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Blue Jays' Francisco Liriano: Returning to successful form

Liriano, under the guidance of Toronto pitching coach Pete Walker, has worked on adjusting his release point to match what he'd done during his most successful years in Pittsburgh, SB Nation reports.

Analysis:

Much of Liriano's late-season success last year in Toronto (after being acquired from Pittsburgh) was attributed to him reuniting with Russell Martin, but there may be a better explanation. After two strong seasons, the southpaw struggled early in 2016 before being traded north of the border. Liriano and Walker identified a mechanical flaw that had the veteran opening his front shoulder too much and leaving his throwing arm hanging out to dry. A correction was made to have Liriano keep his front side closed, and the 33-year-old ran off a stretch of four quality starts to end 2016. Liriano's 4.69 ERA and 8-13 record from 2016 may lead many owners to undervalue him in upcoming drafts, but there are indicators that would suggest he may be back to the dominant form he displayed in his first two seasons with Pittsburgh (2014-15).

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