The Rockies first pick in the 2009 draft was left-handed pitcher Tyler Matzek out of Capistrano Valley, CA. Matzek has appeared even higher on many mock draft boards, with some expecting him to go at #4 or #5. Matzek has a great upside with incredible mechanics. His delivery has reportedly even been praised by Dr. Mike Marshall, a former Cy Young Award winner who has been teaching an alternative pitching delivery for many years now. Matzek’s delivery does not go to the same extreme as Dr. Marshall’s (which basically squares the body with home plate and eliminates hip torque), but his arm action seems to finish similar to what Dr. Marshall preaches and has led some people on YouTube to label his pitches as Marshall would label them: pronated maxline fastball, pronated slider, pronated sinker, and so on. Others have argued that these are just normal pitches being misrepresented, but I think you can clearly see some Marshall influence if you concentrate on the position of Matzek’s arm as he delivers the ball and follows through. Marshall has spent half his life studying the human body in relation to pitching and believes his pronated pitches will prevent injuries in pitchers.

Tags: capistrano valley, colorado rockies, dr mike marshall, fastball, maxline, mike marshall, pitcher, pronated, tyler matzek