{"id":594067,"date":"2026-02-26T13:46:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T13:46:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/594067\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:46:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T13:46:22","slug":"orioles-chayce-mcdermotts-revamped-mechanics-improved-his-command-velocity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/594067\/","title":{"rendered":"Orioles: Chayce McDermott\u2019s revamped mechanics improved his command, velocity"},"content":{"rendered":"

SARASOTA, Fla. \u2014 Chayce McDermott was encouraged by the walk he issued in his first spring training appearance.<\/p>\n

Wait, what?<\/p>\n

Yes. He was encouraged by the walk, because he was so close to the strike zone. None of the misses was that far off. He was maybe an inch or two from the zone with his four-seam fastballs. He attempted to place them on the outer edge of the zone against the Pittsburgh Pirates\u2019 Davis Wendzel last week, and even though he missed, he made Wendzel think.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, if I was going away from someone, my miss was 3 1\/2 feet,\u201d McDermott said. \u201cObviously, I don\u2019t want to miss that at all in games. We\u2019ll figure that out.\u201d<\/p>\n

But missing as closely as he did is just another piece of evidence for the Orioles right-hander that his mechanical adjustments this winter are working. McDermott, who has shifted to a relief role and is battling for a bullpen spot, worked with Mason Feole to adjust his delivery. They focused on his posture and alignment.<\/p>\n

The results are showing early in camp \u2014 first with McDermott\u2019s command, even when he issued that walk, and second with an impressive rise in fastball velocity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re throwing from weird positions, it\u2019s hard to repeat it,\u201d McDermott said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s also hard to command things. It has to be perfectly on time to command it. So then creating better posture through [the delivery] and using proper energy in the right spots creates easier locations \u2014 and the velo ticks up with it because you\u2019re in better positions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dual nature of those changes has been on display in McDermott\u2019s first two appearances this spring. He has faced seven batters. He has struck out five of them. What helps: His fastball is firing in on average about 3 mph faster than last year, from 93 mph to 96 mph.<\/p>\n

When Feole, a pitching coach based in Rhode Island<\/a>, began working with McDermott this offseason, he quickly focused on the variability in the pitcher\u2019s release point. McDermott\u2019s timing issues \u2014 be it rotating his body before his left foot lands in the dirt or the other extreme, staying closed too long \u2014 meant he\u2019d spray pitches.<\/p>\n

Feole sought to improve McDermott\u2019s results by creating more efficient movements with a repeatable windup and release.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat he\u2019s able to do now is stay aligned with the right side of his ribcage and right hip, as well as leverage his front side or front arm a little bit longer, so when he lands, he is getting to full ground force and full weight bearing on his left foot a lot sooner,\u201d Feole said. \u201cChayce can now unwind the upper half, and his hand is gonna follow. The sequence is going to be a little more efficient.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BaltimoreMcDermott high-fives catcher Maverick Handley after striking out the last batter in the seventh inning of a spring training game. (Ulysses Mu\u00f1oz\/The Banner)<\/p>\n

That was, primarily, to lower McDermott\u2019s big misses. Last year, when in the majors, McDermott\u2019s in-zone rate was 43.6% (MLB average in 2025 was 50.7%). He drew batters to swing at pitches outside the zone at just a 14.5% rate (league average was 28.2%).<\/p>\n

What that shows is, when McDermott threw a pitch outside the strike zone, the pitch was often so obviously a ball that it didn\u2019t induce a swing. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe centered everything around posture and alignment and how he\u2019s interacting with the ground, and I think that will always be the main focus for him,\u201d Feole said.<\/p>\n

Improving command was the focal point of McDermott\u2019s offseason, but it was just one of three areas that Feole figured would be improved through better mechanics. McDermott dealt with lower back discomfort at the end of 2025, and Feole said correcting \u201cthe alignment of his posture to take a little bit of pressure off his lower back\u201d may prevent that pain from recurring.<\/p>\n

And, finally, better mechanics would allow McDermott\u2019s pitches to increase in velocity. When McDermott flew open, with his shoulders moving parallel to the plate before his plant leg was in the dirt, he was using energy that should\u2019ve been directed forward rather than sideways.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wasn\u2019t able to send all that energy in a direct line,\u201d Feole said.<\/p>\n

The upper-90s velocities that are flashing on the stadium radar gun in Florida are the result of better energy transfer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not doing this for the velo. The velo is kind of an added bonus,\u201d McDermott said. \u201cObviously, if I could get up to 98, 99, 100, I\u2019d love to be there. But if it stays at 96, 97 all year, then I think I\u2019m pretty good with that, and I can use some of that adrenaline with two strikes to get up to 99. I think that\u2019d be a good goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old suddenly has a better understanding of why certain pitches were flying out of his hand and missing the zone by a wide margin. He\u2019s now firing in harder velocities without major fluctuations in speeds. And McDermott also knows what his role will be.<\/p>\n

Even last year McDermott was caught in a cycle between starting and relieving. Entering this season he knows to focus on the bullpen, and with that clarity everything else seems clearer.<\/p>\n

And with the bullpen equation wide open for Baltimore, the improved command and velocity from McDermott could vault him right into that picture.<\/p>\n