At the 12-14-16-18u level, In your OPINION... what is your pitcher's best Strikeout Pitch?
I can begin this by saying that at 12u- it was a fastball-anywhere near the plate-they just swung and missed or watched it go by.
at 14u- it was a change up. Usually thrown to girls who were fouling balls off and getting hungry.
at 16u- hard to throw em by, hard to fool em, hasn't mastered the rise, but that's the pitch I suspect will be needed at this level.
Merry Christmas!:cap:
Many pitchers never "master" the rise, even skilled college pitchers. But what ALL successful pitchers have mastered is a well developed plan for "setting up" batters to get them out - whether that be a strike-out, ground-out or even a pop fly. Strike-outs are the most dramatic, but for the team effort, an out is an out!
This is where "pitching with a plan" is the name of the game. Knowing a batter's weakness(s) helps tremendously, but a savvy pitcher/catcher can glean a ton of information from watching a batter "show her hand" with practice swings in the on-deck circle. Is she using a wristy swing? Arm swing? Back slapper? Dropping hands? This info gives a pitcher a place to start. Surprisingly, EARLY IN THE GAME, many pitchers can start with a slightly low fastball
thrown for a strike which gets them ahead. While this often works the first time through the order, especially with 6 through 9, I don't advise it in later innings unless the hitter is quite tentative or weak. Remember - How many batters actually connect with the
very first pitch they see? Few. Next game, count the number of kids who swing at the very first pitch they see in a game.
Then, it's time to go to work. Based on weakness displayed by the batter, start a baiting game seeing if they will bite. All that's needed is one more strike (with three pitches to play with), and you're ready for "that pitch". But to get there, it takes careful planning and smart pitching. One method might be to use a "climb the ladder" technique. A few well placed low pitches at the knees can set the table for that irresistible high fastball in the eyes that always gets swung under. If the low pitch gets hit, it's often a grounder cleaned up by the infielders. The "up-pitch" doesn't have to be a real rise (although that helps), but MUST be high enough to avoid the heart of the plate. After a diet of low pitches, an up pitch looks so temptingly like a meatball that many batters just can't resist.
So - a "strike-out" pitch can be ANY pitch that a pitcher can spot with pinpoint accuracy, but it must be one that follows a series of skillfully planned pitches, and one that the batter is NOT expecting. It could be a change-up, a rise or up-pitch, or even a drop curve. IMO, the most successful strike-out pitches
must look like strikes to the batter, and they're usually close to or within
the umpires strike zone.