Sheaitaintso's Baseball Corner!

i am a sophomore @ enfield high school. i am the ace pitcher for the varsity baseball team.?

i have stellar mechanics but room for improvement always. my arm strength, in my coaches words, is dynamite. im 16 and i throw about 78 mph. i have a small physique and i use my whole body in order to throw at the speed i do. i have 7 very varied pitches: fastball (2+4 seam), curveball, knuckleball, circle change, splitter, and sinker. my pitch speeds differenciate alot which is how ive been doing so wel lately. i need help on developing my arm to have an even wider speed difference. any exercises or tips on how i can increase my mph with my pitches would be greatly appreciated. thanks

First of all….if you are a small-framed 16 year old throwing 75-78, you must have very solid (interesting maybe?) mechanics. I believe there is no such thing as bad mechanics…..only mechanics that cause injury. That should be your first priority….making sure you are not putting too much stress on your body because I’m sure you must be creating quite a bit of torque.

Also….if you are throwing 78, than your change should be around 65-68 with the SAME arm speed. If it’s any faster…..it won’t matter how fast your 4-seamer is, hitters will sit on it. In my opinion high school players are not spending enough time (or being coached on) developing plus changeups. I know you didn’t ask for that advice….but it’s so important I have to give it (just wait till you get to college).

Here are a few tips on slight adjustments that may help with increasing your velocity. ( I’m assuming you already have a weight program…..and stay away from supplements other than Whey and Creatine)

1) move fast from the back leg to the front leg
2)use the back leg to move out very low to the ground
3) scap loading during stretch (elbow to shoulder blade)
4)get the throwing arm up very late in the delivery ( use a
late hand break)
5)stride length of over 100% of your height
6) turn hips well before shoulders
7)brace the front leg and hip to increase upper body speed

Check out video of guys like Lincecum and Wagner. They both get tremendous velocity by doing these steps.

Good luck…hope this helps a bit.

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