Good grief...Ethan Small needs Tommy John

[CadaverDawg]

According to strong rumors.

This sucks. These kids clearly came in with UCL issues, but no doubt other teams will use this against us in recruiting. Hate it for these guys. Our pitching is quickly disappearing for next season.

[DeviousDawg]

According to strong rumors.

This sucks. These kids clearly came in with UCL issues, but no doubt other teams will use this against us in recruiting. Hate it for these guys. Our pitching is quickly disappearing for next season.

Damn, that really sucks if true. Been a tough off season for the Diamond Dawgs.

[I seen it dawg]

It's common now. No one can look at what we do with our pitchers and say we're terrible on pitchers. It's just bad luck. When you recruit power arms like we have been this is the risk you take.

[msbulldog]

Damn BB cannot catch a break.

[MSUMatt]

Or it's the fall, summer, and spring baseball a lot of these kids have been playing since 8 years old.

[MarketingBully]

According to strong rumors.

This sucks. These kids clearly came in with UCL issues, but no doubt other teams will use this against us in recruiting. Hate it for these guys. Our pitching is quickly disappearing for next season.

How can it be used against us in recruiting? Mini-me is no longer here who it would be attributed to if any of our coaches would be to blame.

[BB30]

Eh, it's starting to happen everywhere. I bet you would be hard pressed to find an SEC roster that doesn't have a current TJ issue or have a couple arms that have already had TJ.

[Liverpooldawg]

Kids play way too much baseball at too young an age these days.

[KB21]

It's not what MSU's coaches have done that is the cause of this problem. It's what the parents of these kids and their coaches when they were 10, 11, and 12 years old did. Baseball is not a year round sport for pitchers. It just isn't. I've seen 14 and 15 year old kids in my clinic with elbow pain, and I've told them all that they are heading towards TJS if they don't let their arms rest and play another sport. Heck, last summer, I took a kid out of baseball medically until January. He was having shoulder and elbow pain and was 15. I told him he could play football, but not to touch a baseball till after I saw him back in January.

UCL tears are just as preventable as diabetes and hypertension. You have to take ownership of your body and take care of it. These kids that are throwing 12 months out of the year are not taking care of their bodies.

[MafiaDawg]

Probably not a popular stance but with 3 current tommy John injuries do we need to cut bait with 1 or 2 of them? We can't afford to carry 3 pitchers on scholarship when none of them will pitch an inning in 2017.

[Taog Redloh]

Now we see why Cohen is recrooting seemingly so many pitchers. I'm sure he knows this crap is widespread. I'm glad we have those JUCOs now.

[DeviousDawg]

This has really been becoming a problem the last 10 years ago. If something don't change it will soon be out of the norm for a pitcher to never get TJ. The awful part is, that it can be attributed to overly obsessed dads pushing their kids way to hard. Just like there is a set distance between the plate and the mound for each age group, there should be a pitch count limit for each age group, gradually increasing until 15 years old. Most of the damage is done before the age of 15.

[KB21]

The bad thing is, Ethan was doing very well in the Cape League. I think he would have been one of the headliners on the staff in 2017.

[KB21]

This has really been becoming a problem the last 10 years ago. If something don't change it will soon be out of the norm for a pitcher to never get TJ. The awful part is, that it can be attributed to overly obsessed dads pushing their kids way to hard. Just like there is a set distance between the plate and the mound for each age group, there should be a pitch count limit for each age group, gradually increasing until 15 years old. Most of the damage is done before the age of 15.

There are pitch count limits.

The thing is, it isn't just pitch counts and rest in between starts. A lot has to do with the types of pitches you throw. Overthrowing to light up the radar gun is one possible cause. Throwing junk pitches at a young age is another.

Greg Maddux once said that his son would throw nothing but fastballs and would learn how to locate the fastball before throwing any off speed or breaking pitches. He said that young pitchers shouldn't throw breaking pitches till they get into college.

[BorneDawg]

Do we have some position players who pitched in HS? I know LA did he wasn't overpowering but threw mid to high 80's with a good slider. Maybe with some coaching could be a mid week/pen option. Just saying if needed to give minor relief in certain games to spare better arms.

[AlSwearengen]

According to strong rumors.

This sucks. These kids clearly came in with UCL issues, but no doubt other teams will use this against us in recruiting. Hate it for these guys. Our pitching is quickly disappearing for next season.

No, we and everyone else will use it against arkansas in recruiting.

[Taog Redloh]

Do we have some position players who pitched in HS? I know LA did he wasn't overpowering but threw mid to high 80's with a good slider. Maybe with some coaching could be a mid week/pen option. Just saying if needed to give minor relief in certain games to spare better arms.

We've got plenty of arms. Cohen over-recrooted the pitchers. We have 4 JUCOs coming in.

[mic]

Kids play way too much baseball at too young an age these days.

Yes...

[DeviousDawg]

There are pitch count limits.

The thing is, it isn't just pitch counts and rest in between starts. A lot has to do with the types of pitches you throw. Overthrowing to light up the radar gun is one possible cause. Throwing junk pitches at a young age is another.

Greg Maddux once said that his son would throw nothing but fastballs and would learn how to locate the fastball before throwing any off speed or breaking pitches. He said that young pitchers shouldn't throw breaking pitches till they get into college.

I'm talking about a set in stone nation wide, regardless of league, legal pitch count. Is that a thing now? Make the umpires responsible for keeping pitch counts, fine the parents if the kid goes over. This isn't a "pussification of America" issue, it's a real issue that is affecting the futures of some of our kids.

My dad always told me that I would never break my wrist with a pitch until he could pluck a whisker off my chin. Taught me how to throw a curveball with your wrist broken before going to the plate, which was still very affective at the age. Circle change and knuckle curve among other pitches can be taught to kids without breaking their wrists on delivery.

There is a right way to teach kids how to throw junk without tearing up their arms at a young age. So sad going to the local ball park and seeing a 10 year old breaking his wrist to throw a curveball. It's just too much stress on their young underdeveloped arms. The solution starts and finishes with parents and coaches becoming better educated on the risks of over pitching and throwing junk at a young age.

[DeviousDawg]

Do we have some position players who pitched in HS? I know LA did he wasn't overpowering but threw mid to high 80's with a good slider. Maybe with some coaching could be a mid week/pen option. Just saying if needed to give minor relief in certain games to spare better arms.

Surprisingly, Jake Mangum is a pretty good pitcher. Fastball in the low 90s. Wouldn't be surprised if he got some work in the pen over the fall.