Stephen Strasburg thinks overuse of slider led to injury issues

What was shaping up to be a career year for Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg was derailed by injuries in the second half, and the ace thinks he knows why.

Strasburg believes he leaned too much on his slider when things were going well, and that led to serious problems late in the season.

“You’re always trying to improve your game and it’s tough because I had success with it,” Strasburg said at Nationals Winterfest Sunday, via Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post. “I didn’t really think that anything was going on. I just know that based on my symptoms that pitch became the one pitch that didn’t really feel good throwing it. With that said, just looking back on the numbers, a lot of it was overuse. My arm just wasn’t accustomed to throwing that pitch that many times.

“I think it became easy for me to try to get lazy with it and maybe fatigue a little bit quicker because it’s just a stress on your arm that you really have to build up over time, but you have to do it the right way. It’s not like any guy can all of a sudden throw a split fingered fastball and have that be his secondary pitch and have it take place of the two other pitches that are working for you.”

Ultimately, Strasburg’s elbow issues cost him the opportunity to pitch in the playoffs. Sliders are really hard on the elbow, and it’s a hard-earned lesson for the ace.