Everytime our pitchers throw – whether they’re throwing in drills, or in the bullpen – we want them to throw patterns. Today’s video covers pitching drills and the “Fastball Patterns” to use when throwing against both the right and left-handed batter.
Let’s Break It Down
We want them to throw 3 fastballs away from arm-side, which would be low and away, right on the outside corner of home plate. So the catcher will set up, and after talking to the pitcher, the pitcher will throw 3 fastballs low and away, and then we’re going to come up and throw a pitch up and in, which is what we call a “killer pitch”. This is the pitch we want to throw if we have 2 strikes on the batter.
The key here is to throw the ball right underneath the hitters hand. So the catcher is going to pu this glove right underneath (or below) the batters hand, and the pitcher is going to throw to that same spot.
So the pitcher is going to throw three low and away, and one up and ine. And then they’re going to repeat that pattern.
Then we want them to be able to take the ball down, so the next pitch would be down and in. And then we’ll throw up and away, which would end up being pretty much where a left handed hitters hand would be.
That’s a pattern we would throw to a right hand hitter. You would throw just the opposite to a left-handed hitter.
The key is you must get that pitch underneath the hand. If you miss with it, you’ve got to miss in and drive the hitter off the play.
Do you use fastball patterns with your pitchers? Why or why not? Share your thoughts and comments below! And don’t forget to Become a Fan on Facebook, where you can talk about these pitching drills and more with other fans! Looking for more great pitching drills? Then check out this great pitching drills series!