How Different Types of Pitchers Affect Hitters

Something hitters are not being taught…… is learning about the pitcher and how it would affect their approach against them.

 

Too many are approaching pitcher’s by pitch types and creating a generic plan for pitch types.

 

Problem is…..

 

…….every pitcher is different and their pitches do not play the same.

 

Three things hitters need to take into consideration:

 

• • Pitcher Type
  • Arm Slot
  • Spin Rate

These are all things hitters can identify by watching pitchers warm up and throughout the game…..

 

…they don’t need extensive scouting reports and data. They need to watch the game and read pitchers.

 

With that said, hitters need to understand:

• • what they need to be looking for
  • how to interpret the information
  • develop a plan/approach with that information

Let’s break this down further:

Pitcher Type

Pitcher type is the most obvious thing that hitters notice and discuss among themselves.

 

Whether they know what it means and what mindset they need to have to develop a plan/approach is another thing.

 

With that, hitters need to have the conversation and what thought process it triggers.

 

The three different pitcher types are:

• • Power Pitcher
  • Average Pitcher
  • Finesse Pitcher

Let’s break it down:

Power Pitcher

When hitters discuss power pitchers, they think velocity. And all this means for a pitcher is that there is more room for errors with their pitches….

 

….meaning they miss more over the plate.

 

Power pitchers can throw the ball down the middle and miss more barrels, as most hitters do not display the bat speed to catch up with it.

 

So, hitters understanding these guys are not looking to nitpick the corners, they will challenge over the plate.

Average Pitcher

When hitters discuss average pitchers, they think wheelhouse speed. What this means is they will get challenged, but do not feel like they will get over powered.

 

However, the average pitcher can make some mistakes……

 

…..their margin or error is not as great as the power pitcher. But they can make mistakes on the corner parts of the plate and get hitters to miss.

 

So an average pitcher can still make mistakes.

 

Hitters understand that these guys are going to nitpick a bit more and get the corner pitches.

Finesse Pitcher

When hitters discuss a finesse pitcher, they think a pitch who is throwing slow and relies on locations.

 

These pitchers know they need to change speed and eye level to keep hitters off-balance. They know they need to nibble the corner and get hitters to expand their zone.

 

Hitters let the speed and the expansion of the zone get themselves out.

 

The focus on concentration needed against finesse pitchers is likely more than any other pitcher type yet, they tend to focus the least.

 

So…the pitcher type is something hitters are very well aware of but they aren’t sure what it means……

 

……..in terms of how they should approach. And it’s not their fault, they need to be taught.

 

Hitters, understand that every pitch these guys make matters, and they will challenge you to expand the zone and chase pitches.

 

Arm Slot

Next, after understanding the pitcher type, hitters need to read the pitcher’s arm slot. This is going to give them an understanding of:

 

• • what pitches they might throw
  • the visual strategy they take to see the ball
  • how the pitch is going to spin, therefore move

 

There are three arm slots hitters can read:

• • High Arm Slot
  • Average Arm Slot
  • Low Arm Slot

Let’s break this down further

 

High Arm Slot

Reading pitchers with high arm slots is going to give you an understand of his repertoire

 

• • 4 seam fastball
  • 2 seam fastball – high slot will get movement, but not as much
  • Curveball – high slot will produce the 12/6 shape.
  • Change up – high slot will get movement, but not as much

This understanding for hitters gives them an idea of what to expect and how they need to prepare and approach their at bats.

 

 This is what we can see from the pitcher:

• • warming up in the bullpen before the game
  • warming up between innings
  • pitching to everyone else in your lineup

Average Arm Slot

Reading the pitcher’s average arm slot is going to give you an understanding of his repertoire.

 

• • 4 seam fastball
  • 2 seam fastball – average arm slot is going to produce a lot more movement than high arm slot
  • Curveball – average slot will produce more of a 11/5 or 10/4 shape
  • Slider – average arm slot will produce more of a sweeping action with the slider.
  • Change Up – average arm slot is going to produce a lot more movement than the high arm slot

This understanding for hitters gives them an idea of what to expect and how they need to prepare and approach their at bats. 

 

 This is what we can see from the pitcher:

 

• • warming up in the bullpen before the game
  • warming up between innings
  • pitching to everyone else in your lineup

Low Arm Slot

Reading the pitcher’s low arm slot is going to give you an understanding of his repertoire.

 

• • 4 seam fastball – low arm slot brings more movement to a pitch
  • 2 seam fastball (sinker) – low arm slot 2 seam (sinker) pitch becomes the more predominant pitch because of the movement that comes along with this arm slot.
  • Slider – low arm slot bring a larger sweeping move of the slider across the plate
  • Changeup – low arm slot brings out more movement in the changeup.

 

This understanding for hitters gives them an idea of what to expect and how they need to prepare and approach their at bats.   This can be seen from pitcher:

• • warming up in the bullpen before the game
  • warming up between innings
  • pitching to everyone else in your lineup

Spin Rate

Spin rate over the last 5-10 years has been a measurable that is being widely captured and used in hitters understanding how pitcher pitches move.

 

Spin rate is what makes every pitcher unique…… every pitcher is different and all their pitches move differently……

 

…….which is why a generic approach against a fastball or any pitch doesn’t work and hitters struggle.

 

There are three spin rate categories:

• • High Spin
  • Low Spin
  • Average Spin

With some understanding, we will be able to watch pitchers during warm ups and throughout the game….

 

…….and get a feel for what type of spin their pitches have, and now we can start to think through our plan/approach.

 

Let’s break this down further:

High Spin Rate

High Spin rate is the measurable that is highest for a certain pitch, which changes the course of how the pitch would move and approach the plate.

 

Fastballs with high spin rate:

• • Plays up in the zone
  • produces more swings and misses
  • produces more fly balls
  • pitch in lower part of the zone gets crushed

It looks like the pitch is rising for hitters, as it maintains the same plane longer….

 

…..this obviously changes how you would approach this fastball.

 

A pitcher throwing from a low arm slot fastball will not have the same rising affect as in the average to high arm slot.

Low Spin Rate

Low spin rate is the measurable that is below average for certain pitches which changes the course of how the pitch would move and approach the plate.

 

Fastballs with low spin rate:

• • Plays lower in the zone
  • Fewer swings and misses
  • Produce more ground balls
  • A lots of double plays
  • Pitch tends to stay in the ball park

Average Spin Rate

Pitchers with an average spin rate do not have much of an advantage…

 

……they have to execute hitting their spots and mix speed well to get hitters off balance and miss the barrel.

Conclusion

Good hitters are obsessed with getting as much information on a pitcher so they can best prepare.

 

How do you do that?……Read The Pitcher. 

 

The more hitters study pitchers, the more you can box them in terms of the:

• Pitcher Type
• Arm Slot
• Spin Rate

Then hitters can break it down further and find the unique advantage each individual pitcher has.