If You Have Good Off-Speed Pitches, When Should You Throw Them?

I often encourage guys who have two or three good pitches to show their off-speed stuff early in a game. I'll get into why in a sec, but let me first preface this by saying that at the high school and college levels, if a pitcher has a good fastball, there's often little need to show your off-speed pitches at all other than to the 3, 4 and 5 hitters the second or third time through the lineup. And even then, you can usually get these guys out simply by spotting your fastball in and out, up and down, and by making them move their feet.

By showing some of your off-speed pitches early, though, you can avoid getting key-holed by good hitters.

For instance, we already know about what happens with first pitch strikes: if you get ahead 0-1, the hitter's batting average drops significantly than if you fall behind 1-0. But if you have only one pitch, good hitters will key-hole you. By this, I mean they'll eliminate pitches they know you won't throw - or don't have - and they'll figure you out. Showing your off-speed pitches early helps to combat this.

However, you don't have to "show" (throw) your off-speed pitches a lot; one or two off-speed pitches to the 3, 4 or 5 hitters in the first or second inning are enough to force the hitter you're facing (and the ones on deck and in the dugout) to look not only at location of your pitches, but also at the speed of your pitches. Adding this second dimension (speed) makes hitters have to work harder at the plate - and that's always a good thing!