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Lower Half Pitching Mechanics: Block – Simplified (Part 4 of 4)

Use your legs. Use your lower half. Sounds great but, “what the heck does it mean”? Coaches often cue this as if it’s one single thing. In reality, a proper use of the lower half has 4 different but connected and sequential components. In Part 4 of this 4 part series on lower half pitching mechanics, we’ll take a closer look and break down what I refer to as the Block.

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Athlete Highlight: Seton Hall Frosh Michael Gillen Sitting 91-93 mph w/ a 0.40 ERA

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Michael Gillen, Freshman at Seton Hall University, is having a great start to his collegiate career. With 15 appearances and 22.2 innings pitched, he has a .40 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and velocity sitting at 91-93 mph. He initially began training with us back in the fall of 2019 as he was starting his sophomore year at Bergen Catholic high school (at the time according to PBR he was sitting 78-80). Fast forward… after graduation he joined the 12-week Summer Throwing Program in preparation for his collegiate career. When he started the summer program, his goals included cleaning up pitching mechanics, improving his velocity and overall pitching arsenal.

His summer program began with a 3 ½ hour initial assessment, which included the following: Continue reading “Athlete Highlight: Seton Hall Frosh Michael Gillen Sitting 91-93 mph w/ a 0.40 ERA”

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Podcast #49: Assessing Hitters to Maximize Performance with FDU’s Assistant Coach Ethan Newton

Ethan Newtong

My guest today is Ethan Newton, Assistant Coach at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU). He joined (actually re-joined) the Knights last year after having spent over a year here at RPP as the Director of Hitting. Join us as we discuss:

    • Value in assessments
    • Movement strategies and hitting mechanics
    • Importance of the middle

Continue reading “Podcast #49: Assessing Hitters to Maximize Performance with FDU’s Assistant Coach Ethan Newton”

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Baseball Pitches – A Comprehensive Guide

Baseball Pitches

Baseball pitches come in three basic categories: fastballs, breaking balls, and off-speed / changeups.  Each category, and each pitch within the category, are generally identified by their type of grip, velocity and movement profile also known as “break”. Pitchers generally throw many different types of baseball pitches, in addition to a fastball.  Although, there are a few pitchers in the MLB that throw just about every type of pitch, starters generally throw 4-5 different variations, and relievers and closers throw 1-3 different ones. The primary purpose for the variations in pitching is to throw a batter’s timing off and induce an out: as in a strike out, a ground out, or a flyout.

Now, let’s review each category and the various baseball pitches:

    • Fastballs
    • Breaking Balls
    • Off-speed / Changeups

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Podcast #48: Choosing a Summer College League with CPL’s Chip Allen and Justin Sellers

Coastal Plain League

I am very excited to have Commissioner Chip Allen and Deputy Commissioner Justin Sellers from the Coastal Plain League on the show today. For those of you that may not be familiar with the Coastal Plain League, it is one of the premier summer college baseball leagues in the country. It is located in the southeast covering the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

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Remote Athlete Highlight: Brett Antolick Velo up 6-7 mph, Touching 95 mph

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Photo Creds: Robert Gaetano

Brett Antolick (Texas A&M commit, Class 2023) started training with us on a remote basis almost two years ago, beginning in July of 2021.  At the time, he came to RPP at the recommendation of Nate Yeskie, the Texas A&M Pitching Coach. Although Brett trains on a remote basis, luckily, he doesn’t live too far and during this time period he has been able to perform his assessments and reassessments in-house.  Shortly after he first started, he was clocked sitting 86-87 and touching 88 (at PBR-PA).  Fast forward to April 2023, at a high school outing recently he was sitting 91-94 and touching 95 mph.  How did he do it?

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Remote Athlete Highlight: Lucas Malave is On Fire at Catholic University

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Lucas Malave, sophomore outfielder for nationally ranked Catholic University, is having a heck of a season. Through 30 games played, Lucas is hitting .309 with 7 HR, 28 RBI, 27 R, and 6 SB. While Lucas has always had the ability to see the ball well at the plate, these numbers far surpass his freshman year stats in many ways. What changed?

Continue reading “Remote Athlete Highlight: Lucas Malave is On Fire at Catholic University”