The first piece of Nationals related content I saw was DJ Herz throwing. This is great because it shows he is making progress in his Tommy John recovery. What interested me, however, was the black band on his left elbow. Herz isn’t the only pitcher to wear one of these ties. In fact, it is common this spring.
I wanted to learn more about this device and see why so many Nats pitchers use this thing. What I found was very interesting. The device is a Pulse workload monitor from Driveline. It costs $320 and is designed to help pitchers know their limits. Pulse measures arm speed and workload. If a pitcher’s arm speed drops unexpectedly, you now know when to take a break.
This is a really cool device and fits in with Nats’ new vision. We wrote about the Nats Driveline connection earlier this month, and this is just one example. While the Nats will want to add to their pitchers, they will also be aware of the potential injury risk that comes with it.
Based on my research, I believe the implementation of this device is being driven by Pitching Coach Simon Mathews. Driveline mentions that the Reds were early adopters of this device. Kyle Boddy, the founder of Driveline, worked for the Reds for a while. There is one article from 2021 detailing how the Reds had implemented the Pulse device.
Mathews actually joined the Reds organization in 2021, and it was involved in their rehabilitation work for pitchers. That means he is very aware of this device and is probably a big supporter of it. It’s no coincidence that it’s all over Nat’s camp now. With that rehabilitation background, Mathews emphasizes arm health.
However, this device is not only intended for pitchers with injuries. The Healthy Nats arms have also used it to track their workload. On one of the first days of camp, the Nats posted a photo of Brad Lord throwing, and he had the Pulse band on. It’s easier to find a Nats pitcher wearing one than it is to see him without one.
This is such a cool thing and it’s one of many pieces of new technology that the Nats have. Pulse obviously helps you catch potential injuries, but it can also help you optimize throwing plans. This allows you to know how far you can push a player without risking injury or overuse. Optimizing performance is so important for pitchers, and this is a great tool for that.
However, it’s not just the big players who use these things. I saw a video of Nat’s third-round pick, Landon Harmon, throwing a bullpen, and the 19-year-old had a Pulse band on his right elbow. Frankly, this tool may be even more important for young pitchers who don’t yet fully understand their limits.
That doesn’t mean it can’t help veterans. There is one cool video from a few years ago in which Reds pitcher Nick Martinez talked about how much the Pulse band has helped him. The Nats did not participate in these types of innovative practices for that long. Now, with Paul Toboni at the helm, the Nats are all about innovating.
Frankly, keeping pitchers healthy could be the next big challenge for baseball minds. We know so much about how to optimize things, but it comes at the expense of throwing the pitchers’ elbows. If we can find a way to keep guys healthy while throwing nasty stuff, you can get an edge on the competition. The Pulse monitors are just the first step in that process, but it’s cool that the Nats are trying this out.
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