Verlander used shutdown for 'full rebuild' of mechanics

Houston Astros right-hander Justin Verlander used the coronavirus shutdown as an opportunity to revamp his delivery.

"One of my goals was to get my mechanics back to what they had been and get my velocity up to what it used to be, or better than last year, anyway," Verlander said, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. "I looked at this as an opportunity to get better. I went through a full rebuild process, working on getting my mechanics where I wanted them. I went down the rabbit hole."

Verlander wanted to lower his release point back to where it had been a couple of seasons ago - to six feet, five inches from seven feet, two inches - because his "extremely high and vertical and arched" delivery wasn't sustainable if he wants to avoid injury.

The 37-year-old was spurred to reconstruct his approach after undergoing groin surgery this spring. The injury would have kept him out of action to start the season had the campaign gone ahead as scheduled.

Early returns look strong, as he threw three scoreless innings in an intrasquad game on Thursday.

"I’m not perfect or exactly where I want to be yet, but very, very close," Verlander said. "But today was a huge success for me, in my opinion, in just the way it felt."