Giants submarine pitcher Tyler Rogers explains origin of delivery

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The Giants' broadcasters said they "love this guy" upon his MLB debut on Aug. 27, 2019. A quick inning for the pitcher with the funky movement caught their attention. 

Tyler Rogers' unique submarine delivery was one thing that stood out to those watching in addition to his ability to keep the ball on the ground.

"I went to junior college in southwest Kansas at Garden City -- I was struggling throwing I guess, conventionally, if that's what you want to call it -- overhand," Rogers told KNBR's "The Mark Willard Show" on Tuesday. "I was throwing with command and getting hit."

His coach approached him and suggested he drop down his arm after Rogers maintained his velocity of 88 mph on a straight ball.

"It got me out of conditioning for the day, so I gave it a shot," Rogers laughed.

In what might not appear to be natural, felt that way for the 29-year-old.

"I was all in, I trusted it completely."

His velocity didn't increase from that 88 number, however, but that unique delivery that had his arm almost on the ground is why he was standing atop that mound in throwing to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park in August.

Well worth the wait from four years (and plenty of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches) of playing in Triple-A. 

When it came time to debut, he had the typical nerves, but lucky for him he was throwing to catcher Stephen Vogt.

Vogt spent time in Triple-A catching Rogers and would turn into a comfort blanket of sorts for his big-league debut.

"I asked the bullpen coach, I said 'Hey, is it normal to not feel your legs for your debut?'" Rogers recalled. "And he looked at me and said, 'Yep!'"

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That's when Rogers knew he was where he was needed to be at that moment. 

A 1.02 ERA in 17 2/3 innings and 16 strikeouts is what he leaves behind in 2019. He'll bring that unique approach back, along with more confidence for the season ahead -- and arrive to his first big league camp in the spring. 

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