Switch Pitching 101

How fast does a Little League pitcher throw? The average fastball is between 50-60 mph for a  pitcher in the Majors division of Little League (11-13 yo). Pitchers in the Little League World Series throw fastballs 60-70+ mph. Only a few pitchers touched 70+ mph in 2015 and 2016. One man-child hit 81 mph on the radar. This velocity is almost unhittable from 46 feet  and extremely rare for a 13 year old. #18 RHP Carlos Gonzalez - Panama 79-81 mph fastball  105 mph MLB equivalent reaction time #18 RHP Jaekyeong Kim - South Korea 75-76 mph fastball #19 RHP Ryan Harlost - Mid-Atlantic, Endwell, NY 71-74 mph fastball Threw a complete game to win the 2016 Little League World Series Loreto Siniscalchi , a 6'1" pitcher from Canada, threw in the mid 70s and completely dominated the hitters from Japan.  He led Team Canada to its first victory over Japan in 18 years. Big right-hander Isaiah Head from Kentucky threw 70-73 mph fastballs. His recor...

RYAN PEREZ      BHP     Ryan Perez - Hyannis Harbor Hawks BHP = Both Hand Pitcher (ambidextrous) Born:   October 27, 1993 City:  Hampshire,   Illinois High School:  Westminster Christian ,  2012 College:   Judson University Cape Cod League, 2014 Height/Weight:  6' 0", 180 lbs. Bats:  Switch hitter Throws:  Both, ambidextrous Glove:  Akadema 6-finger ambidextrous glove Velocity: up to 94 MPH  as LHP in college In 2015, Perez threw 91 mph with both arms in a college game. In high school Perez threw his fastball in the upper 80's with both arms for strikes.  He touched 90 mph pitching in high school! Pitches | mph: FB 89; CH 80; CB 86; SL 78 (source: Perfect Game  2011) Ryan Perez Stats - Westminster Christian Baseball    Sr. year (2012)    Jr. year (2011) Judson Eagles Baseball .............................................

In a recent interview with Matt Leon, Pat Venditte said that his velocity is better from the right side. Steve Boyle for ESPN Magazine Right-handed: 88-90 mph Left-handed:   81-85 mph It takes him less time to warmup left-handed - throwing sidearm. He states that locating 2 to 3 pitches with a consistent delivery is the key to his success as a switch-pitcher. .

Is pitching velocity overrated? Yes, maybe. Young pitchers with a strong arm often have trouble locating the fastball in the strikezone. An experienced umpire commented that pitchers would do better if they took a little off the fastball - maybe 3-5 mph and controled the location of the pitch. The best pitchers have success locating the fastball low and away for strikes. It is more important to locate a pitch, have movement and change speeds. This will keep a hitter off balance and mess up their timing. My son prefers to have a low pitch count inning - under 10 pitches.  By locating his pitches and changing speeds, he is able to get out of an inning quicker than the power pitchers. A Little Leaguer can use three pitches to keep a hitter guessing: 4-seam fastball, 2-seam fastball and change up (10 mph slower than the fastball). Add in a splitter or a knuckle ball and watch the hitter walk back to the dugout shaking their head. Remember, a ball with movement is very hard t...