Hitting pitchers with upper level movement and velocity

[Turbo74]

So my DD is a freshman who has continued to improve markedly each year to become pretty successful hitter the last couple of years, and has a quick lefty swing folks often comment positively about. She currently starts on her varsity team with a group of experienced and fairly talented older girls and has had very good success overall this year against most pitching through half of the year working her way up the lineup. However, against the top tier pitchers (probably less than 3 out of the 20-25+ pitchers she's seen this year), pitchers with high level velocity and even better movement, she's unfortunately inexperienced and hasn't done well. (even her teammates struggle against these girls) I've watched video and can see especially early in the games, she'll tend to compound her issues against these pitchers by not getting on time, and then doing a partial short load and "reaching." Even later in the games, she will continue to shorten her normally very elegant coil and load even more so in order to just make contact.

I'm guessing she's so perplexed/surprised/stymied by the amount of spin and movement, she's making later decisions and getting herself out of sync. (she doesn't struggle at all normally against "straight" high level velocity) Obviously, I've told her to get on time first, and go from there as she gets into her load/coil. So, I'm here to hopefully get some advice from the great minds here (that have helped make her the solid hitter she's become thus far). Any advice I can pass along? To be specific, righty pitchers that bring a hard and fast spinning screwball (moving away from lefty hitters) with some rise at times. I can't begin to replicate that experience at home!

Thanks!

 

[_MIA_]

They are "upper level" for a reason... The old adage was that good pitching beats good hitting every time .
That said, against good pitching you cannot waste a good pitch to hit since it might be the only one you get
for the whole game. She needs to start her swing for every pitch and only abort when necessary.

 

[mmeece]

Pitch selection/recognition is the most important aspect in my opinion. She has to begin to have an approach to each at bat that eliminates certain zones/pitches as long as she is at an even count or ahead. If she doesn't like or hit the outside pitch/screwball well then take it until she has 2 strikes. Just as importantly, she needs to be ready and on time for the pitch she wants to hit. Too many girls feel like they have messed up if they don't swing at one or two strikes during an at bat. Of course, this assumes she has the ability to recognize spin, which many girls don't. This is an important area you could help her with at home. Even if you can't replicate the movement you should be able to show her different spins.

 

[RichK]

She has to start adding to her mechanics with a plate *approach* that lessens the advantage these pitchers have over her. MMeece has some good thoughts above. Other places to start include her simply understanding that she needs an approach and what that means (counts, zones, pitch sequences, etc); working with her teammates to understand what's being thrown and how to attack it; and then finally getting a clear understanding her own strengths and weaknesses (zones, up/down, does she have changeup swing mechanics or should she sit fastball) and how to work on and improve those weaknesses in the next four years -- and beyond.

Sounds like fun to me -- treat it like a puzzle that SHE needs to figure out, with some initial guidance from you but ultimately she's the one that's got to solve it. Good luck.

 

[erniekru]

Nothing to be alarmed about, top end pitchers don't give up much in the way of hits. Experience will grow from the process... DD's team is playing up in 14 and sometimes 16u. Last weekend we saw a pitcher throwing a high of 65 on my radar gun... Needless to say, batters struggled mightily. What I look for is if my DD makes adjustments from at bat to at bat... FWIW, pitcher was a lefty with a curve that came in on the hands. 1st at bat was 1 called strike, and 2 ginormous swings/misses. 2nd at bat was Swing/Miss, slight foul tip, and then that same curve went deep left outfield fly (for an out). To me, DD made a good adjustment. That was a good at bat..

Discuss the importance of same coil but faster hands. Pitch recognition is key. When you are facing stronger pitching, the batter needs to approach the at bat with more aggression, not less. Hitting in the box is a mentality

 

[Eric F]

If she's rushing to get to her launch position, then she isn't starting the pre-launch process early enough. Abbreviating or hurrying the pre-launch phase isn't the right answer. In the dugout and on deck is when she needs to be figuring out how soon she has to start in order to be on time for launch.

One thing I have seen my DD (also a freshman on varsity) do when she's feeling challenged by speed is to get started extra early, and hold at toe-touch, with her weight still controlled by her rear leg and hip. I've seen her do the same thing when she's facing a super-slow pitcher, and misjudges her start point. Ideal is to be on time with a continuous flow, but this has been a successful emergency plan for my DD.

 

[Chaz McNulty]

This isn't really a fix, but will give short term success against fast pitchers until she becomes more experienced. Most batters swing under fast pitching because gravity has less of an effect on it before it reaches the plate. Have her focus on the top of the ball or try swinging slightly over it on her first strike. She may be surprised when she hits it flush.
When a pitcher is over-reliant on a riseball, this will also work. Mind you, if she throws a drop ball you look silly when you miss it by a foot.

 

[Hube111]

My DD is a freshman playing Varsity at a big school and is having these same issues with high level pitching. We have determined that her lower half is lagging behind and not on time. She wasn't getting her step down in time and she would end leaning into the pitch with an all arms swing. To combat this we have widened her stance and shortened her step to reduce the time she needs to be ready to swing. A few more games left this season to see if she can figure it out and make the adjustment.

 

[Cornbread]

Against top level pitching you have to be IN your stride as soon as ball hits hip. The stride must under control, riding the backside forward. This gives the hitter “some” time to read the pitch. I’ve read that the front foot must be down when the is 35% from homeplate. Hitters must tell other hitters what the spin looks like, where is it going. Elite pitchers can spin it in and out. She needs to guess and guess right and be on time

 

[TexAg1998]

What Eric F and Cornbread have stated is absolutely true. She has to be completely loaded and ready by the time the pitcher gets 3/4 through her windmill and get the front foot down earlier. Had the same issues with my DD, and this was before I discovered DFP, so you know the learning process was painful.

A couple of drills to help with these issues that seem to be common in young hitters are the three plate drill and the lid drill. The three plate drill will help her be on time with different speed pitches. It’s easily found on YouTube. The lid drill will help with movement, and it’s just you standing about 6-10 feet in front of the plate and throwing plastic lids over the plate like a frisbee. Yogurt lids, peanut can lids, Pringle’s lids, whatever. Different sizes doesn’t matter. They all move, and they all force the hitter to focus on the movement and swing where it’s going to be instead of where it is. Sounds simple, but it’s actually pretty hard. When she gets good at it, her average will easily jump 50 points.


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