How to Fairly Evaluate Pitchers in a Tryout

If you are coaching a team you know how hard it is to evaluate a large group of pitchers at tryouts. I wrote this blog a couple years back and am re-posting it now because it’s that time of year again. I’d love to hear your opinions in the comment section on what to add or are remove from this list. These can be used for any level, but adjust them a little depending upon age. For example, a 10-year old catcher would have trouble seeing the ball move so a coach should record those points. A 16-year old player, especially one you trust, can be assigned with the task of evaluating on their own so you have time to do other things.

There are a few obstacles I’m sure you face at your tryouts. First, there's never enough time. Second, it's impossible to tell how a pitcher will perform in games. Third, if you aren’t well-versed in pitching mechanics it’s difficult to tell how this player will develop over time. How could you not to get swept up in the lure of a pitcher who’s fast? Ask yourself if speed is the main factor for success at your level.

Below are practical and efficient ways to evaluate a pitcher on accuracy, movement, speed, change of speed, poise, and potential. These are fair ways to judge because they are objective. Each coach on your staff would come up with the same results regardless of who was in charge.

How to fairly evaluate accuracy
You’re looking for the least amount of bad misses, as opposed to spots hit. A bad miss is a pitch that the catcher has a hard time handling. It’s when runners advance, batters get hit by the pitch, or the catcher gets worn out. An experienced pitchers who practice 3-5 days per week have a bad miss maybe one in every 20 depending upon her age - and that’s on her worst day.  

Play the hit/miss game with every pitch. Throw ten pitches and count how many spots she hits (directly into the glove without moving), how many good misses (anything the catcher can handle even if it’s on the opposite side of the plate from the target), and the number of bad misses.  Have the catcher, not the pitcher, keep track. Catchers tend to be very honest even if the two are buddies. This way you have real results, you’ll be able to refer back to them later in the day or week, and you can show it to her and her folks so she knows what to improve upon.  Plus, you can run other parts of tryouts while the catchers evaluate.

How to evaluate speed
Take a pitcher’s speed a couple of times without telling her you’re there. After you do that, notify her you are taking her speed then tell her the results each time. Players usually pitch faster when they have the intention to do so. You’ll be able to see her baseline effort level when no one is watching. If her speed goes way up when you tell her your are timing, it will tell you 1) what motivates her, and 2) how she’ll practice when no one is monitoring.

Next, if you tell her to pitch as hard as she can without care for location, you will get an idea of her speed potential. It will tell you how fast she is physically capable of moving her body.  After that, ask her to throw as hard as possible, but you will only tell her the speed when she hits the spot. You don’t want to see a big difference between the spot-focused and speed-focused numbers.  

The most accurate pitchers have a repeatable motion. What’s the easiest motion to repeat? It’s a full effort one. The players with the least amount of difference between fastballs have a built-in repeatable motion at the highest velocity they can. This is exactly what you want!!!

How to evaluate movement
First, ask the pitcher to explain how she is supposed to move her hand in order throw each movement pitch.  If she says “um...i just kind of do this, or I come through like this think,” it shows that she has does not understand how to make the ball move. However, those that can explain how to throw the pitch but cannot yet execute the movement have potential.

Second, keep track. Have the catcher record the following factors each pitch. 1) Late Break - If it moved within 10 feet of the plate (it doesn’t count if it slowly goes in the direction of a curve), 2) If it had exactly the correct spin, 3) if it hit the spot. Set up a horizontal string tied to two posts 10-20 feet in between the plate and the mound to make it easier to see it break.

Throw five in a row of each pitch and record the above factors. After that, mix up each pitch for 20 pitches and again have the catcher record the 3 factors after each one. Remember, it’s useless to have a movement pitch if you can’t throw different types next to each other.

It will take time for the catcher to stop each time and record. This should be expected and simulates game pace. Don't let them try and remember three factors for 10 pitches and record at the end.

How to evaluate for potential
Travel teams have almost a year to develop their players for the next season. You must take their coachability and athleticism into account.  Potential as a pitcher has more to do with work ethic than any other factor.

The best way to evaluate for potential in pitching is to take into account the desire to succeed of both the parent and the pitcher. It is the parent who will need to catch for his or her daughter in addition to practices and lessons. Simply ask how many days they practiced last week. If he/she gives a number, any number, that’s a good sign. If she decided to explain another activity that got in the way of practicing, you know what that means.

Are the pitcher’s opinion of themselves based in reality?  Before tryouts begin have the pitcher write down which pitches she has that “spin correctly, and move more than 50% of the time in games.” Compare that to the above movement test. If the two don’t match you’ll find it’s hard to teach someone who already thinks they have it down pat. At the very least she doesn’t practice enough to have an idea of where she’s at.

How to evaluate poise
Will this pitcher be a leader on the team? Will she hold it together when things don’t go her way?  Here are a few ways to evaluate her attitude.

Stand behind her when she pitches and call out if it’s a strike or a ball. Make a few blatant errors, being sure to visibly write down the “unfair” results on the official clipboard. See if she keeps her composure.  

After the test do the more important part of the evaluation. Let her redeem herself if she made a mistake. Tell her about the “test” you just gave her so she can try harder for the rest of the tryout. You also don’t want her to think her future coach has bad judgement!

Play a short scrimmage during and see how the pitchers perform. It’s the closest thing to a game you’ll get. Let me know your opinions on this blog below!