The 3 Pitchers Hitters Will Face

What type of pitcher are we facing today? 

What should our plan be? 

These are 2 questions coaches and hitters are asking themselves daily during the season.

Because of that, we're going to divide pitchers into 3 separate buckets to help your hitters communicate in a common language. 

Out of all of the pitchers you face throughout the season, they will fall into 3 categories. 

1. Roll out bed 

These are the types of pitchers who you can...roll out of bed and hit. 

This is going to be the lower-tier pitcher in your league. 

They don't have great stuff or command. 

When this pitcher is throwing, you'll hear hitters complain and say things like: 

"They're throwing too slow; I can't hit it." 

Here are a few tips to give hitters when they complain the "roll out of bed pitcher is hard to hit."

1. Expectations

You expect to do well, so if you don’t, you are left disappointed. 

Even if you’re hitting .499 off of a bad pitcher, statistically… he still has the advantage over you. 

So don’t pretend it will be an automatic line drive in the gap. 

Facing a slow pitcher is the same as facing a fast pitcher; the harder you try, the worse it gets. 

If anything, you should lower your expectations.

2. Shrink The Zone. 

Every ball that the slow pitcher throws looks good because it’s slow. 

Because of this, you now expand your zone and swing at pitches you usually wouldn’t against a regular pitcher. 

So, you have to be more disciplined against a slow pitcher. 

There will be several balls that you could hit but are better off taking. 

Then, you remind them that good hitters make adjustments and show them Alex Rodriguez destroying a 52-mph pitch. 

You don't overthink these pitchers. 

Look for a FB over the middle of the plate, and don't try to do too much with the hit. 

You'll end up hitting a ball like A-Rod did above. 

2. Double Take 

They are the pitchers that, if you overlook them, you'll look up in the 7th inning, and your team has only scored 1 run. 

These pitchers don't have great stuff, but they have a feel for how to pitch. 

I would categorize these pitchers as "league average." 

Hitters need to have a plan when they're facing this pitcher. 

This plan shouldn't be complex, but they should still have something. 

3. A Dude...

This is the Friday night starter in college, the ace of the rotation in the big leagues. 

These pitchers have nasty stuff. 

Not only do they know they have nasty stuff, they know how to pitch.  

That's a deadly combo. 

1. Hitters must have a plan against these pitchers. 

2. They must stick with the plan. 

(The umpire calls a bad pitch a strike; you swing at a ball)

3. Be okay with the outcome

(If you accomplished #1 and #2, you did your job) 

If you try to cover everything against these pitchers, you cover nothing. 

Some hitters might want to look in one specific spot. If the pitch isn't there, it's a take. 

Imagine not having an approach against this pitch...

Skenes should be fined for throwing a pitch that nasty. 

Summary: 

Create a common language amongst your hitters so that when your team faces a new pitcher, they have an idea of what type of pitcher they're facing and what their approach needs to be. 

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