Secondary and Out Pitches

 

Every pitcher needs to rank their pitches in terms of effectiveness.  By that I mean best pitch down to worst pitch.  On a normal day, here were my rankings:

1. Fastball (4-seam or 2-seam)
2. Change-up
3. Slider
4. Cutter
5. Curveball 

This is important to know because in a jam, a pitcher has to know what his “go-to” pitches are.  In my case, if I had runners on base, I usually would not break out the curveball because it was my least effective pitch.  I’d go with a located fastball, change-up, or slider.

However, it is also important to understand that these rankings can change from appearance to appearance.  Often there were times when my cutter would be very good so on that day the cutter became my out-pitch.  On other days, it may have been my slider.  

The point is, know what your best secondary pitches are but don’t be so married to them that you fail to adjust based on what is working on any given day.  Good pitchers realize that this is the natural ebb and flow of pitching and just roll with it.  Inexperienced pitchers often see that their normal out-pitch isn’t working and then panic.