Does the riseball really rise???

[Chilixa]

Having backspin on the rise is what can make it extremely effective, and is truly what makes the riseball do what it’s supposed to. Riseballs that are thrown with backspin also appear to float in, so to a batter it looks like a juicy pitch until it’s not. Although some say the rise is their DD’s fastest pitch, it is my DD’s slowest (next to change up), and is extremely effective when she can get some backspin on it. If you are throwing a bullet spin rise (not a true rise), you really need very good velocity to fool the batter, IMO.

Same for my DD. It is 9-10mph slower than her fastball. She has had many people tell her it is too slow to be an effective riseball. But we use it as a second change up basically and it has been highly effective. It is very deceptive. It may gain some speed as she gets older but I am not overly worried about it. It really does feel like it hovers in place when the spin is right on the pitch.


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[_MIA_]

Same for my DD. It is 9-10mph slower than her fastball. She has had many people tell her it is too slow to be an effective riseball. But we use it as a second change up basically and it has been highly effective. It is very deceptive. It may gain some speed as she gets older but I am not overly worried about it. It really does feel like it hovers in place when the spin is right on the pitch.


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What age? That is basically a CU speed difference and at the younger ages a lot of kids cannot hit a CU regardless of where it is. As the hitter’s skill level increases the last thing you want a CU to do is stay up..

 

[Chilixa]

What age? That is basically a CU speed difference and at the younger ages a lot of kids cannot hit a CU regardless of where it is. As the hitter’s skill level increases the last thing you want a CU to do is stay up..

She is 13 but plays high school ball because she is in a small private school and she also plays 16u/18u travel. She generally keeps the pitch at knee high. Riseball really only describes the spin with this pitch for her. She can locate it up but I agree that is the last place we want a slow pitch. She just throws a high fastball when wanting something hard and up right now.

I was worried about it at the higher levels. But so far it has fared better than I expected. Maybe just because it is something different than most batters see on a regular basis.


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