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How do you plan your pitching rotations for upcoming games and the season?
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Chris Booth
Head Baseball Coach, Atherton High School |
 | I have to approach the upcoming season with the mindset that a large number, if not all, of our players have to be capable of helping us on the mound sometime throughout the year. That means we need to teach each potential pitcher the fundamentals, ensuring that they are physically and mentally prepared to step up when we need them. We began that process by offering a voluntary workout regimen focusing on free weights, cardio and long tossing. I will still have pitchers who serve as core starters, but there may be those who start non-district games or come in for middle relief. Their contribution will be just as vital to our overall success. The number of games we have this spring, along with the small numbers we'll have on both our varsity and JV squads, will dictate that a defined rotation be in place to give the pitchers a daily routine of taking care of their arms between appearances. Our district games will take precedence over others, so that's where we'll try to throw our better pitchers. However, situations such as injuries and academic ineligibility always keep things interesting. We're just going to make every effort to be prepared by having as many players ready to pitch as possible. |
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Brandon Richie
Freshman Baseball Coach, New Albany High School |
 | At the varsity level, we have been blessed to have a solid pitching rotation year in and year out. Our varsity team usually goes four pitchers deep. We like to build up arm strength progressively through the year and even at full strength, our pitchers don't throw more than 100 pitches a game. Once they reach that limit, they don't pitch the rest of the week. As far as the rotation, we keep it pretty constant with a one-through-four rotation during weeks with a lot of games. In weeks where we have three or fewer games, our number four pitcher becomes a reliever.
At the freshman level, we tell our players that every freshman is now a pitcher, even if they have never pitched a game in their life. By doing this, we hope to develop one or two solid pitchers in each class while also giving us the flexibility to rotate our freshmen between the junior varsity and freshman levels. This also helps us to not overwork our young arms. |
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Brian Runyan
Head Baseball Coach, Whitefield Academy |
 | There are a couple of basic things we consider when determining pitching rotations. One: the competition we are facing in a given week. We assess the skill-level of the competition, and determine if the opponent is in our district/region. Two, we must decide which pitchers give us the best chance of winning. We obviously try to win every game we play, but if a game is "critical," it plays a role in our decision-making. |
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