Best option for 3rd pitch?

[MK37]

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.

This is what we did with DD and it's worked very well. She throws a three finger drop, then to slow it down a bit she puts four finger across the seams and has a change up. We work on the rise in practice but don't plan on her throwing in a game until next year.

 

[NEF]

Youngest DD does not throw hard, fastball, change and starting drop. the 14U DD throws low 50's, also started out with the same three, but one of her better pitches right now is a two seem fastball using finger pressure to make the ball move in and out (cutter). Funny thing is no area instructors believe its a softball pitch (One does call it a splitter and wants her to throw it as a peel, which also works). Batters definitely do not like the two seem that rides in on the hands. If she has any speed I would recommend the pitch.

 

[riseball]

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

Very true. Unfortunately to a lesser degree most curves, screws, and drops are not what they are claimed to be.

 

[coachbob]

At 12U we see effective =<50 mph drop ball pitchers, of which DD is one. The few effective riseball pitchers at our age group (that we see) are 52 +, highly self motivated, and very well coached from an early age. They are killers though! Personally, I love the drop and it's variants for a number of reasons, one of which is that it builds good infielders.

 

[vcackerman]

It depends on the pitcher. My first gut tells me the drop, but I have a pitcher now at 10U who's second best pitch is the screwball. We don't overuse it, but it jams the right handers when they actually hit it.

 

[JJsqueeze]

Since there is a decent consensus that a drop is a good choice. What is a good drop for a girl this age? My DD soon to be 12 yr old throws it at 46-48 with 16-19 rps on average with good 12-6 spin. I can see a little drop action on it but it is not dropping off a table or anything. She seems to induce a lot of ground balls though. I don't see a whole lotta action on any girls drops really at our games. Maybe that extra couple of inches is enough though.

She has a teammate that throws a bullet spin rise at 45 mph though and that is a great pitch according to her father so maybe I made the wrong 3rd pitch choice

 

[JAD]

The third pitch my DD learned was a curve. This was just what her pitching coach wanted to do next, but if I had to do it again, I would have chosen the drop. Most 12 year-old's cannot throw hard enough or generate enough spin to throw a true riseball, so just work on hitting her spots with her fastball, including high/in and high/out.

 

[JAD]

Since there is a decent consensus that a drop is a good choice. What is a good drop for a girl this age?

I would suggest she learns to throw an overhand drop. A peel drop is a great pitch, but is more of fastball with more backspin than a new pitch.

 

[left turn]

Since there is a decent consensus that a drop is a good choice. What is a good drop for a girl this age? My DD soon to be 12 yr old throws it at 46-48 with 16-19 rps on average with good 12-6 spin. I can see a little drop action on it but it is not dropping off a table or anything. She seems to induce a lot of ground balls though. I don't see a whole lotta action on any girls drops really at our games. Maybe that extra couple of inches is enough though.

She has a teammate that throws a bullet spin rise at 45 mph though and that is a great pitch according to her father so maybe I made the wrong 3rd pitch choice

JJ Squeeze, check the spin of the drop ball if it doesn't have a downward bite. When I would with my DD, I am looking for a 12-6 spin.

 

[Fastpitch86]

My DD progressed to the peel drop after learning the fastball and changeup. The other two pitchers on the team, each having different pitching instructors, introduced them to both the peel drop and screwball. One of the pitchers was able to throw the screwball much better than the drop.

See which pitch your DD feels the most comfortable with and go with it, whether its the peel drop, screw, or rise.