it has to freak the hitters out having him right on top of them when he throws. he's at the front of the circle when he comes down. so his front foot is about 55" from the front edge of home plate, with his hand even closer. that would certainly freak me out. especially the way he hides the ball behind his back until he has kicked himself out away from the mound.
I think it goes against the spirit of the rule. Walden's move is fine because it's one fluid motion. Capps is doing some drunken version of triple jump.
hop, step, throw....