I love it when a pitcher has a big changeup. The circle change turns out to be one of the deadliest changes out there. The reason: not only does it slow down but it has wicked movement.

The Circle Change has a screw-like movement and breaks down and away. It looks like a fastball and is very tricky to hitters eyes.

To throw this pitch, prone your wrist and forearm slightly inward. His arm slot and arm speed is the same as his fastball. Place your fingers in the same position as you do with your fastball (thumb and middle finger split the baseball in half). Next, make a circle with your thumb and forefinger. The tighter the circle, the more drop you will have. However, the angle of the wrist and forearm is more important than the grip with this throw. The hardest part of this throw is the forearm angle.

Grasping circle change

The smaller the circle, the more downward movement you will have on the field. The slight pronation of the wrist and forearm is important when throwing the circle change. I recommend starting to cast this pitch in a C shape instead of a circle when you first try it out. You will not be successful with this pitch unless you throw the circle (or OK signal) toward home plate; that’s what really slows down the pitch. Most pitchers think they are throwing a circle or C change just by catching the pitch correctly. The C or Circle is thrown into the catheter. Again, keep your arm speed the same so the pitch is deceptively slow for the hitter.

Arguably the most difficult pitch to learn is the circle change due to how the pitch is pitched. Although the throw can be difficult to learn, do not alter your body movement in any way while trying to throw it. Instead, work hard on the angle of your wrist and forearm.

I recommend just playing catch by practicing throwing.

Releasing the tone:

Throw the circle changeup early in the count and try to get a groundout. Remember, it’s better to throw fewer pitches in an inning than try to strike out everyone. The best changeup counts are the same as 3-1, 2-1, and 2-0 split-finger fastball counts. Also, whenever a fastball is in order, a changeup can be thrown in its place. Becoming a successful pitcher simply means you mess with the hitter’s timing and throw it off. When he is successful in doing that, he will get any batter out.

Here’s what The Pitching Academy’s Nate Barnett has to say about this nasty release.

Aside from the slider, a good changeup is terribly frustrating for most hitters. Due to its initial resemblance to a fastball, it can be particularly misleading in fastball counting. I’m not sure why I don’t see more good changes in youth baseball today, but it’s a vastly underused field.

Hitters hate facing pitchers who change speed well, it’s hard to get a good time on anything. For a great example of this, look no further than Jamie Moyer, who at age 45 helped his Phillies win a World Series championship in 2008. His signature pitch throughout his career has been his outstanding change. With a fastball that rarely hit 85 mph, Moyer’s ability to keep hitters off balance has paid off.

The circle changes with movement are tricky and I would say that they are almost impossible to hit if they are thrown in the right place and on the right count. Being a pitcher as well throughout my college career, I relied heavily on the changeup to keep hitters off balance. Early in my pitching career, I was wary of developing it because the idea of ​​throwing a slower pitch to hitters seemed backwards. Wow, I was wrong because it became my best pitch!