Developing good offspeed pitch.

Knowing that the ability to change speeds is important in the older age groups, my dd wants to focus on developing a good offspeed pitch. Her fastball is mid to upper 50's, so I'm thinking a pitch in the lower 50's. We had heard a turnover drop can be a good offspeed but honestly her turnover drop comes in like a changeup . Any suggestions?


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Legendsmom said:

Knowing that the ability to change speeds is important in the older age groups, my dd wants to focus on developing a good offspeed pitch. Her fastball is mid to upper 50's, so I'm thinking a pitch in the lower 50's. We had heard a turnover drop can be a good offspeed but honestly her turnover drop comes in like a changeup . Any suggestions?

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Offspeed does not necessarily mean you need to go out and learn a whole different pitch - instead throw the same pitch with different speed.

There is a bunch of ways to take some speed off a fastball - grip it harder, move the ball closer to the palm (more finger on the ball), pitch with four fingers on the ball instead of three, don't try to throw as hard (not the best way IMO), move the thumb closer to the fingers on the grip.... These can help you adjust speeds within the same pitch. You don't have to throw your best fastball @ 100% speed all the time.

Have your DD experiment to see what works best for her.

Thanks, going to have her try the different grips. I'm guessing this would work with her movement pitches also.


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Legendsmom said:

Thanks, going to have her try the different grips. I'm guessing this would work with her movement pitches also.

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Yes my DD's changeup has a pretty wide range of speeds - but more importantly she has a tendency to throw it too hard. To slow it down in her case she keeps moving her thumb closer and closer to her fingers to slow the pitch down to where she wants it - that works for her - your mileage will absolutely vary.

I do wonder at the speed her movement pitches are coming in. They look like they are about as fast as her fastball but probably are a little slower. She knows that disrupting timing is very important so wants a pitch somewhere between her fastball and changeup.


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can't understate the value of a good changeup.

my DD is 52-53mph range on her fastball, drop.
not overpowering speed at Class A 14U competition.

But she was able to effectively pitch against good hitting and aggressive teams this season,
because her change up is very good.

The ability to change speeds, and keep the same pre-motion and delivery mechanics is huge.

Most highly-regarded pitchers we see at the 14U level do it with velocity.
Once you hit that 56, 57, 58 range,
it seems to be enough to become very effective (with placement) against most teams.

I think a lot of fireballers get so focused upon speed, that many never work to develop a good change up.
So many coaches subscribe to the philosophy: if the batter is is late on the FB, why would you ever throw the Change?

But as these "fireballers" progress through the age divisions, eventually those batters ain't going to be late anymore.
Then what?

I agree, which is why with my dd moving up to 16u, I want to make changing speeds more of a focus this offseason. She has been very effective with her speed and movement but I feel she needs that change of speed also at this age group.


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I strongly believe that around 14U and then above a pitch that is 5-7mph slower than the FB (I call an off-speed) is more deadly than the 15mph slower pitch (I call a changeup)

Exactly what we want!


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Mine throws an off-speed fast ball. I'm honestly not really sure how she does it but it comes in slower than her fast ball and throws them off. But it's not as slow as a change up.