Taijuan Walker Scouting Report 5.18.12 - Mechanics

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You caught Dr. D in one of his copious beatific moods this morning.  That you might share in his bliss, he bids you brew a gentle cup of saffron tea and peruse the state of the Taijuan.  Spectator is doing a serene rundown of the M's Top 40 right now ... in this article he's got embedded video of Taijuan.

IF you never quite understood what it meant to "throw downhill" then simply groove to the visual of the pitch embedded in Spec's May 16 article.  Spend the next six hours of your "workday" googling, and if you can find a pitch coming down out of the sky more sharply than that missile, link me up and I'll give you an apology enscibed on ancient vellum.

Alas, it is not the nature of the Tao this morning to be exhaustive, but in its stead here is some stream-of-consciousness from Aiki-Doc.  Cue up some relaxing, beauteous sitar music as you grok along to the rhythm ...

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The leg kick above reminds of the mature Randy Johnson.  Taijuan, tall and leggy like the Unit, has his shoulders perceptibly cradling the ball as his eyes lock.  There is a "gathering" of his body, especially his torso, around the five ounces worth of energy that he controls.  Kind of like Kung Fu Panda making a snowball of chi while floating a drop of water, as it were.

ki-Doc loves Taijuan's tempo -- smooth takeway, like golf -- and his acceleration factor down the centerline.  I daresay that Moe will find some echoes from the golf tempo in Taijuan's stroke?

Dr. D kind of wishes that Taijuan would stick to the downhill high-90's heater and the overhand curve, but they say he's rolling pretty good on four pitches already.  Wow.  The kid looks five major league starts away from getting traded for Brett Lawrie.

;- ),

Dr D

 

 

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