Weaver Finding Right Recipe

While he was re-assigned to Minor League camp after throwing a scoreless inning on Sunday, St. Louis Cardinals prospect Luke Weaver is already strides ahead of last year when he began the season in extended Spring Training to gain arm strength.

“Yeah, it was a disappointing start,” agreed Weaver.  “Maybe I didn’t do a great enough job coming off the off-season in that first one I had there but it was all good because I learned a lot about my body, about myself–physically and mentally. It helped drive me throughout the season and into the future with knowing how I need to prepare myself and maintain and be healthy. That was a big bonus for me, even though it seemed like it stunk a little bit kind of having that setback. But it ended up being a good thing and I’m taking it into the future.”

Weaver always did arm care but now has added bands and other types of exercises to his routine which has strengthened the muscles around his rotator cuff and different parts of the arm.

“Along with strengthening them, just loosening them up before I pitch,” he explained. Similar to Marco Gonzales, much of the change to Weaver’s routine came from the added workload of making the jump from college to professional baseball.

“It absolutely does,” he said. “I was used to that 7-day in college and then I got here and then it was five, sometimes six days. It was like a thought back in college, ‘how do these guys do it every fifth day?’ Especially in the big leagues for as many, 200+ innings.

“It just goes to show how the arm can hold up and the body as well when you put in the work to stay strong and have that work ethic. I’ve been learning along the way what works best for me. Tips here and there from guys, maybe something I see or my eye catches and just use it myself and see if it works. It’s all stuff that you want to throw together and when you finally find a good recipe, you just want to keep it and eat it up everyday.”

Weaver did just that and finished with an 8-5 record and 1.62 ERA in 19 starts for Palm Beach (A-adv) last season.

And stuff wise, the 22-year old has continued to evolve as well.

“That’s been a big key for me,” said Weaver, who’s been working on a slider and curveball to compliment his fastball and changeup. “The slider, I threw that in the Fall League and I saw some good results. That helped my confidence with it, helped me throw it a little bit more against some really good hitters out there. To see those good results really helped me excel with that pitch. I feel like it’s come a long way and I think that’s a pitch that I can add to the arsenal that’s going to be elite for me hopefully.”

“The curveball is something that’s still developing–it’s a pitch I’ve never ever thrown. It’s a whole different type of technique with me and what I’m used to.”

Not a coincidence, Weaver was in the pitching work group led by Adam Wainwright.

“His isn’t too bad,” Weaver laughed. “I can learn something from him and take advantage of that time.”

Time in the work groups was more than just throwing bullpens and going through drills at the same time. There was plenty of time to talk and listen.

“We all learn a lot from him–he’s got a full head of knowledge,” said Weaver. “A lot experience. It’s fun just to learn about stuff other than baseball, just kind of life in general.”

While they’ve worked together this Spring, the two pitchers first connected soon after Weaver was drafted as Wainwright got his number and reached out to him.

“His number was passed around to me,” said Wainwright. “We haven’t texted much, but occasionally we’ll text about philosophy or whatever. That’s something I look forward to building on.”

“It’s been growing and I’m psyched about it,” said Weaver of their relationship. “It meant a lot to do something like that, he didn’t have to. Just to have that connection and have that kind of mentor to help me here and there whenever I need something–and there’s a lot I can need, I’ll tell you that. There’s a lot I can learn from him.”

In the Grapefruit League, Weaver appeared in three games this season, improving in each outing. He allowed three runs in his first two innings, then one run over the next two before Sunday’s scoreless inning. Overall, his line was 3 G, 5.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, HR, BB, 5 Ks.