Pitch Percentage Breakdown

Many have asked me recently: "How many curve balls or how many change-ups should I throw in a game?" or "How many curve balls is too many in a game?" Well here is a brief story along with a general percentage breakdown. Professional organizations believe in throwing the 4-seam fastball! They believe it builds arm strength and increases command and confidence in the strike zone. Throwing 2-seam fastballs or breaking pitches at a young age means you are pitching to make the hitter miss, and in the long run this won't work out! Yes, we do make pitches at times wanting the hitter to swing and miss but pitching ahead of the count and pitching to contact will lower pitch counts and save your arm through out the year. A good percentage breakdown for pitchers who use 3 pitches would be: 70% Fastball, 20% change-up, 10% curveball. The curveball and change-up numbers can interchange is your curveball is your second best pitch. Use your fastball and watch your confidence and velocity increase!