A Closer Look at the Ways to Preserve Starting Pitchers

Eno, DVR and Britt discuss baseball's aim to preserve starting pitchers. How much of a problem is the current use of starting pitchers compared to the past? With injury rates on the rise, what rule changes and tweaks make sense? Will small changes to move the game slightly in the direction of previous era's pitcher usage cause other problems? Plus, they discuss Britt's recent story about a partnership between Perfect Game and Fanatics, and former big leaguer Travis Snider's efforts to improve youth sports.  Rundown 1:13 The Starting Pitcher 'Problem' 6:55 Big Changes in the Last 10 Years 11:15 Incentivizing Pitching Deeper Into Starts 16:39 The Difficult of Getting Everyone on Board with New Rules 20:00 DVR Blames the Reliance on Short Relievers 26:40 Reducing the Fifth Inning Exits When a Starter is Dealing 31:37 Why Don't Starters Try to 'Save' Velocity for Later Innings? 42:46 Britt's Story About the Concerning Perfect Game-Fanatics Partnership 48:52 Travis Snider's Efforts to Improve Youth Sports Follow Eno on Twitter: @enosarris Follow DVR on Twitter: @DerekVanRiper Follow Britt on Twitter: @Britt_Ghroli e-mail: [email protected] Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFe Join us on Fridays at 1p ET/10a PT for our livestream episodes! Subscribe to The Athletic: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices