Velocity training has pushed pitchers to their limits. Baseball is grappling with the injury risks

By TIM BOOTH The Associated Press

FILE - Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Tayler Saucedo uses a weighted ball to warm up in the bullpen before a spring training baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, March 6, 2024, in Surprise, Ariz. Velocity training is the rage in baseball from the youth levels up through the majors. Players go through specialized programs – often using series of progressively weighted baseballs – in the hopes of speeding up their bodies and arms, pushing them to the limits of what might be possible for their age and ability. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Lindsey Wasson]

SEATTLE (AP) — Velocity training is the rage in baseball from the youth levels up through the majors. Players go through specialized programs – often using series of progressively weighted baseballs – in the hopes of speeding up their bodies and arms, pushing them to the limits of what might be possible for their age and ability. Videos of teenagers trying to hit max velo inside training facilities populate social media. They get likes. They draw attention. Their arms can do incredible things. But frequently, their ligaments cannot. Arm problems have shut down some of the top major leaguers this season. And while there is concern about what’s happening in the majors, there is just as much worry about what’s happening at the younger levels.