Video Comments

That portable mound is kind of narrow but I think If he were to move to the first base side of the rubber it could help with the breaking ball for sure.

Also If he continues to miss arm side with the BB have the catcher set up 6-12 inches off the plate away to force him to get it out there.

Hard to be certain from the youtube videos but he looks wide open on at least one of the curves. My guess is that if he did try to finish with the curve it would be in the ground outside a few feet in front of the plate. He may be able to finish a bit better on the fastball but when he does it goes outside because of being open. He's also extremely upright at release which is going to tend to reduce his velocity. These comments are worth what you've paid for them of course.

Yes, I noticed that with his wide initial stance he's very much operating from the far right, and can see now that his lead foot is landing well to the right as well. Will try to shuttle him back towards center a bit more. Our game 'mound' is somewhat better - a big fiberglass bubble - because unfortunately the MWR Director on our base refuses to have a proper mound constructed on any of 'his' fields.

I think you're better off fixing the mechanics issue whatever it may be than trying to bandaid it by moving on the rubber.

CAdad, if only he would listen! OMG, I have been telling him to 'get over the wall' for many moons. Maybe now that he can see himself on vid it will make more sense to him. He's grown a lot the last year, too, so strength+flexibility through the hips is something we need to stay focused on as he adjusts to his growth.

Krak - since I am not a pitching guru, I am free to comment on what I see. I see a very nice pitcher's body and talent. I think he can go as far as his determination takes him.

Thanks CD

When I pause each pitch at the immediate lead foot touchdown, I see a major issue -- CAdad noted as well -- his foot is sometimes even turned open towards an 11 o'clock position when he should be touching down with an angle more towards 1 o'clock. Sheesh. Yeah, that's a loss of power right there - and where he is touching down appears to be locking him up in the hips (sometimes failing to cross over the 'line' between rear foot and target - not sure I'm describing that clearly).

Awesome looking pitcher Krak! Very impressive.

I agree with CADad in that he really needs to focus on finishing better and not finishing upright. He's actually putting a tremendous amount of pressure on his scapula by not finishing. Pain from that muscle is extremely painful.

He is a LOT of incredible potential!

I'm no big pitching guru either, but the first thing I noticed is his glove arm dropping very early. His glove really comes all the way down to almost his knee, then flys back up as part of his follow through. Dropping the glove like that could lead to his front shoulder opening up and even his foot landing open. Try to get him to keep his glove arm up and pull his chest towards it to keep the shoulder closed longer.

Fastballs are outside because he tries to whip his arm through faster to keep up with his body and he yanks them low and outside. Curveballs remain inside because he is not whipping as much and his arm is dragging.

I just think you can cure a lot by taking care of the glove arm which will lead to his front shoulder staying closed longer.

Very quickly what I see.

His arm action needs a little work. When he loads up, he's not really getting his scaps involved, and then it eventually translates into his throwing arm not "laying back" very much (if he loaded, then unloaded his arm better it may get that nice "whippy" action you see in high level throwers)

His tempo is a little slow and his rhythm needs work. He stalls over the rubber at knee lift. He needs to try and be more 'fluid" as he moves out. Could also use more "intent" to throw hard. More "giddy-up" (for lack of a better term) in his delivery. This may also be causing him to open up earlier than he should.

He could "sit" a little deeper as he moves out he may get a little more leverage into his throw also (may also finish lower which would make him not look so upright when he releases).

Get him doing some solid long tossing, hit the weights hard and go on a "see food" diet. He does have a great pitchers body, and is on the right track.

Anyways...my .02

Good luck!

Edit - I'm not sure how to get the image to appear in my post. Does this site allow GIF's to get posted?

Gents, thanks a bunch for your 'eyes' and knowledge, and thank goodness for video which then allows our kids to improve - even on the other side of the globe!

Krak he has a great pitchers body and a ton of upside. His arm works well. I agree with everything CADad pointed out. I am just guessing from the video but I would venture to guess he is 84-86 on his fastball?

at :22 sec in, I just saw how much he's heel-landing. Where's my spankin' stick!

Coach May, I don't think he's up there. Last I checked (Stalker), four months ago, he topped at 79. He's been doing lots of LT and strength/core this fall and winter and I hope to have him 82-83 by season's start...I won't get the Stalker out again.until maybe May..in fact, I am even thinking of selling it because he'll showcase this summer and I'll have absolutely no use for it anymore....but anyway, most of that velo is going to come out of the mechanical fixes that have been noted by you all, so thanks!

He reminds me alot of a good friends son who is pitching at UNC-Asheville.

Dude needs a haircut in a bad way!

Sometimes I just seriously wonder about people.

Like this dude?

I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers...I was just joking around. That's the style these days...no big deal

No ruffle here; I have already told him he will need to cut his hair before the official season starts and again before he showcases this summer. Most coaches I know, myself included, would like a cleaner cut than what many kids are going with these days.

That said, it is a rather triumphant head of hair - wish I still had the capacity to grow it like that!

Krak, I bet you had it back in your days lifeguarding the beautiful shores (erm, and other beautiful scenery) of Lake Lanier! LOL.

I did indeed! I had hair like Robert Plant!

Krak,

I am not big on posting comments to online video as it is difficult to communicate, and you really need slow motion but I will try, particularly given where you are living right now. I am also going to send you some other stuff via PM. First your son has very similar issues as my son has worked thorough.(and currently working on) My son is also 6’4” and has always been a “glider” just the same way your son looks. I guess this is common in tall kids at a young age as they can throw reasonably hard, just with their size. To take it to the next level they must change their mechanics. As a side note, get him in the weight room and have him focus on leg workouts.

I see two main issues he needs to focus on right now. There are others, but fix these first and then you can work on some other stuff later. Do not try to fix everything at once, take one or two things at a time.

My son has been working the past two months with a kid pitching in AA ball who is tall and has worked through these issues before. He is also current on the current teachings at the major league level. I will say that changing mechanics takes time and dedication, you need to have patience and I believe you really need to find some one who can work with him, one on one. Could be a problem where you live, but Korea is big in baseball so hopefully you can find someone.

For what it is worth here is what I see.

1. His glove side needs to stay firm and not pull off. The modern “teach” in pitching is to keep the glove in front of you and essentially have your chest run into your glove as your body comes through to the plate. It ends up being in front of your chest as you follow through. This helps direct all of a pitchers energy moving toward the plate and keeps them closed longer allowing the energy to be released in a more explosive way. If you look at slow motion video of a pitcher with good mechanics it actually stays in the same place and your body runs into it. With your son, you can see him pull off best from the view from behind the catcher. His glove is off to the side and fly’s up after he releases the ball. Think of pitching as the conservation of energy and the more energy he can keep moving toward the catcher the harder he is going to throw. Start working on this every time he picks up a ball and throws it. Starts slow at low velocity and in warm ups and keep working on it.

2.Leg drive. He is gliding! (just like my son BTW) He has huge leverage and he needs to use it! Right now he is throwing with his upper body only. He needs to think about pitching as starting from his legs. I am not sure if I can explain this in writing but I will try. He needs to let his butt lead him to the plate. Have him start from the stretch raise his leg up and stop. Stand in front of him and have him drive against your arms (static) driving with his butt leading his body. Put your hand on his shoulder. Have him do this a few times and then stand aside and have him do it live. Forget about where the ball goes right now.

Second, if you look at his left foot from a top down view it moves in a big arc. Think about it from his toes perspective, they move in a big arc. This is completely wrong. Have him throw from the stretch and drive to the plate with his left heal first. Rock back and have him show his butt to the catcher and then drive with his heal. Have him think that his toes will follow his heal to the plate. If done properly his foot line to the plate will be in a straight line and right before foot strike his toes will rotate toward the batter. This leg drive will naturally get him to have a longer stride length, which his is too short right now. Looking from the video his toes should be landing at the end of the mound he is on. This is too small for him BTW.

Pitching is really about the legs and boy does he have some, if he uses them look out!

All of this is causing his arm to drag through the zone which is why his curve balls are all to the right side, and his fastballs are pulled off. If he gets his lower body in the proper position his release point will be better also. Right now his hand is dragging behind and he is releasing too early. Curves in particular need to be released out in front.

Once he gets this stuff fixed he can work on getting though the ball more with a more aggressive move. His release point will move closer to the batter and his body will be more horizontal right after release.

With his size and leverage there is no reason IMO he can not be throwing in the 86-88 range.

As noted I will dig some stuff up and send it to you via a PM.

Thanks BOF! What a nice, constructive review. I really appreciate the time it took you to give such a comprehensive evaluation. I will keep an eye out for the PM's.

Thanks again,

Krak

My son has very long hair as well, the varsity doesn't want him to cut it. The coach said that he is very intimidating on the mound. He is 6'3" 230 pounds.