Baseball Pitching Velocity Training

If you want to throw like a power pitcher then checkout this latest analysis. This analysis breaks down the pitching biomechanics of a low velocity and high velocity pitcher so you can learn what separates the two. If you need a program to help train and implement these better mechanics then checkout the 3X Pitching Velocity Program.
In this video we are doing a biometrics breakdown of Jarrod and pairing him up with David Aardsma. Both pitchers are similar in size, in terms of height, but Aardsma has the advantage in weight. Even though they are similar in size, Aardsma is a high velocity pitcher and Jarrod is a low velocity pitcher. So, we will take a look at the biomechanics of both pitchers to see what they do differently. This will give us some insight on what Jarrod needs to improve on to become a high velocity pitcher.

Use Lower Half To Throw Like A Power Pitcher

Taking both pitchers to right before they start their drives we see that Aardsma is farther from the mound than Jarrod. Aardsma’s front hip is 20 inches from the mound compared to Jarrod’s 17 inches. Both pitchers are at similar speeds at this point, but Aardsma has covered more ground. This is an indication that Aardsma has built more momentum down the mound. Most high velocity pitchers get their energy or momentum moving forward very quickly.
At front foot strike we see that Aardsma’s stride length is 77 inches compared to Jarrod’s stride length of 67 inches. Aardsma stride out 10 more inches than Jarrod which shows us that he created more power in his lower half. We see in Aardsma’s stride that his knee guys down and he gets a little push right before front foot strike which helped him create the longer stride. Jarrod’s knee guys down, but it was more rotational than a actual drive. A rotational back leg usually doesn’t support a lot of force production and we are seeing that in Jarrod’s shorter stride. The rotation opens the hips and created some hip to shoulder separation for Jarrod, but there was no linear force production behind it. The lack of power from the lower half will be evident when we look at the trunk.
Looking at the chin we see that Aardsma had greater speeds in his trunk and his trunk traveled farther than Jarrod’s. Aardsma trunk speeds stayed around 5 to 7.5 and Jarrod’s trunk speeds ranged from 3 to 6. Aardsma’s trunk traveled 21 inches after pitch release compared to Jarrod’s 14 inches. The combination of farther distance and greater speed is huge for transferring energy to the arm.
Aardsma’s front leg at foot strike stabilizes better than Jarrod’s and transfers energy back into the trunk more efficiently. Aardsma’s front knee at was 65 inches from the mound and into pitch release it pushed back to 64 inches. Jarrod’s front knee was 57 inches from the mound and drifted forward 4 inches before it stabilized and pushed back at pitch release. The drifting forward of 4 inches is a huge loss of energy that could have been converted into ball speed.

Throw Like A Power Pitcher Review

In review, Jarrod needs more momentum going forward out of his leg lift. He needs to drive and extend more from his back leg to get more linear power. Also, he needs to stabilize better at front foot strike. If he combines a better drive, the same hip to shoulder separation and better front leg stabilization it will drastically increase the dynamics of his trunk movement and increase ball velocity. Jarrod is going to need to focus on heavy load training, plyometrics, olympic lifting and weighted sleds to build some better ground reaction forces. Working on the med ball throws will help him with driving and stabilizing as well, but he is going to need a heavy emphasis on developing more power in his lower half. I think he has the rotational components down and once he builds some power the linear components will come and translate to some nice ball speed.