A Closer Look at the Ways to Preserve Starting Pitchers

From Rates & Barrels: A show about Baseball The Athletic

Eno, DVR and Britt discuss baseball's aim to preserve starting pitchers. How much of a problem is the current use of starting pitchers compared to the past? With injury rates on the rise, what rule changes and tweaks make sense? Will small changes to move the game slightly in the direction of previous era's pitcher usage cause other problems? Plus, they discuss Britt's recent story about a partnership between Perfect Game and Fanatics, and former big leaguer Travis Snider's efforts to improve youth sports.

Rundown

1:13 The Starting Pitcher 'Problem'

6:55 Big Changes in the Last 10 Years

11:15 Incentivizing Pitching Deeper Into Starts

16:39 The Difficult of Getting Everyone on Board with New Rules

20:00 DVR Blames the Reliance on Short Relievers

26:40 Reducing the Fifth Inning Exits When a Starter is Dealing

31:37 Why Don't Starters Try to 'Save' Velocity for Later Innings?

42:46 Britt's Story About the Concerning Perfect Game-Fanatics Partnership

48:52 Travis Snider's Efforts to Improve Youth Sports

Follow Eno on Twitter: @enosarris

Follow DVR on Twitter: @DerekVanRiper