August 29, 2016
Daniel Young has lowered his arm angle in 2016. (wruf.com)
Lowering his arm angle during spring training, left-handed pitcher Daniel Young has made continual strides with his new approach in 2016. Transitioning from a 3/4 slot to a sidearm motion might seem like a daunting task for some, but for Young it was an opportunity to utilize his skills to their fullest potential moving forward.
Hoping to develop Young into a lefty specialist, the Blue Jays coaching staff presented their new plans for the up-and-coming pitcher halfway through camp. Buying in right away, Young did everything he could to get the desired results of the organization, while staying on track with his development.
“I was working a lot on my arm slot during extended spring training,” explained Young. “The coaches changed my slot in the middle of spring training, so I used extended as an opportunity to work on that some more.”
“It’s huge to be a part of a full season team,” Young added. “Obviously, you set goals for yourself and one of my goals was to be in Lansing this year. I accomplished one of my goals by just being assigned here, so that was really nice.”
Being a relief specialist isn’t the highest ceiling for a prospect, but it’s the perfect fit for Young as he doesn’t have an overpowering fastball. Usually sitting in the high-80’s with the heater, Young normally finds success with the pitch, especially when it’s moving around and low in the strike zone.
“Location is key for my fastball,” said Young. “I’m not one of those guys that throws really hard. I rely on my movement and my location to get outs.”
Young can continue to climb the ladder if he’s able to keep his slider around the plate and he develops his changeup more. Primarily known as a fastball and slider guy; the prospects small repertoire hasn’t held him back from putting up respectable numbers in Lansing.
Impressive as of late, Young hasn’t allowed an earned run in his 7 1/3 innings pitched in the month of August. Batters are only hitting .125 against him, while he’s maintaining a superb 0.95 WHIP this month.
The excellent four weeks has really solidified Young’s campaign. Dealing with a little bit of growing pains in June and July; the lefty’s season numbers are starting to move in the right direction at just the right time.
Obviously, the prospect would like to lower his 1.58 WHIP and .284 opponent average a little bit more before the season wraps up. But with all of the adjustments Young has made over the last few months, the lefty is definitely satisfied with his current results.
“The transition wasn’t too bad,” stated Young. “I brought into the idea right away. I just want to continue and work on getting better at it every day.”
Equally impressed with the quick progression that Young has made. Lansing Lugnuts pitching coach Jeff Ware discusses what he has liked about working with the 22-year old pitcher this season.
“Daniel is doing really well with the transition,” stated Ware. “Daniel is really learning how to pitch. It’s a totally different delivery than he had in the past. We’ve even made a couple more adjustments with him in the way he breaks his hands. Since he’s done that, he’s been effective for us. He keeps the ball down. That’s what he needs to do with the lower arm angle. Keep the ball down, and throw that slider anywhere he wants it, at any time.”
Fans shouldn’t be surprised by the way Young picked up his new role so quickly, as he’s a product of the University of Florida. With a long history of developing players for success at the next level; Young discusses what his three seasons with the Gators did for him in terms of being prepared for any changes that may lie ahead of him.
“The SEC really prepares you well for playing professional baseball, as it’s a really tough conference,” explained Young. “I also had great coaches at Florida: Kevin O’Sullivan, Brad Weitzel, and Craig Bell are all great coaches and they really prepare you for the challenges of playing at the next level.”
With all of the advances that Young has made with his mechanics thus far in 2016, it’s safe to say he’s on the right track to finding success with higher level teams in the upcoming seasons.
Fans of the Toronto Blue Jays will definitely want to watch out for Daniel Young as he continues to fine-tune his game towards a major league career one day.