Every young pitcher wants to know how to improve pitching velocity. The problem is many never find the answer. They never find the answer because most of the information that they will discover when searching for how to improve pitching velocity is ineffective. It is ineffective because most of it is poorly researched or proven effective. This article will give the young pitcher a highly researched and proven effective approach to improving pitching velocity.
Improving Pitching Velocity
Pitching velocity is a powerful thing. It is one of the biggest and brightest commodities in baseball. Low velocity will get you nothing but a seat on the bench. High velocity could possibly get you a seat in a brand new sports car of your choice. Baseball is a numbers game and those who know how to play the numbers always get the prize.
A great example of how this game works is the #841 draft pick from the 2013 MLB draft. His name is Matt Southard and I first met him at a 3X Velocity Camp last summer. He was your typical long and lanky pitcher with low velocity mechanics. He top out at 83 mph that day of the camp. I knew if he could just commit to the 3X Pitching Velocity Program, he would be a definite draft pick in 2013. I knew this because he has the prototypical build of a professional ball player. I haven't met a scout yet that will not turn around for a 6'9 215 lb 21 year old college pitcher. Now if the velocity doesn't match the frame then we have a problem. This is why I knew the 3X Pitching Velocity Program was his ticket.
Most young pitchers who come into the 3X Pitching Velocity Program talk a big game but rarely ever back it up. I have to give it to Matt, he was the first pitcher to come into the 3X Pitching Velocity Program and follow it to the T. I mean he did it all! He even came to two 3X Velocity Camps in a 6 month period. The second one he attended was during the Christmas break. He had made a good jump in velocity during that fall and he was so committed he wanted more. I have to give it to Matt because I can count them on the hand who has made it back for another 3X Velocity Camp. This is when I knew Matt was going to be something special.
It was such great news to hear he had been drafted in the 28th round by the Philadelphia Phillie's. I said to myself before the draft that the only pitcher who has committed to the 3X Pitching Velocity Programs year round and has attended two 3X Velocity Camps was Matt Southard and what would you know, he finds himself signing a pro contract the year after. I want to thank Matt for proving these 3X programs legit and doing something that I always wished I could have done which is prove to a big league club that you are worth investing in. You are getting to do something that I always dreamed of. The fact that I was fighting a carer ending injury when I should have been fighting for a spot in the draft is what lead me to develop the 3X Pitching Velocity Program. Knowing that this gave Matt more value in the MLB draft in 2013 is priceless!
Here is Matt and his father Clay talking about their experience with the 3X Pitching Velocity Program back in December during their 2nd 3X Velocity Camp. Thanks guys!
MLB Draft 2013 #1 & #841 Pitching Analysis
Once you move into the high 80's the difference between you and a low to mid 90's pitcher mechanically is not that obvious. Here is a comparison of Matt Southard to Mark Appel the first overall pick of the MLB 2013 Draft. Mark sits low to mid 90's and Matt during this time was high 80's. The difference in body size is only 4 inches.
The main difference between Matt and Mark mechanically is common of all low velocity to high velocity pitchers. The initial moves always have the biggest difference. For example, notice in the first frame Matt's Force Vector is more vertical than Mark's. This means Mark is moving faster down the mound. This gives him the more potential to generate more ground reaction forces which is common of high velocity pitchers.
In the second frame, Matt is landing into front foot strike with his drive leg still planted on the rubber and his throwing arm is cocked elbow high with very poor horizontal abduction. This means he is not peaking his ground reaction forces into front foot strike as Mark is with his drive leg foot in full extension. His throwing arm is also not in position to pull away from his hips because the arm is not pinched just behind the back. Mark has nailed both of these positions perfectly.
In the thrid frame, Matt has developed less hip to shoulder separation as measured in the distances between the two lines. His weaker hip to shoulder separation is the result of the flaws in the first two frames. Mark has developed almost twice as much hip to shoulder separation during this point in the pitching delivery.
In the fourth frame, we now see how well these forces continue to transfer up the body into the throwing arm. You can see that Mark has more front leg extension, forward trunk tilt and maximum external rotation than Matt which is indicated in the green and read lines. This is common of high velocity pitchers.
In the fifth and final frame, Matt continues to finish behind Mark with less of a difference between the initial movements in these pitching deliveries. The big difference at this point is mainly in the stride difference. Mark is obviously still in a longer stride which gives him the potential to convert more of his energy into the ball.
This analysis is important because it is an obvious difference between the first pick overall and the eight hundred and forty first pick of the MLB draft. The plus for Matt is the fact that he has a lot of room to improve his pitching velocity which he will definitely need when he works to move up levels of his young professional baseball career.
Improve Pitching Velocity with the 3X Pitching Velocity Program
I am in this to help guys like Matt live their dreams of playing proball and maybe one day big league ball. If you have spent more than 10 minutes on this site you will learn that I am here to help not just make a living. I am just thankful I can do both. I do want to give you some tips to help you gain some more value for next years draft. I will gladly pull out some critical pitching velocity tips from the 3X Pitching Velocity Program to help you improve your pitching velocity. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to 3X Pitching. If you have any questions or concerns about the programs please contact me!
- Force Vector - This is the critical component that was first developed here. This component gives the pitcher the potential to convert ground reaction forces into hip rotation speeds. To learn more about this critical high velocity component and how to implement it into your pitching delivery then sign up for the FREE 30 Days to 5 mph video series.
- Hip to Shoulder Separation - This component is the most effective way to measure the pitching velocity potential of the pitcher. Studies have linked 80% of pitching velocity to this single component (1). To learn more about this critical pitching velocity component sign up for the FREE 30 Days to 5 mph video series.
- 3X Arm Flex-Timing - Studies have shown that the high velocity pitcher will cock the throwing arm late at front foot strike. More specifically the throwing arm is around 90 degrees of flexion, 23 degrees of horizontal abduction, 53 degrees of external rotation and 85 degrees of shoulder abduction at the moment of front foot strike (2).
- Front Leg Extension (2X) - Many studies have correlated the extension of the front leg, or as labeled in the 3X Pitching Velocity Program as 2X, to improved pitching velocity. The timing of this 2X should occur during maximum external rotation (2).
- Maximum External Rotation - This is another commonly defined pitching velocity component that is linked to high pitching velocity. This component must occur with front leg extension and optimal forward trunk tilt to be considered in the high velocity category (2).
To learn more about the power of the 3X Pitching Velocity Program and how to improve pitching velocity which helped Matt Southard go from 83mph - 93mph in less than 1 year while improving his value in the 2013 MLB draft then get started today!
Pitching Velocity Reference:
1. Tom House, PhD, et al. National Pitching Association Velocity Study Conducted 2005-2006.
2. Rod Whiteley, University of Sydney, Australia. Baseball throwing mechanics as they relate to pathology and performance – A review. ©Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2007) 6, 1-20.
Improve pitching velocity
Hey Coach Porciau,
Really enjoy the stuff you put out, I’ve been following your site for many years.
If you get a chance, I was hoping you could explain how you came up with the angle lines denoting upper and lower body separation in the third frame of the sequence.
Thanks,
Collin
Collin, it is a rough estimate. I am taking a birds eye view and drawing a line from left through right hip and then doing the same for the shoulder position. I am then measuring the degrees between the two lines. The moment I am measuring this position is when the front leg has stabilized and the hips have opened. Thanks for all your support!
Thanks !