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Changeup Drills for Pitchers

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CHANGEUP: Jamie Moyer's best pitch

After a young pitcher learns the 4-seam and 2-seam fastballs, the next pitch that he should learn is the change-up. Unfortunately, many young pitchers at the Little League level learn the curve ball next. That’s because even a little curve ball at the Little League level makes for an over-powering pitcher.

Many doctors who are much smarter than me believe that a young pitcher should not be throwing a curve ball at an early age. I’m not qualified to comment on that, but one thing is for sure: in the long run, the curve ball will come to most pitchers, but the simply changeup may take longer to master.

How you choose to throw a changeup is completely up to how it feels for the individual pitcher. There are so many hand positions that work in throwing a changeup that the coach should teach them all and let the pitcher decide on what works best for them. Just be sure that the pitch:

has the same arm speed as the fastball
has less velocity than the fastball
can be thrown low and for a strike

The last item may be the most important. Remember that “catcher’s don’t catch high changeups, fans do.”

The most commonly taught changeup is the circle change where the index finger and the thumb touch each other on the side of the ball. Younger pitchers whose fingers are not yet big enough may choose to just make a “c” on the side of the ball instead of the full circle. As opposed to a fastball, however, the circle change is best thrown with the “c” facing the batter.

While this might be the best type of change for a teenage pitcher, I don’t believe it is the best type of change for a pitcher under the age of 12. That’s because the youngest pitchers simply don’t have fingers long enough yet to effectively control a circle change.

Try teaching the youngest pitchers the “Pitch Fork” changeup instead. In the pitch fork change up, the pointer finger and the middle finger are spread out more on the top of the ball. Throw the pitch just like the 4-seam fastball, yet the pitch fork grip will inevitably cause a decline in speed.

There are a variety of good drills in learning the changeup, many of which can be done by yourself.

Glove Drill — Simply grip the ball and throw it into your own glove over and over.
Catch — Play catch with a partner and only throw changeups.
Wall Drill — Throw the ball at a wall. Notice that the rebound will return to the pitcher’s glove side more so than with a fastball.
Long Toss — Play long toss with a partner and notice how you can’t quite get the same distance on the changeup as you can with a traditional fastball or fielder’s grip on the ball.