SEATTLE — The end of the baseball season provides a welcome rest for most players. After a grueling 162-game season, players generally take some time away from the game. It’s their time to decompress, re-evaluate their season, get married, go on vacation or spend time with family.

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There was no break for Chicago White Sox pitcher Carson Fulmer this offseason. While his major-league club was still playing games in September, Fulmer went to his offseason home in Seattle, and committed to training as often as possible during the winter. The 25-year-old was not going to let rain, illness or the holidays be an excuse, because he understands there’s a lot at stake in 2019.

After being selected as the No. 8 overall pick in the 2015 Major League Baseball draft, Fulmer has struggled to establish himself as a major-league asset. He’s had opportunities each year since he was drafted, but the numbers haven’t been there. In 67 1/3 innings in the majors, Fulmer has a career 6.68 ERA.

Last season was particularly difficult. Fulmer made the White Sox out of spring training as the team’s fifth starter. He lasted nine appearances with the team before he was sent to Triple-A in May. He didn’t make it back to the majors. Fulmer was surprisingly not among the team’s September call-ups.

Motivated by that snub, Fulmer dedicated himself to finding something he had lost. He turned to Driveline Baseball — a leading data-driven player development company — to recapture his old form.

For Fulmer, that decision made all the sense in the world. He had utilized similar training methods while at Vanderbilt, the college pitching powerhouse that was one of the earliest adopters of Driveline’s methods.

“The stuff they do here really maximizes your body, so I was able to really enjoy doing it in college,” Fulmer told Yahoo Sports. “I got drafted where I was based off of the stuff that I did in this program.”

Since Fulmer was familiar with the program, he knew what to expect. He knew there would be weighted balls, long toss and encouragement on pitching at max effort. The technology available at Driveline — the company has a throwing area which features dozens of hi-speed cameras placed strategically to see every part of a pitcher’s windup and throwing motion — were a big draw for Fulmer, who said he’ll use Driveline “until [his] career is over.”

“They use a lot of slow-mo,” Fulmer said. “For me personally, I’m a big visual guy. I like to see things.”

Driveline: A different philosophy from the White Sox

The decision to go to Driveline this offseason may have been influenced by one of Fulmer’s former coaches. Vanderbilt’s associate head coach Scott Brown spoke with Fulmer during the offseason, telling Fulmer he would enjoy the environment there.

Driveline has grown quite a bit since Kyle Boddy founded the company in 2012. While some of the company’s methods were questioned early on — par for the course in an industry where there are hundreds of self-proclaimed “pitching experts” on the internet — Driveline has grown in popularity in recent years.

Cleveland Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer has been one of the company’s biggest and most vocal supporters for years. It’s gotten to the point where major-league teams have noticed. A number of Driveline employees were hired by teams during the offseason.

That doesn’t mean every team is on board with Driveline’s approach. The White Sox don’t employ the “same philosophies” as Driveline, according to Fulmer.

That could make for an awkward situation now that Fulmer has reported to camp. The White Sox could view Fulmer’s time at Driveline as an indictment of the way they do things. Alternatively, the team could view it as a worthwhile gambit for a player who has struggled in the majors, especially if Fulmer impresses during spring training.

Fulmer believes that — despite the differences in philosophy — it won’t be an issue.

“[The White Sox] know I’m here,” Fulmer said earlier this winter. “I haven’t spoken to them very much about it, but I’ve seen major improvements across the whole board since I’ve been here in September. I think they are very pleased with that.

“They know I’m working extremely hard to come to spring training ready to go. They haven’t had an issue with it. There are some things they probably wouldn’t agree with, but it feels great for me. I’m just trying to do everything I can to impact the team as much as possible.”

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