Pitchers in the MLB did not have the normal amount of time they are typically allotted to gear up for their seasons, and the number of forearm strains teams are already seeing this season are an indicator of the lack of preparedness. SI senior writer Tom Verducci shares the pitchers who are out with forearm strain injuries and what this means for the current MLB season.
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00:00There is another epidemic going around Major League Baseball, an epidemic of pitching injuries.
00:13Shohei Otani of the Angels became the latest in what's been a rash of forearm strains,
00:19joining Justin Verlander, Miles Michaelis, Ken Giles, Clay Holmes, Michael Feliz, and
00:26several others.
00:28Forearm strains sometimes are a precursor to more serious elbow injuries and often result
00:34in ramping up in intensity too quickly.
00:38Remember pitchers are wholly out of their usual routines in this pandemic season and
00:43had three weeks of summer camp to get ready for the season.
00:47I was surprised that most teams had pitchers throwing in intra-squad games just a day or
00:52two into the start of those summer camps, and it's not just forearm strains.
00:58Elbow injuries and shoulder injuries have taken a toll on pitchers such as Tommy Canely,
01:04Colin Poche, Corey Kluber, Wade Davis, Alex Wood, and a total of seven pitchers on the
01:12Astro Staff.
01:13Keep in mind, the first month of any season often results in a spike in pitching injuries
01:20as pitchers ramp up to game competition, but this year the spike seems pronounced.
01:27Also keep this in mind, despite all the injuries to pitchers, pitchers still are ahead of the
01:34hitters in this pandemic season.
01:36The major league batting average is down almost 20 points to 233, and runs per game per team
01:45is down from 4.8 to 4.5.
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