Mets’ pitcher Marcus Stroman talks about Jacob deGrom’s mechanics

Marcus Stroman has been an incredibly successful pitcher in his career. He has a 3.76 ERA and a 3.64 FIP in more than 800 innings in the bigs, and with an excellent 58.6 ground ball percentage. The New York Mets traded for him in 2019, and after sitting the 2020 season due to COVID concerns, he is ready to help the rotation in 2021.

He is known for his drive to improve. He is constantly studying the game and its best pitchers. Luckily for him, arguably the best hurler in the game, Jacob deGrom, is his teammate in the Mets.

It’s only natural, then, that Stroman is trying to model some things after his highly decorated teammate.

During an interview with Rob Friedman, the famous “Pitching Ninja” on Twitter, Stroman explained that he’s been picking deGrom’s brain and has watched him in bullpen sessions.

“I’m excited to be around him. I literally go out and just watch his bullpens like a little kid,” Stroman said. “I sit right behind him in his bullpens. He lets me sit there, chill, ask him questions. He’s the man, bro. He’s so low key, but he’s the man and he’s always open to helping and always just wants you to be your best as well.

The Mets’ starters understand the value of pitching mechanics

“I’ll go into a bullpen and pick his mind. To be honest, people don’t understand but I have a lot of little tweaks I’m going to be coming out with this year that deGrom inspired, whether it be maybe where my foot position is on the mound or where my hand pump is or what it is that deGrom’s thinking about when he has his hand pump or when he lifts his leg. I’ve incorporated a lot of things that he’s doing that have helped me stay more compact and more stable and fluid in my delivery.”

The Mets’ starter knows, however, that deGrom sets the bar high when it comes to performance. And this is originated from flawless mechanics.

“DeGrom’s got the best mechanics, I tell anybody, and a lot of it’s his body, how much of an athlete he is. A lot of it is also physical and what he was born with,” Stroman said. “I think deGrom has the best hip disassociation out of any pitcher or anybody in the league, and you can’t replicate. This is why you can’t say ‘Oh, go have deGrom’s mechanics.’ Nobody can have that. His hip disassociation, his ability to open up his hips on his stride length and keep his top half still loaded back is f—ing incredible. You can’t teach that.”