My Journey (Class of '19) 6'0" RHP

#1

Name: MJ
Year: Sophomore
Starting Height: 6’0"
Starting Weight: 170 lbs
Throws/Bats: Right
Other Positions: None/3B
Alternate Sports: Basketball
Pitch Arsenal: 2-seam, 4-seam, developing change-up, Power Curveball
Velocity: Recently got clocked at consistently 70-72

Long-Term Goals: To become a successful Division I pitcher, and beyond…
Short(er) Term Goals:

  1. Gain 10 - 15 lbs of muscle by the start of next season
  2. Increase my fastball velocity to upper 70s/low 80s by start of high school season
  3. Become a dominant pitcher for my varsity team
  4. Perfect my mechanics
  5. Loosen up (very tight mechanics)

How I will accomplish this:

  1. Starting up a strength training program for the Summer
  2. Then a mechanics correction program
  3. Weight Lifting in my free time
  4. Pitching for my club team and experimenting
#2

Had a tournament last weekend and relieved against a team with seven D1 commits. Let up two unearned runs in 1.1 innings (entered the game with guy on third and first two outs, but the second baseman wasn’t positioned right and let a dribbler get through). Next inning I had a guy on second with two outs and he stole and my catcher over threw third and he scored and of course the next batter popped out to second. Highlight of the game for me was striking out a Seton Hall commit. This game showed me that I can control games with my deception, accuracy, and offspeed pitchers, but without velocity I can not dominate games against top competition.

#3

Had my first strength training walkthrough with a gym/program that specializes in pitchers. Seems very promising. I would post my workout and what i’am doing, but they are keen on not letting their programs go viral. In short though, the program hits mobility, flexibility, and strength and has gotten great results from other pitchers in the area. This summer for me will be about getting some exposure at higher level tournaments and gaining knowledge as a pitcher, but also trying out some new mechanics and putting on muscle mass. My plan is to completely strip down my mechanics and nearly start from scratch with some of the pitching coaches at the gym in the fall, and then a driveline like velocity program in the winter, followed by a final mechanics assessment. Goal is to be at low 80s by the next high school season and cement myself as the Number 2 or 3 pitcher on Varsity.

#4

Had a very solid mobility, plyometric workout yesterday. Lots of explosiveness drills (continuous broad jumps, seated box jumps, Active heidens) and some band work that correlates to my two biggest weaknesses of not being able to land softly in my front leg or generate enough force from my back leg. My club team has a scrimmage today against another club team to prepare for our Perfect Game qualifier this weekend. Me and 6 other pitchers will all get a tune up inning in the game and part of me wants to just pitch normally but I also want to try to be more explosive.

#5

Got rocked yesterday in my one inning relief. We lost 3-2, In the 6th inning it was 2-1 and I let up one run. The stats may not look so bad, but every hitter was roping me and it just didn’t feel good. Nearly every pitcher on my team throws atlas 80mph and it’s just discouraging that I only throw around 70mph. In my other forum about my mechanics, people are leaving useful comments but I don’t know how to just change what I am doing effectively. How do I just change my mechanics from what I’ve been doing for years and in what ways do I change my mechanics? Please someone leave some feedback.

#6

NJPitchers, you live in NJ I presume. There are many private clubs with qualified coaches, some who have played in MLB or college in the past. As much as we love to help you, but it might make sense to work with someone closely to review your mechanics. Many NJ clubs also offer strengthening programs in addition to just pitching clinics.

I personally value “professional view point and teaching”, because I can only go so far on my own.

Two additional thoughts:

  1. Someone recommends working “exclusively” with only one coach to maintain consistency. I agree.
  2. However, after establish a baseline for my son’s mechanics, I like to try a different coach once in a while to gain his “unique experience and view point”. It doesn’t always work as expected, but it’s like trying out different restaurants, it’s more fun than eating at the same place over and over again.

Good luck.

Alex

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#7

I hate to say it, but as a 2019 guy throwing in the low 70’s you’re not going to be able to get into a D1 school without a major velocity jump (like at least consistently hitting 84-86 by senior year). However, with some hard work and if your control is as good as it sounds, there is a very good chance there are D3 programs out there who could use someone like you.

#8

I 100% agree with you that I need a velocity bump but I have never felt more motivated in my life. Ive been breaking down my mechanics and I have already added 3/4 mph on my fastball just by loading more weight in my back leg. Appreciate the tough criticism but hopefully I prove you wrong.

#9

Havent been that active lately but I have slowly been gaining more confidence again. Ive been doing workouts at the gym that will improve not only my strength but also mobility and movement. I used to view pitching mechanics as just bringing my knee up and dropping down towards the plate. I now realize that the longer I can keep weight in my back leg and then keep it on the ground longer (long stride) the more velocity I can gain. Obviously there are other aspects I need to improve but those are some key components I never picked up on until now.

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#10

Exactly, who knows what could happen. Most Northeast pitchers (myself included) expirence a significant jump in velocity especially after Freshman and sophomore years. There was a pitcher a couple hours away from where I live that got drafted #3 overall out of high school in 2016 and from what I heard, he was topping out at 83-84 during his freshman year. By the time he (Ian Anderson) was a senior he could touch 96-97. Put in the hard work, be patient, and the results will come. Good luck!!

#11

Going to invest in a radar gun as I feel it would be effective to track my progress over the Summer, Fall, and Winter. My workouts consist of mainly legs (barbell bridges, squat lunges), plyometrics (Active heidens, seated box jumps), and then occasional other groups like back (incline db rows), shoulder (front kettlebell carry), hips (med ball slams), core (band pallof press). I try to go to the gym 4 times a week and then my off days consist mainly of tournaments on the weekends or if not then baseball practices. Each workout is different for example Day 1 is mobility, 2 is lifting, 3 is mobility/movement, 4 is lifting.

#12

Uhttps://www.facebook.com/MLBNetwork/videos/10154461645246695/

Not sure if the above link works or not. It’s from MLB Network with subject on “Are baseball players lifting too much weights”. The clip showed former pitcher, Ron Darling, sharing his view on baseball players shouldn’t be trained by weight lifters.

I still believe that every player is unique and should find his own recipes and not just copy others!

Good luck!

Alex

#13

I agree that not all exercises that weight lifters do should be done by pitchers, but to say players shouldn’t be trained by weight lifters I feel is misleading as barbell squats, deadlifts and power cleans are crucial to building strength, especially for weight gain in the off season.

#14

I didn’t interpret it as not to work with weights, but more a don’t copy body builders “blindly”.

I agree baseball players need to have more flexibility than body builders. So, it’s appropriate to do modest weights at higher repetitions instead of super weights at lower rep that I have observed what they do.

By the way, the old Rocky movies showed Rocky didn’t work with weights in the gym as much; instead, he would work outdoors more. Dragon used high-tech to build super human strength in Rocky IV, he still lost at the end!:wink:

#15

Had a showcase tournament at the University of Richmond. The field and campus were incredible.

#16

I don’t know if its too late but I don’t know if an expensive radar gun is your, or anybody else’s best bet. There are a number of apps you can get that you can take video of yourself pitching that will go frame by frame for precise timing. An added benefit of this is you can analyze and record each pitch with its velocity. I would heavily recommend the Pitchman app.