🧵 1/7.The kick change is a changeup variant where a spiked middle finger “kicks” the ball’s axis forward. Fastball arm speed + changeup spin + splitter style depth = a harder pitch that drops more than a traditional cambio. Check out this nasty @keenan_masters kick change

Want to know where your fastballs live in the VAA/IVB map?. Find out your danger cells, create separation, and you’ll stop hearing “dead zone” for good!.

VAA isn’t a magic number. It’s the interaction of your release, movement, and intent and how you separate shapes to avoid the swing path. Manage VAA → stay out of the dead zone → win more pitches.

Same story for sinkers:. The best sinkers are steep enough to break under barrels, often >1° steeper than their FF. The worst offenders overlap their FF plane in dead-zone territory

Here’s the MLB cutter leaderboard for VAA separation from 4-seams. Elite: cutters much steeper or much flatter than FF. Risk: cutters overlapping FF VAA in the danger cells

The easiest fix? VAA separation between your fastball types. If your cutter or sinker has almost the same VAA as your 4-seam, hitters can track them on the same plane. Create 1°+ separation and suddenly barrels disappear.

Cutters naturally live between 4S & sinkers in both IVB and VAA. This makes them vulnerable to the dead zone by default, especially if they’re middle-middle. The best cutters either flatten/elevate or steepen/drive low.

For 4-seams: danger is when you lose ride and steepen your VAA into the barrel path. For sinkers: danger is when you don’t steepen enough, drifting toward 4-seam shape without the ride. That’s when hitters lift everything

The dead zone = the VAA/IVB window where pitches match hitter swing planes. → Not flat enough to miss above the barrel, not steep enough to miss below it. I mapped every MLB fastball from 2023-present to find those danger cells

Your release & movement set the baseline:. Lower release + ride/velo → flatter VAA.Higher release + sink/run → steeper VAA. Same IVB ≠ same VAA when the release height changes

VAA = the angle at which the ball crosses home plate, measured vertically. Flatter VAA = ball approaches more horizontally (closer to –4°). Steeper VAA = ball approaches more downward (closer to –6° or steeper). Release height, extension, velocity, and movement all shape your VAA.

Ever been told you have a “dead zone” heater?. It’s not just about velocity or movement, it’s about Vertical Approach Angle (VAA), and how it interacts with your release, movement, and location. Here’s how MLB pitchers use VAA to escape the dead zone 🧵

RT @FergThrows22149: Pitching Leverage by Count 🎯. Carson’s wOBA chart for hitters tells us something HUGE for pitchers:.Not all counts are….

Bottom line for pitchers:.0‑0 & 1‑1 = Setup counts → win them to stay clean.2‑0, 2‑1, 3‑1 = Damage zones → win them to survive. Pitching is chess and your best move is to never let the hitter play in their damage counts ♟️🔥.

From a pitching mindset, this means:.1️⃣ Prioritize early-count strikes to stay out of 2‑0 or 2‑1.2️⃣ Treat 2‑1 as the new “must-win” count, it’s the inflection point.3️⃣ Have your best weak-contact or putaway pitch ready for 2‑1 & 3‑1. Execution > velocity here.

So the new picture for pitchers:.Early (0‑0, 1‑1): Key to set up the AB, low immediate wOBA swing.Mid (2‑0, 2‑1, 3‑1): Highest damage‑prevention leverage and our plan must be airtight. Goal: Avoid living in the damage zones early.

Here’s the new Pitcher’s Leverage Map ⬇️.Blue = Setup Counts (0‑0, 1‑1). Red = Damage Zones (2‑0, 2‑1, 3‑1). Gray = Other counts for context

🔥 2‑1, 2‑0, and 3‑1 are the TRUE damage zones for pitchers. A strike in these counts drastically reduces wOBA. A ball often pushes you into a near-automatic danger zone (3‑1 or 3‑0). This is where plate appearances are won or lost.

Traditionally, pitching coaches preach:.0‑0 & 1‑1 are the most important counts.They’re right… sort of. These are setup counts: winning them consistently keeps you out of trouble. But wOBA change quantifies risk/reward per pitch, and the biggest swings happen later….

Pitching Leverage by Count 🎯. Carson’s wOBA chart for hitters tells us something HUGE for pitchers:.Not all counts are created equal and the REAL damage counts aren’t what you might think. Let’s talk Setup Counts vs. Damage Zones for pitchers 🧵.

RT @nickkemper5: Had the pleasure of training one of my former teammates this summer @CharlieSchebler. Here’s how it went and what we did i….