Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Noah Syndergaard is back to full strength and believes he can dominate hitters like he used to, which would be a major change from last season when his effectiveness was down after returning from Tommy John surgery.
"Last year, I didn't throw a pitch where it didn't feel like I was pitching in a straightjacket," Syndergaard told the New York Post's Jon Heyman.
"Everyone said there's a Tommy John hangover. I thought I was pretty unique in that I could avoid that. But it wasn't possible."
Syndergaard was decent in 15 starts (3.83 ERA, 3.95 FIP) for the Los Angeles Angels after signing a one-year, $21-million pact.
The Angels traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies in August, where he remained steady but failed to flash the same strikeout stuff he possessed during his most dominant years with the New York Mets - Syndergaard's fastball velocity dipped from a career-average 97.8 mph to 94.5 mph, and his 6.3 K/9 was a career low.
"It was like trying to change a tire on a car while it was still moving," Syndergaard said.
"It was hard to make changes that would stick. The Phillies, too, were throwing duct tape on stuff. … I still did a pretty good job. But it's hard to get hitters out when you're thinking about what your body is doing in mid-delivery."
Syndergaard believes he can re-discover his 100-mph heat, using Jacob deGrom and Justin Verlander as examples of older pitchers who had Tommy John and still manage to throw high velocity in their 30s.
The Dodgers are hoping Syndergaard is right after the two sides agreed to a one-year, $13-million deal this offseason.
"Thor" will join a loaded Dodgers rotation that includes Clayton Kershaw, Julio Urias, Tony Gonsolin, and Dustin May but will be without Walker Buehler for the season.
