How getting in better shape nearly derailed Kansas City Royals reliever Gabe Speier
Nobody would assume getting in better shape could potentially prove detrimental to a pitcher’s career, but Kansas City Royals left-handed reliever Gabe Speier found out the hard way that it can happen.
Speier, 27, is in the big leagues and pitching well as a member of a bullpen that’s been the strength of the Royals club so far this season. He contributed to the fourth-longest scoreless streak by relief pitchers in franchise history, 27 2/3 innings, which ended over the weekend.
The California native entered this week’s series against the Chicago White Sox without having allowed a run in his three appearances this season. He’d faced 14 batters and allowed just two hits with no walks and five strikeouts. He’s still in that early-season sweet spot where his walks plus hits per innings pitched is an outstanding 0.46.
And this is all because he stopped dieting and started eating a lot more?
“So when COVID hit and we went back for the quarantine offseason, my focus was to get into really good shape so that wouldn’t happen,” Speier said. “I ended up losing a good amount of weight, and it just didn’t translate. I wasn’t as powerful, wasn’t as strong, wasn’t as explosive.”
During his debut season of 2019, his four-seam fastball averaged 94.4 mph and his sinker averaged 93.7 mph. Both were down a tick in 2020 with the fastball averaging 92.4 mph and the sinker 91.8 mph.
Roughly 15 pounds lighter in 2020 after a regiment that included dieting and a lot of running, Speier noticed the raw “stuff” and effectiveness of his pitches waned. In turn, that led to lost confidence on the mound.
Royals manager Mike Matheny, who spent 13 years in the majors as a player, is now in his 10th season as a manager.
Over the years, Matheny has seen players come back from the offseason having sculpted their bodies either out of a desire to get stronger or thinking that being in better shape will put them over the top in some way. Others might have liked the idea of looking better.
“Gabe was more, I just want to be in better shape,” Matheny said. “He was wondering if he’d have better stamina through the season.
“It’s just a great question, you know. Where is that happy spot? I’ve watched some really good pitchers come in one spring and say, ‘Wow. That guy looks completely different.’ A month into it’s like, ‘Nope. That’s not it.’ Or ‘Yeah, that is it.’”
In Speier’s case, the lost weight resulted in a slightly lower grade of pitching repertoire combined with a lack of confidence. That combination didn’t serve as a great recipe for success.
Forced to take a step back
During the 2020 season, the Royals optioned Speier to the alternate training site multiple times. Then following the season in November, the Royals designated Speier for assignment to clear him off of their 40-man roster.
They then sent him outright to Triple-A Omaha. After 17 appearances in the majors, Speier was a minor-leaguer again.
“I think the toughest part was, not the act of getting sent down, but getting sent down to the alternate site and not being able to pitch in game scenarios in Triple-A with fans and facing other teams,” Speier said. “It was tough to go from pitching in the big leagues to the alternate site where you’re facing your teammates.”
He spent three months before the 2021 season putting the weight back on in a methodical and productive manner. He enlisted the help of trainers from The Peak Performance Project or P3 in Santa Barbara, California. He’d trained there since his days as a high school player in that area.
Speier went through a training program that included lifting heavier in his workouts as well as plyometric exercises, jumping and tossing around medicine balls and increasing his caloric intake, but doing it with healthy foods.
He put the weight back on while also keeping his conditioning up so he wouldn’t feel “gassed” as the season progressed. He believes they found a good mix of explosiveness and conditioning.
“It was a hard, tough lesson learned,” Speier said. “Getting optioned down and then DFA’d and then having to work my way back onto the roster and into the big leagues last year. So it was tough, but I’m glad I’m back to where I am.”
During the 2021 major-league season and in his few appearances early this season, Speier’s four-seam and sinking fastball increased velocity to back where he was when he broke into the majors. MLB Statcast data also shows the movement on all of his pitchers, which had flattened out in 2020, has also returned.
“You never want to get on a guy about getting himself into better condition,” Matheny said. “But when they start sacrificing some of their power, their ability to bounce back, sometimes you just have to learn through trial and error.”
