There have been a rash of pitching injuries this season and the Washington Nationals are no different. 2023 All-Star Josiah Gray made just two starts before being placed on the injured list with a forearm strain on April 9th. Gray threw a bullpen session last week as he works his way back from that.
Gray gave his thoughts on what’s causing the increase in pitching injuries this season while appearing on the Audacy Sports Podcast “Baseball Isn’t Boring” this week.
“My main thing I think is breaking balls,” You look at just how the body is made up, right? And to throw a baseball you have to pronate but to throw an effective breaking ball you have to hold that ball in a supination so you can turn your wrist over and have the ball sweep or spin like a curveball or whatever you have it.”
Pronation occurs when the palm is facing downwards, such as the typical grip for a fastball as Gray mentioned. Supination is the opposite of that with the palm facing upwards. Either position could create issues for specific pitchers.
“So when you’re going outside the norm of just throwing a regular fastball – minimal supination and straight pronation your arm isn’t doing any extra,” he explained. “But when you’re throwing breaking balls you’re putting more strain on your supinators but then in reaction the pronators of your arm have to decelerate your arm, and that’s where you get a lot of flexor pronator, flexor strains, UCL stuff, you name it just because your arm’s basically working overtime when you’re throwing breaking balls.”
While velocity is climbing, some of the focus is back on making pitches move and throwing things other than fastballs.
“So that’s what I think it comes down to, and it’s a tough thing to tackle because we know how successful – you look at the Red Sox, they’re throwing 30% fastballs and they have a really good staff,” Gray said. “So you have to understand the give and take of it.”
Gray was placed on the IL after feeling off while trying to get ready for his third start of the season. Instead of pushing through, Gray put his health and the long-term success of the team first.
It’s the risk and reward that comes with being a major league pitcher.
“It’s tough because we all understand the risk of pitching and you never want to have your body bark at you or fail on you,” he said. “There is an inherent risk but there is reward on the other side of that. So if you can do it with the best and get outs with your fastball, with your breaking balls, there’s a lot of prestige – I guess you could say – to be had in achieving your goals and becoming a successful major league pitcher. It’s just the landscape of the game.”