Pitch Design is a relatively new concept outside of the high levels of professional baseball. Simply put, pitch design is the practice of breaking down and analyzing why pitches move the way they do, what makes them effective, and how we can make them more effective. When "designing" pitches, we often look at spin, spin direction/axis, and the actual release the of the baseball using high speed cameras and sensors.
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At High Performance, we utilize a variety of tools to visualize, quantify, and increase the “nastiness” of each pitcher’s arsenal. The tools used are as follows:

• Trackman
• Rapsodo 2.0 Units
  • Used in coordination with the Rapsodo Diamond App
• Rapsodo Insight
• Spin Axis Baseballs
• Edgertronic Cameras 
  • Records high speed video at 35,000 frames per second
• TRAQ to collect and store trackman data

Trackman and Rapsodo monitors allow our instructors and athletes to take the guesswork out of pitch design by tracking what a pitch is actually doing when airborne. 

Rapsodo Insight
Rapsodo Insight is used in coordination with Rapsodo Pitching to see what specific movements result in the numbers we see on screen. Insight captures slow-motion footage and displays it with individual pitch metrics as seen on the right.

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Trackman

Trackman is utilized by our pitchers to better understand the movement profile of each of their pitches. Trackman allows our instructors to track the consistency of a pitcher's arsenal, as well as the ways in which different pitches work with one another.

​An example of how we may use Trackman in the context of pitch design is the development of a sinker vs the development of a four-seam fastball. Say a pitcher has very similar movement profiles on his four-seam fastball and his sinker; we will want to create a difference in movement profiles between these pitches so the pitcher's arsenal is more versatile. In the case of a sinker, we can use Trackman to observe the spin axis of the pitch, which should be more lateral in comparison to a four seam fastball. Similarly, we will look for a more vertical spin axis on a four-seam fastball (aka backspin). If an athlete can find the mental and physical cues which lead to this difference between pitches, they can then throw two types of fastballs with different movement profiles, which will accomplish different goals (ie. throw four-seams high for strikeouts, and throw sinkers low for groundballs).

​Combining Tools for Maximal Benefits

​Using Trackman, Rapsodo, and the Stalker Pro radar gun simultaneously, we are able to provide out athletes the most accurate metrics possible. Using these data points, athletes are able to understand what their pitches do well, and what their pitches need to do better.

In this video, the athlete seen is working to design his slider, and using the aforementioned tools, in unison with instruction from Coach Kyle Fedorka, he is able to get an inch by inch breakdown of how much the pitch moves, and how efficiently the pitch spins.

Pitch Design In Real Time!
Multiple tools provide the best results! In this video, Rapsodo and Trackman are used simultaneously, along with video, to capture data on this athlete's pitch. The data is then used by our instructors to educate athletes and guide them towards improvement. 

click to see Upcoming Pitching Programs

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Learn more about the tools we use by browsing the links below:
What is Trackman?
What is Rapsodo?
What are Spin Axis Baseballs?
What is an Edgertronic Camera?
What is TRAQ?

You can read more about the basics of pitch design by clicking HERE ​