John Martin, former big league, current Scout for the Seattle Mariners and developer of Pitching Mechanics: Building a Solid Foundation, offers up some good tips for pitchers.
Question: Give us a brief background of John Martin
Answer: Originally from San Diego and attended the Univ. of Washington in Seattle where I was a 16th round draft pick in 1980 by the St Louis Cardinals. I played 9 years in the Cardinal system, the last 3 years in AAA. Signed as a minor league free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies and played a half year in AAA there before getting released and hired as a pitching coach three weeks later. Was a pitching coach in Phillie system for 9 1/2 years before getting hired by the Seattle Mariners for the area scout job for the state of Florida which I currently do.
Question: What are the most common mechanical errors you see in young pitchers?
Answer: The most common flaws of a young pitcher would be 1) a lack of balance at the point where the pitcher lifts his knee up. 2) improper arm action in the rear once the hand is taken out of the glove during the delivery. 3)Improper rotation of the shoulders during the release of the pitch and 4)improper follow through.
Question: At what age should a player start throwing curves or sliders and what % of his/her pitches should be of this type?
Answer: I believe a young player should not start to throw a curve or slider until he is a "fully developed" 12 years old. By that, I mean the boy has arm strength, good delivery and has some substantial physical size for his age and has some "feel" for pitching somewhat. % of breaking pitches should work out fairly well if the curve or slider is not thrown until the hitter has two strikes on him and then, not thrown every time the hitter has two strikes on him
Question: What are the top factors related to arm injury? How can they be prevented?
Answer: Top factors relating to arm injury are 1).poor arm action. Learning proper arm action at a young age (starting at 8 or so) 2). improper care of the arm i.e. lack of warm-up before throwing hard, not keeping arm warm. 3) overuse of arm, especially at high school or college level. Generally, little leagues have maximum innings policy and guidelines, but pitch counts are not taken into effect and that is what counts, watching the number of pitches a pitcher throws not the innings.
Question: What are the best ways to build arm strength for a young pitcher?
Answer: Getting on a proper long toss program and light weight program for the shoulder muscles.
Question: What are the keys to conditioning for a pitcher?
Answer: Running, both distance and sprint work (60 yds. or so) are the best way to strengthen the legs. Optional weight work for thighs, hamstrings and calf muscles also.
Question: How many pitches does a pitcher need to throw before the red flag should go up in a parents mind?
Answer: First, 15 pitches/inning is average at the major league level with a maximum of 110 pitches being the limit in any outing for a minor league pitcher. Therefore, a young amateur pitcher should definitely not exceed these limits.
Question: What do pro scouts watch when they scout a pitcher. Compare physical vs. emotional/mental.
Answer: First, the pitcher should be at least 6 feet tall so as to have leverage. Weight should be proportionate with long arms and legs being a plus. Fastball velocity should be at least 88 MPH plus on EVERY pitch. Pitcher should be able to spin a breaking ball with some success. Should have somewhat fair delivery mechanics. Mound presence should be mature and competitive.
Question: Do you need an 85+ MPH fastball to be a successful college pitcher?
Answer: A successful college pitcher is any pitcher who can get the other team out and win for the coach with any kind of stuff.
Final Thoughts? - THROW THE FASTBALL 70% of the time to gain arm strength and velocity. Not enough fastballs are thrown at the high school and college level, mainly because the pitcher has not gained or strived for increased arm strength at the 12-15 year old mark because of throwing too many breaking pitches. The old saying about the fastball still holds true......"if you don't throw it, you'll lose it".