot of teams are very resistant to the ideas Driveline is pushing, and at least one has banned some of the tools they offer. As with Moneyball, eventually everybody will come around to some extent, but it's more early stages for this stuff. In addition to hiring a Driveline guy, the Jays hired the managing editor of Fangraphs a couple months ago. This indicates an investment in getting ahead of the curve and being open to new technology and new information. It's a good thing.

phillipmike · Post #5 » by **phillipmike** » Wed Jan 9, 2019 4:54 pm

Skin Blues wrote:
Black Watch wrote:Why is this a thread?

You should look into Driveline to see why hiring somebody that came from them is noteworthy. It's like a team in the mid-2000s hiring a former Baseball Prospectus numbers geek. Trying to get ahead of the curve by taking advantage of a somewhat underground group that is using innovative technology to improve upon the slow moving goliaths that are currently part of the status quo of talent development at the MLB level.

Trevor Bauer and Adam Ottavino are two of the notable players that have taken the Driveline approach to improving their pitch repertoires. Fine tuning the pitches you throw, improving mechanics to be more consistent, improving arm health by reducing elbow stress, increasing velocity, etc. They use tons of technology that most teams are now using as well, but they've been using it a long time (and in some cases developing it themselves) and are just better at using and interpreting the tools. It's a things like ultra high speed cameras, motus sleeves, physical tools such as weighted balls, and lots more.

So, the Jays hired a guy that was with Driveline very early on. A lot of teams are very resistant to the ideas Driveline is pushing, and at least one has banned some of the tools they offer. As with Moneyball, eventually everybody will come around to some extent, but it's more early stages for this stuff. In addition to hiring a Driveline guy, the Jays hired the managing editor of Fangraphs a couple months ago. This indicates an investment in getting ahead of the curve and being open to new technology and new information. It's a good thing.

Great post, enjoyed the read.

Post #6 » by **Schad** » Wed Jan 9, 2019 7:04 pm

Skin Blues wrote:
Black Watch wrote:Why is this a thread?

You should look into Driveline to see why hiring somebody that came from them is noteworthy. It's like a team in the mid-2000s hiring a former Baseball Prospectus numbers geek. Trying to get ahead of the curve by taking advantage of a somewhat underground group that is using innovative technology to improve upon the slow moving goliaths that are currently part of the status quo of talent development at the MLB level.

Trevor Bauer and Adam Ottavino are two of the notable players that have taken the Driveline approach to improving their pitch repertoires. Fine tuning the pitches you throw, improving mechanics to be more consistent, improving arm health by reducing elbow stress, increasing velocity, etc. They use tons of technology that most teams are now using as well, but they've been using it a long time (and in some cases developing it themselves) and are just better at using and interpreting the tools. It's a things like ultra high speed cameras, motus sleeves, physical tools such as weighted balls, and lots more.

So, the Jays hired a guy that was with Driveline very early on. A lot of teams are very resistant to the ideas Driveline is pushing, and at least one has banned some of the tools they offer. As with Moneyball, eventually everybody will come around to some extent, but it's more early stages for this stuff. In addition to hiring a Driveline guy, the Jays hired the managing editor of Fangraphs a couple months ago. This indicates an investment in getting ahead of the curve and being open to new technology and new information. It's a good thing.

Agreed; I was going to mention Cistulli as similar. We're hiring for ideas as much as we're hiring to fill positions. That's a good thing. It indicates that we're aiming to prioritize long-term, systemic development over the usual triage of keeping a team afloat.

Black Watch · Post #7 » by **Black Watch** » Thu Jan 10, 2019 3:50 pm

Skin Blues wrote:
Black Watch wrote:Why is this a thread?

You should look into Driveline to see why hiring somebody that came from them is noteworthy. It's like a team in the mid-2000s hiring a former Baseball Prospectus numbers geek. Trying to get ahead of the curve by taking advantage of a somewhat underground group that is using innovative technology to improve upon the slow moving goliaths that are currently part of the status quo of talent development at the MLB level.

Trevor Bauer and Adam Ottavino are two of the notable players that have taken the Driveline approach to improving their pitch repertoires. Fine tuning the pitches you throw, improving mechanics to be more consistent, improving arm health by reducing elbow stress, increasing velocity, etc. They use tons of technology that most teams are now using as well, but they've been using it a long time (and in some cases developing it themselves) and are just better at using and interpreting the tools. It's a things like ultra high speed cameras, motus sleeves, physical tools such as weighted balls, and lots more.

So, the Jays hired a guy that was with Driveline very early on. A lot of teams are very resistant to the ideas Driveline is pushing, and at least one has banned some of the tools they offer. As with Moneyball, eventually everybody will come around to some extent, but it's more early stages for this stuff. In addition to hiring a Driveline guy, the Jays hired the managing editor of Fangraphs a couple months ago. This indicates an investment in getting ahead of the curve and being open to new technology and new information. It's a good thing.

Very edifying post, Skinny B. I like it.