A Note About Fautino de los Santos

A look back on possible injury factors attributed to Athletics pitching prospect Fautino de los Santos, who underwent Tommy John Surgery in the past couple days…

1. Workload - de los Santos was found in the Dominican Republic not very long ago and last year was his first in America and first as a professional player.  He thew 122.1 innings last year.  The general rule is that you don’t want to increase a pitcher’s workload by more than 50 innings each successive year.  I can’t say for sure, but last year was likely the most de los Santos has pitched his entire life and probably by a large amount.

2. Elbow Above the Shoulder - as de los Santos scap loaded, his elbow rose above the shoulder, which is generally thought to put more stress on the shoulder and elbow.  However, this was not like the Francisco Liriano mechanics where the elbow was clearly above the shoulder.

3. Abrupt finish - I noticed he had a slightly abrupt finish after release.  You want to give the arm as much room as you can to decelerate after release.

4. Aggressive mechanics - Pitchers that possess aggressive mechanics as de los Santos does, have a heightened risk of injury.