What Pitches? In What Order?

Wondering what order your pitcher should learn all the different pitches? Then check out my recommended order for everything from the changeup to the riseball.

I'm often asked what order should my daughter start learning the different pitches? Once a pitcher has control of her release point and can start learning to throw different pitches then it becomes a matter of learning one pitch at a time, and over a lot of time as none of these pitches come quickly. You've got to have patience in order to really develop quality pitches as each pitch will take close to a year to develop the proper break and control necessary to use it effectively in a game.

With that said, here's a look at the pitches I suggest you learn and in what order:

1. 1st to Learn - The best to learn first is the one that will have the most immediate impact, and that's the Change Up. While there are a few different ways to throw it what's important is that it is much slower than the fastball which allows the pitcher to keep the hitter off balance and to make her fastball appear faster.
2. 2nd Pitch - The next pitch to learn can be based on the pitcher's natural body posture at release. Meaning, if she tends to take a slightly shorter stride and keeps her weight forward then a drop will be more natural. But if she has a long stride and her weight is back a little more at release then a riseball will be a little easier. This is also true if she tends to keep her hips open throughout the entire pitch.
3. 3rd Pitch - This pitch can be the Dropball if the Riseball was the 2nd pitch she learned. Otherwise the Curveball or Screwball can then be learned once a pitcher has mastered the above pitches.
4. 4th Pitch - If the pitcher even needs a 4th pitch then it would be the one she doesn't have up to this point. Just remember that the more pitches a pitcher has, the less time she has to practice any of them, so the greater chance that all of them will be average instead of good (or even really good).

For more detailed information on all aspects of pitching from teaching a beginner to problems solving with advanced pitchers check out our book, The Complete Book of Pitching. For drills check out our Pitching eDrills and our Pitching eSkill.