Best option for 3rd pitch?

[spleen1015]

DD will be making the move to 12u next year. When is the best time to start learning a 3rd pitch? What is the best option for a 3rd pitch? I've heard both riseball and dropball.

Any advice/opinion is appreciated.

 

[Jojo]

Learn to spin the rise and throw the drop.

 

[Lenski]

I'm assuming her two pitches she currently has is a fastball and changeup. If this is true then the third pitch should be a drop. Keep changing the level of the batter's eye. She's way too young for a riseball and truth be told a riseball does not truly "rise". Like Jojo states, learn the spin of the rise and learn to throw the drop.

 

[RetiredCoach]

Certainly the drop. It is one of the best pitches to have and is relatively "easy" to learn. I recommend the peel drop.

 

[RubberBiscuit]

IF the pitcher has a natural riseball propensity (like most of the bullet-spinners) then the rise is a HUGE advantage over anything called a "drop" - which is just a bit more spinny than the pitchers regular fastball (in most cases).

I have seen too many pitchers struggle too long to try and throw a real riseball. If it doesn't sink in early get the extra-drop-spin-"drop" going.

 

[RetiredCoach]

I have seen too many pitchers struggle too long to try and throw a real riseball. If it doesn't sink in early get the extra-drop-spin-"drop" going.

I watch a lot of pitching and there are very few "rise balls" worth the title. Most of them are fastballs angled upwards. My motto when it comes to pitching is, "Live low, but throw high". My daughters throw drop balls but will work in some high fastballs on the corners or off the plate. That seems to work well enough and we will see whether the rise ball happens or not.

 

[sluggers]

which is just a bit more spinny than the pitchers regular fastball (in most cases).

And, in most cases, the riseball the is simply a high fastball.

 

[coach james]

peel drop is an easy learn, however she needs to be introduced to the riseball spin asap. Not necessarily to pitch it now but to learn the spin so that its an easier adjustment when she learns it for use.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

I'm not a huge fan of the rise, mostly because the high zone shrinks so much in college. Some will say college batters still chase "that pitch", true, but also because it's hard to judge at near 70MPH speeds the 1% of 100,000 SB pitchers can reach.

At 12u my gut votes for the drop, my heart votes for an off-speed because it's so easy to learn. 3 speeds, all with different effects in path due to gravity, disrupt the batter's timing and bat path.

 

[left turn]

There are levers to use:
- In-out
- Up-down
- Fast-slow

Location is a huge deal. The pitcher should be able to throw 65% strikes (give or take) in the games.

A good pitcher will be able to hit a anywhere on an "L" shaped target inside and low as well as balls just off the strike zone. Pitches out and over the plate go a long way.

I think the drop is an underrated pitch (especially in my area) because it doesn't look spectacular as the rise. But few can throw the rise ball with enough umph to make it look like more than a high fastball.

A good drop ball can induce a lot of ground balls for easy outs where the batter goes back to the dugout muttering to themselves that they missed a fat pitch. May that continue.