Some clips for review

He looks strong. One area we worked on was trying to keep his front foot more closed. It allowed him to keep his front side from opening prematurely. It is also a surprisingly stronger position to make contact from.

I looked at #2 by frame...

Great swing on high to middle pitches, then the 2nd pitch (the low one) he used a totally different swing.

He threw his hands away from his shoulders (toward the catcher), creating arm bar, then he threw his hands forward way too soon.

He should work on a tee (or a hitting stick), placing the ball high and low (at the knee). Work on using the same swing for both.

He can easily reach the low ball without changing anything.

He needs to coil and then go "forward by tightening" by using the lower back. Once he turns the barrel, he'll probably do very well. This is not a bad place to start from at all.

Thanks for the thoughts so far.

floridafan
One of the issues I think we're actually getting somewhere with is keeping the front foot closed. It's about a 100% better than it was at the beginning of the summer. It's improved his power tremendously in a short amount of time. I'll make sure it remains a focus.

SultanofSwat
That second swing was ugly... In a game I hope he wouldn't have swung at that pitch. Still though, he's never been good on the low outside pitches. I think he's just starting to figure out that he can take those pitches hard to right field. It's definitely something he needs to work on with some tee work.

Low Finish
I'm not 100% sure what you mean by "forward by tightening"... What I've told him is to load his weight back onto the inside of his rear leg and then use that stored energy to make his hips explode forward. Are we on the right path?

quote:

Originally posted by Rob T:
In a game I hope he wouldn't have swung at that pitch. Still though, he's never been good on the low outside pitches.

Any decent HS pitcher will spot this after one swing.

He will never see another pitch, except low.

Any "decent" high school pitcher would have no clue. They are too worried about throwing strikes. You're giving high school pitchers WAY too much credit. Oh, by the way, they also usually have a tough time locating as most struggle with command.

quote:

Originally posted by SultanofSwat:

quote:

Originally posted by Rob T:
In a game I hope he wouldn't have swung at that pitch. Still though, he's never been good on the low outside pitches.

Any decent HS pitcher will spot this after one swing.

He will never see another pitch, except low.

quote:

Originally posted by Low Finish:
He needs to coil and then go "forward by tightening" by using the lower back. Once he turns the barrel, he'll probably do very well. This is not a bad place to start from at all.

99.9% of people in baseball have no idea what you are talking about. I'm not saying you're wrong. I am saying you need to define and describe what you are talking about.

quote:

Originally posted by CDP:
Any "decent" high school pitcher would have no clue. They are too worried about throwing strikes. You're giving high school pitchers WAY too much credit. Oh, by the way, they also usually have a tough time locating as most struggle with command.

quote:

Originally posted by SultanofSwat:

quote:

Originally posted by Rob T:
In a game I hope he wouldn't have swung at that pitch. Still though, he's never been good on the low outside pitches.

Any decent HS pitcher will spot this after one swing.

He will never see another pitch, except low.

Disagree with this, a decent HS pitcher can spot the fastball.

My point is this- Maybe a catcher or coach is going to see a hitter's holes. A high school age pitcher has enough things to worry about and highly doubt he has the capacity to recognize small things in a swing. A good high school pitcher can locate a fastball. A decent one is decent because he usually lacks command.

quote:

Originally posted by standballdad:

quote:

Originally posted by CDP:
Any "decent" high school pitcher would have no clue. They are too worried about throwing strikes. You're giving high school pitchers WAY too much credit. Oh, by the way, they also usually have a tough time locating as most struggle with command.

quote:

Originally posted by SultanofSwat:

quote:

Originally posted by Rob T:
In a game I hope he wouldn't have swung at that pitch. Still though, he's never been good on the low outside pitches.

Any decent HS pitcher will spot this after one swing.

He will never see another pitch, except low.

Disagree with this, a decent HS pitcher can spot the fastball.

I personally think people make hitting way too complicated, especially for a 13 year old. Obviously, there are some things in his swing that need worked on (it's tough to tell a lot about his consistency in 3 side view swings). The #1 thing he needs to continue to develop is his bat speed and his bat path...if you have both of those things, you should be able to hit very well at that level.

His 1st swing on the side view was his best. He stayed behind his front leg with his upper body. The 2nd swing his upper body came forward too aggressively.

Overall, keep doing what you are doing. Hitting is something that has to be done on a daily basis in order to be good. You have to groove that swing....

quote:

Originally posted by Rob T:

Low Finish
I'm not 100% sure what you mean by "forward by tightening"... What I've told him is to load his weight back onto the inside of his rear leg and then use that stored energy to make his hips explode forward. Are we on the right path?

No, the coil occurs in the hip socket and then the lower back pull back moves you forward AS it tightens the hip socket. It isn't a weight shift backwards and then an aggressive shift forwards. It's a coil (separation in the hip socket), a stretch (against the hip socket, through the pull back and the scapula retraction), and a "release" (turn the barrel).