Rank 'em...Speed, Movement, Location

[wadeintothem]

I wish I could remember what player showcase it was, but there was a pitchers time that stuck out in my mind.
FB 68mph, change up 43

I thought that must be a typo then read her second times
FB 68, C/U 41

I was really impressed with her change being 25-27 mph slower, would love to see if she has a tell that it's coming.

The olympics maybe?

Oh wait, even they arent that good.

Not sure then.

[ssarge]

Let me be clear...I was NOT suggesting that the CU be 5mph slower than the fastest pitch. I was talking about throwing the drop at 53mph one time than 48mph the next. (12U)

Keith

I got that. My comment was addressed to Martin.

[ssarge]

I wish I could remember what player showcase it was, but there was a pitchers time that stuck out in my mind.
FB 68mph, change up 43

I thought that must be a typo then read her second times
FB 68, C/U 41

I was really impressed with her change being 25-27 mph slower, would love to see if she has a tell that it's coming.

As I indicated before, I think that is TOO big of a delta. It gives the elite hitter time to check, reload, and swing. I believe 12-15 mph delta is about right (between fastest pitch and change-up).

[jofus]

My DD's pitching coach has taught her 2 different changes. They're different speeds (one about 10-12 mph slower than her fast pitches, one about....7-9 or so slower), and they have a different look. I like her having 2 in case a team starts picking up on her primary one (the slower one), she can try to fool them with the other one.

As mentioned above, she hides both of them well, with her windmill looking the same up until release, which I think is most important for changes.

Now if she can just find that that little bit of speed that her coach and I both think she still has but just hasn't found yet

He really works on location too, obviously...anything over the "red" (the middle 50%) of the plate or waist-high-ish or higher (maybe even thigh high or higher) isn't a good pitch (well, not counting the rise, which is still a work in progress so I don't count it).

[sftballjnkie]

I agree that speed is not everything. A good hitter can time speed if that is all you got. A CU is vitally important even in 10U. My DD is not the fastest pitcher in 10U (47-49 MPH) but she has really worked on her CU and has an ability to make the ball move coming is as well. The better teams can hit her, but only get doinkers back to SS or 2nd with no solid contact. Every once in awhile, someone launches one if she goes down the middle of the plate. Her pitching coach tells her constantly that the CU is vital. She's learning that it's not always about striking them out, but making them off balance enough to not make solid contact and thus letting her defense get the outs. 3 pitches and 3 outs is a whole lot better than 9 pitches and 3 outs. IMHO

[Gone in 2.6]

"Rank 'em"


1. Spins per second.

[addiction]

#1 is movement, have to be able to keep batters off balance and guessing

a batter will eventually catch up to a pitcher with just speed

[LA FAMILIA]

When you are talking abouth ball movement is spining or just breaking balls?

[dustyshoes]

How much break should a good peel drop have?

DD has just started learning this pitch, she's a 10u with a very good but not overwhelming fastball, a nice change up and she's just starting to learn the peel drop. The private coach we're working with taught her the pitch at the end of her last session but she didn't get to try it out with him and with our season underway we probably won't get back for a session for while.

A few months ago we arrived early for a session with this coach and he was working with a 16u girl who pitched for a decent travel team and HS. She was one of those girls who had good breaking pitches but put off learning the drop. When she threw a good one this coach liked, it didn't seem to break very much but he said it was effective because it came in thigh high and dropped to knee length or lower around the plate. That's what I think I'm seeing in DD's first attempts at this pitch when she throws a good one but I'm half wondering if it's more a combination of gravity and daddy googles than break.

Naturally, I tell her it broke plenty so she gets exited and wants to practice it more

[FPdaddy]

My DD also throws a PEEL drop. It does not break as much as her screw ball...but it breaks late. From the catcher's point of view, it's more like a split-finger fastball rather than big, 12-6 curve ball in baseball parlance.