Best Pitches To Have?

There is no pitch that will make a scout go "WOW he can throw that!"

Like of course if some guy is out there throwing darts it'll get their attention, or if you have some nasty breaking balls that'll do the same, but there is no clear cut attention grabber other then a good hard fastball anymore.

Rankings, I've never heard of a scout ranking various pitches, like some guys throw a better slider then they do curve, does that make the guy who throws a slider better then the guy who throws a curve not really. Just so long that you have a good FB CU and a good BB that you can locate with you'll be fine.

A lot has to do with projectablitiy when it comes to scouts for the MLB which in turn deals with caochability.

JMO though

thanks alot, it was just something I was wondering.

It all starts with the fastball. Unless the young pitcher has command of his fastball, nothing else matters.

I was once told by a MLB pitching coach that there are three things that will get you out of pitching at any level; (so, logic would dictate that the inverse is correct to stay in pitching)
1.) You don't throw hard enough
2.) You get injured
3.) You can't throw strikes

How does this relate to your post? Velocity. Velocity or the speed of a fastball is what gets kids noticed.....period.

From another perspective......the best pitch is the one you get Strike One with..........

Working ahead in the count changes the complexion of the whole at bat and opens more options for the rest of your pitches.....

Just my .02

Velocity will get you noticed, but velocity alone will not keep you in the game. If all a pitcher has is a straight, flat fastball - even if it is in the 90's - he won't be around too terribly long. After a while, the manager will tire of the runs given up.

Mental toughness, pitch strategy, movement, deception - these will differentiate the pitcher from the thrower.

I have to agree with Piaa_ump about strike one. It makes a tremendous differnece being ahead in the count.

The best pitch in baseball is a fastball.
The 2nd best pitch in baseball is a fastball.

Everything else you do, changes, curves, sliders should be working off your fastball. I don't mean start everyone with a fastball. But it is the most important pitch in your arsenal.

Texan:

quote:

Originally posted by Texan:
Mental toughness, pitch strategy, movement, deception - these will differentiate the pitcher from the thrower.

Especially mental toughness!

Good post!

thanks everyone for the input

I agree that getting ahead in the count is crucial, and puts the pitcher completely in control. However, you don't need to throw the fastball to get ahead. Drop a curveball over for strike one and see how many batters swing. Not many.

Everything is important, but have to agree with all those who say the fastball is the most important pitch.

The real good fastball includes velocity, command and movement. The slower the velocity the more important command and movement become.

The good fastball makes the good breaking ball and the good changeup that much better! And the good breaking ball is the hardest pitch to hit. If that makes any sense.

Location: Can you hit a spot within a three inch triangle. OR can you hit the pocket of the catchers glove three out of seven pitches without the catcher moving his hand?

Movement: Can you throw the ball using your fingers to make the ball spin with out turning your elbow or wrist?

Speed: Can you throw the ball at the maximum velocity, HS over 80+; College over 85+; Pro over 90+ and hit the "BLACK" edges of the strike zone when you need to?


LMS means you can pitch as a starter with an ERA around a 3.00 at each level you compete at. ERA of less than 4.00 as a reliever, and an ERA of less than 2.00 ideally as a closer.

Meet those goals and you can consider yourself a very good pitcher.

Keeping it simple.

For pitchers, the best pitch in baseball is out #1. (TM)

The 2nd best pitch in baseball is out #2.

The 3rd best pitch in baseball is out #3.

Three pitches, three outs.

It does not get any better than that!.....KISS

Regards,
Bear



Keepi

Josh,

I had an old-timer tell me one time, you have six pitches:

In, Out, Up, Down, Hard, Soft....

O42

The best pitch to have is a fastball approaching 100 miles an hour! Short of that, a fastball is still the most inportant pitch because it is the foundation for breaking pitches. While a high speed fastball is the most difficult pitch to hit, a well-placed breaking ball will get lots of hitters out.

Here's my take- All that mental toughness and best pitch being strike one is just fun rhetoric. There are pre-requisites with pro scouts and college coaches. Everybody that gets drafted high has a great fastball (velocity). You can make a mistake with a great fastball and not get hurt but you will be killed with an average fastball mistake. A great fastball with run will get you drafted higher. From there, if you can show a feel for a plus breaking ball you will go higher than a guy who does not have good feel. The third pitch (my favorite) is a guy who can throw a straight change with fastball arm-speed. That would be my order of priority. The reality is that you have to find the guys with the physical ability first. From there, you weed out the guys who can't locate and compete. It cracks me up when people say "give me nine guys with heart and I'll win". What if they suck? Give me a bunch of guys with tools and I'll find enough guys with heart to beat you. Heart never hit a 95 mph fastball with sink.