Baseball Pitching Drills

The best baseball pitching drills isolate one piece of the delivery, attach a measurable rep target, and finish on a pitch that would fit a real at-bat. Staples across every level from coach pitch through MLB bullpens include the towel drill, balance point hold, wall drill, 4-corner spot pitching, long toss progression, and live at-bat simulation.

The list below sorts by training goal, not by delivery phase, so a coach can match each drill to whatever the pitcher needs that day.

The Six Phases of a Pitching Delivery

1. Leg lift. The lift-and-load that builds rhythm at the start of the motion. A rushed lift tilts the pitcher off the rubber before the legs can drive.
2. Balance point. Front knee at hip height, weight loaded over the back leg, hips closed. This is where most young pitchers leak velocity by drifting forward early.
3. Hand separation. Glove and ball separate as the lead leg starts down. Late separation forces the arm to play catch-up and drops the arm slot.
4. Foot strike. Front foot lands closed on a stride that gets out toward the plate, with a longer stride generally helping the legs deliver more energy. A short stride leaves velocity on the rubber.
5. Arm acceleration. The throwing arm swings up to high cock and fires through release. The elbow stays at or above shoulder height to keep arm health.
6. Finish. Trail leg comes through, glove tucks to the chest, the pitcher squares up to field a comebacker. A balanced finish is also a defensive position.

The drills below sort by training goal so a coach can plug them into a bullpen by what the pitcher needs today. As Little League's pitching drills article(opens in new tab) puts it, the building blocks of a healthy delivery are balance, arm path, and finish, and every drill on this list trains at least one of those three.

Pre-Pitching Warm-Up

Every drill below starts with the arm warm. Run a five-minute dynamic block of arm circles, leg swings, shoulder band pull-aparts, and trunk rotations, then move into a five-minute easy long toss at standard playing distance to flush the shoulder before any high-effort throw. Skipping the warm-up turns a clean mechanics drill into an injury risk, especially on cool early-spring practice nights.

Beginner pitchers (9U through 11U, plus first-year 12U pitchers and any older player switching positions to the mound) need volume on the simplest pieces of the motion. The four drills below run with a partner ten to twenty feet away, no catcher and no plate. Hold the beginner block for three to four weeks of overhand throwing before any of these arms steps onto a regulation 60'6" mound for a real bullpen.

Towel Drill

Pitcher holds a folded hand towel where the ball would normally sit and runs the full delivery, snapping the towel through the throwing motion to a partner standing 10 to 15 feet away at the spot a catcher's chest would be. Reps: 20. Cue: "snap the towel through the target." Common error: short-arming the finish so the towel never makes a clean snap. Fix: partner moves a step closer and holds his glove higher; the towel has to reach his chest with an audible snap.

Knee-Down Throws

Pitcher kneels on the throwing-side knee with the front leg flat on the ground, ball in glove. Take the ball out, separate hands, and throw to a partner 25 feet away. Reps: 20 per side. Cue: "elbow up, fingers on top of the ball." Common error: dropping the elbow below the shoulder, which scatters throws and risks arm strain. Fix: the partner holds his glove at his own chest height; misses below that target mean the elbow dropped.

Coach Hand-Off Balance Drill

Pitcher takes the rocker step and lifts the front leg into the balance point. The coach (or a partner) stands beside the pitcher and lightly places a ball in his glove at the top of the lift. The pitcher holds the balance point until he feels the ball, then delivers a soft throw to a partner 25 feet away. Reps: 12. Cue: "hold tall, accept the ball, then deliver." Common error: drifting forward off the back leg before the ball reaches the glove. Fix: coach pauses an extra half-second before handing off; the pitcher learns to hold the load without rushing.

Balance Point Hold

Pitcher takes the rocker step and lifts the front leg into the balance point: front knee at hip height, hips closed, weight loaded over the back leg. Hold for two seconds, then deliver a soft throw to a partner 30 feet away. Reps: 10. Cue: "stack the head over the back hip." Common error: hips opening early so the legs cannot drive together with the arm. Fix: a coach watches from the side and counts only reps that hold a closed front hip through the full two-second pause.

Once the four-week beginner block holds, pitchers move to mechanics drills that train the full delivery on a mound to a catcher. The drills below tighten the balance point, the stride direction, and the arm path. They belong in every 12U-and-up pitching warm-up, even at the high school level, because the pitcher who skips mechanics work tends to lose noticeable command by the late innings.

Stride Box Drill

Mark a chalk or tape rectangle on the mound starting in front of the rubber and stretching about 80 percent of the pitcher's height long, one shoe-width wide on either side of a straight line to the plate. The pitcher delivers 15 fastballs and the stride foot must land inside the box every time. Reps: 15. Cue: "stride straight down the line." Common error: the stride foot lands closed (across the body) or open (toward the third or first base side), which both cost arm slot and accuracy. Fix: a coach watches from behind the rubber and grades each stride landing on a 1 to 3 scale: in the box, on the line, or outside the box.

Mound Bullpen With Counts

Pitcher stands on a regulation rubber, takes the standard delivery, and throws fastballs to a catcher at the correct youth or adult distance. The catcher starts each at-bat with a count called by the coach (0-0, 1-1, 0-2, 3-1) and the pitcher executes the pitch that count calls for. Reps: 25 to 30 pitches. Cue: "every pitch has a count and a plan." Common error: throwing the same fastball over the plate on every pitch regardless of count. Fix: track first-pitch strike rate as a separate stat from total strike rate; the goal is 60 percent or better on first-pitch strikes before working on out pitches.

Glove Tap Drill

Pitcher takes the full delivery but pauses at hand separation (lead leg starting down, glove and throwing hand pulling apart) and lightly taps his glove against the front knee before continuing the motion. The tap synchronizes the legs and the upper body so the arm fires in rhythm with the stride. Reps: 12 throws to a partner 40 feet away. Cue: "tap the knee, then fire." Common error: the arm finishes high cock long before the front foot lands, which is the classic "arm-only" pitcher who runs out of velocity by the third inning. Fix: the partner calls "tap" when he sees the glove touch the knee; the pitcher should hear the call right as his front foot lands.

Velocity gets the headlines, but accuracy and command win the most games at the youth and high school levels. The drills below build the ability to repeat a release point at the same target across 50 or 60 pitches without breaking down. Run these once form holds at a 60 percent strike rate or better. Youth accuracy drills use the same three exercises but at shorter distances: 35 feet from the wall at 10U, 40 feet at 12U, and a smaller 12-inch target square instead of the full 17-inch strike-zone width, since a younger arm cannot repeat a release point across full mound distance until the mechanics block is in place.

Wall Drill

Pitcher stands 35 feet from a flat wall and delivers 25 fastballs to a 17-inch-wide rectangle taped to the wall at strike-zone height (knees to letters). Reps: 25. Cue: "see the target, finish into the target." Benchmark: 20 of 25 hit the rectangle for a beginner, 22 of 25 for a 12U-and-up pitcher. Common error: the eyes leave the target during the leg lift. Fix: a coach calls "target" at the start of every delivery; the pitcher locks his eyes on the rectangle before the rocker step.

Bucket Drill

A target-pitching drill made popular by Little League youth coaches. Place an empty five-gallon bucket where the catcher's mitt would sit during a real bullpen, with the rim level with strike-zone height. The pitcher delivers 20 pitches into the bucket; only pitches that land inside the rim count. Reps: 20. Cue: "drop the ball in the bucket, not over it." Benchmark: 15 of 20 for high school, 12 of 20 for travel ball, 10 of 20 for a 10U beginner. Common error: pulling across the body and missing wide to the glove side. Fix: a marker on the front foot's landing spot keeps the stride aligned; the pitcher steps to that mark on every pitch.

4-Corner Spot Pitching

Pitcher throws ten pitches to each corner of the strike zone (low-inside, low-outside, high-inside, high-outside) and tracks strikes by location. Reps: 40 total. Suggested benchmark: 70 percent strikes at 12U and 80 percent at high school as a coaching target rather than a published standard. Cue: "see the spot, finish through the spot." Common error: drifting back to the middle of the plate when the location is missed; the pitcher widens his miss instead of attacking the corner. Fix: tape a 6-inch square inside each strike zone corner; pitches outside the small square count as misses even if they catch part of the plate.

Velocity work belongs in once-a-week dedicated blocks, not in every bullpen. The drills below add fastball speed by training the arm to fire harder under controlled conditions, then recover before the next session. Youth velocity work follows a different rule: pitchers under 13 stick to regulation balls only, with long toss as the primary tool and zero weighted-ball training. Most youth pitching health guidelines hold the weighted-ball protocol until ages 13 to 14 and only after two years of mechanics work, so the youth velocity plan runs on long toss, leg drive, and stride length, not on heavier balls.

Long Toss Progression

Pair stands ten feet apart and backs up five feet after every five throws until reaching maximum distance, then walks back in the same way. The progression keeps the shoulder warm and builds throwing-arm endurance. High school pitchers stretch out further than youth pitchers, who stay closer to standard playing distances. Reps: 10 to 15 minutes at the start of every pitching practice. Cue: "throw on a line, not a rainbow, once past medium distance." Common error: lobbing the ball at long distance to get it there. Fix: the partner moves five feet closer if the ball arcs too high at the peak; build distance only when the throws stay on a flat line.

Overload-Underload Throws

A velocity-development pattern that pairs heavier and lighter training balls to train the arm at both ends of the speed spectrum. The published Driveline research on 3-7 oz weighted-ball training(opens in new tab) frames the heavy-light contrast as a "speed-strength" stimulus for the arm. Pitcher throws five reps with the heavy ball, five with the light, then five with a regulation ball to a catcher 30 feet away. The contrast forces the arm to recruit the fast-twitch fibers it does not engage at regulation-ball weight alone. Reps: 3 rounds of 5/5/5 (45 throws total), one to two sessions per week, with at least one day between heavy sessions. Cue: "hold arm speed steady, let the ball weight change." Common error: dropping arm speed on the heavy ball. Fix: a partner times the arm circle from hand separation to release; the heavy-ball rep should stay close to the regulation rep. Run the protocol only with a qualified pitching coach and inside the league's pitch-count rest schedule.

Change-Up Progression

Three-stage progression: grip the change-up (the circle change or the three-finger change, picked by the pitching coach), throw it from 30 feet at half effort, then mix it into a regular bullpen at a ratio of two fastballs to one change. Reps: 10 grip-only, 10 short-distance, 15 mixed in a bullpen. Cue: "same delivery, slower ball." Common error: tipping the change by slowing arm speed. Fix: the catcher films the windup; the pitcher self-checks that arm speed matches the fastball on every change. The change-up does more for youth and high school pitchers than any breaking ball, since it disrupts a hitter's timing without putting extra stress on the elbow.

Bullpens build pieces of the delivery; game-simulation drills stitch those pieces together against a count, a batter in the box, and a catcher calling sequences. The two drills below close the bullpen-into-game gap that frustrates pitchers who throw clean pens but unravel once the umpire bends down behind the plate. Run them once a week during the season and twice a week in the two weeks leading into opening day.

21 Outs Drill

A game-simulation workout where the pitcher records 21 simulated outs (seven full innings) inside one bullpen. Each pitch that fails to produce an out (a ball, a foul ball that would extend an at-bat, or a simulated hit) resets the count and the pitcher keeps throwing. Reps: 21 simulated outs, total pitch count tracked. Cue: "out one, then one more." Common error: losing focus once the pitcher works through a long at-bat and giving up free strikes on the next hitter. Fix: the catcher resets the count out loud after every simulated out so the pitcher hears the fresh start; the goal is to drive the total pitch count down across a season.

Live At-Bat Simulation

Pitcher faces a hitter standing in the box (no swing, or a half-effort swing) with a count and a coach calling balls and strikes. The catcher signals pitch type and location; the pitcher executes a simulated inning of 12 to 15 pitches. Reps: 12 to 15 pitches per simulated inning, two to three innings per session. Cue: "pitch the count, not the radar gun." Common error: grooving a fastball when behind in the count instead of mixing the change-up. Fix: coach calls the pitch sequence on every 2-1 and 3-1 count so the pitcher learns to throw the off-speed strike under pressure.

Team practice typically covers two pitching sessions a week, and the gap between the staff ace and the fifth starter usually opens up in the backyard reps nobody schedules. The drills below run solo against a garage door, a basement wall with padding, or a backyard tarp, with no catcher and no mound. Stack the at-home reps on top of the in-practice mechanics work so the overhand delivery the pitching coach is teaching gets the volume it needs to lock in.

Solo Wall Pitching

Pitcher stands 30 to 40 feet from a flat wall (a garage door, a basement wall with padding, or a backyard shed) and delivers 25 fastballs to a 17-inch-wide rectangle taped at strike-zone height. Reps: 25 reps, three sessions per week. Cue: "finish into the target." The drill builds the rep volume that a single team bullpen cannot.

Mirror Drill

Pitcher stands in front of a full-length mirror and runs the full delivery in slow motion, pausing at the balance point and the high-cock position to check posture. Reps: 10 deliveries. Cue: "watch the head, the front knee, the glove tuck." The drill costs nothing and trains the visual memory of a clean delivery. Pitchers who self-correct in front of the mirror tend to lock in the balance point faster than those who only see their motion on video after practice.

The drills above scale across age groups, but the volume, distance, and complexity of each session change dramatically from a 10-year-old learning to throw strikes to a high school varsity arm. The breakdown below covers the adjustments that matter most at each level. Always layer pitch-count and rest rules from the governing body (Little League, USSSA, or your high school federation) on top of any drill plan.

Youth Pitching Drills (Ages 9-12)

Nine-to-eleven-year-olds run the beginner block (towel drill, knee-down throws, hand-off balance, balance point hold) across 12 to 16 sessions before a regulation bullpen. At age 12, the stride box drill and a short bullpen (15 to 20 pitches) join the rotation, with no weighted balls and no breaking pitches. Little League's pitch count rules(opens in new tab) cap pitchers ages 9-10 at 75 per day and ages 11-12 at 85 per day, with mandatory rest scaling from one day after 21-35 pitches up to four days after 66 or more. No Little League pitcher may throw on three consecutive days, and a pitcher who throws 41-plus pitches cannot catch the rest of the day.

High School and Travel Ball Pitching Drills

High school varsity arms run the full progression in every session: a 10-minute long toss warm-up, 10 minutes of mechanics work (towel drill, stride box, glove tap), 25 to 30 pitches in a bullpen with counts, and a velocity or off-speed block once a week. Two-strike battle bullpens enter the rotation, and the 4-corner spot pitching drill anchors the command work. Weighted-ball overload-underload throws fit in once a week, assuming the pitcher is 14 or older and the program is supervised. The same four-week tracking discipline that drives baseball hitting drills applies on the mound: log the bullpen pitch counts, write the strike percentage on the clipboard, and tweak only one mechanical cue per week so the catcher can isolate which change actually moved the numbers.

College and Adult Beginners

College and elite travel pitchers shift the ratio: shorter towel and balance warm-up (around 5 minutes), and more bullpen volume against multiple hitters with pitch sequencing. Adult beginners (rec league players, late starters) need extra time on the knee-down and balance drills before climbing the mound, since the full-delivery timing takes longer to build later in life.

Strike percentages and fastball velocity sit on top of a four-week base. The numbers start to move when the same drill rotation runs on the same days for a month straight, not when a coach reshuffles the bullpen plan each week. The schedule below maps a four-day pitching week for a 12U or high school arm; trim each block to half the listed pitch count for 10U and beginner pitchers, and end on Day 3 if the league's pitch-count rest schedule mandates a recovery day.

• Day 1: Mechanics block. Five minutes of towel drill, ten minutes of stride box and glove tap drills, ten minutes of mound bullpen at 60 percent effort. Total around 25 minutes focused on the phases of the delivery.
• Day 2: Accuracy and command. Five-minute long toss warm-up, fifteen minutes of wall and bucket drills (45 pitches total), ten minutes of 4-corner spot pitching at game effort. Track strike rate by location.
• Day 3: Velocity and off-speed. Ten-minute long toss warm-up, one round of overload-underload throws (5/5/5 with weighted balls if age-appropriate), ten minutes of change-up progression mixed with fastballs.
• Day 4: Game simulation. Five-minute mechanics warm-up, then either the 21 outs drill or a live at-bat simulation against a hitter. Pick the 21 outs version when the goal is total-pitch endurance; switch to live at-bats when the catcher and pitcher need work on sequencing under count pressure.

Between team practices, the solo wall pitching and mirror drill carry the at-home volume so the overhand motion does not fade between bullpens, as long as the work fits inside the league's pitch-count rest schedule. Track strike percentage, first-pitch strike rate, and arm-feel each week to catch mechanical drift on video before the elbow starts to ache. Coaches running parallel softball programs need a separate progression for the windmill motion; our softball pitching drills guide breaks the windmill into the same beginner, mechanics, and advanced stages.

The pitching block plugs into the wider session in our baseball practice plan template, which schedules mound work alongside hitting BP, infield reps, and baserunning. Coordinators running structured training sessions across a varsity staff and 12U feeders can wire the same benchmarks (60 percent first-pitch strikes, 17-inch wall-target hits, weekly pitch counts) into every team's plan. Striveon's drill library organizes pitching work by training goal, age band, and the equipment on hand, so a pitching coach can build the next bullpen during warm-ups instead of after.

The full seventeen-drill rotation sits in the table below, sorted by training goal with equipment, reps, and a benchmark. Print the page for the pitching coach's binder, drop a copy in the bullpen during warm-ups, or paste the rows into a spreadsheet to map out the next four weeks of mound work.

What are some good pitching drills?

The seventeen drills above cover seven goals: mechanics (towel drill, knee-down throws, stride box, glove tap), balance (coach hand-off, balance point hold), accuracy (wall drill, bucket drill, 4-corner spot pitching), command (mound bullpen with counts), velocity (long toss, overload-underload, change-up progression), game simulation (21 outs drill, live at-bat), and at-home volume (solo wall pitching, mirror drill) for the days the team is not practicing.

What is the 3 pitcher rule?

Most leagues use a "three-trip" rule rather than a literal three-pitcher rule. A coach can make two mound visits to the same pitcher in a half-inning, and the third visit forces the pitcher's removal. A separate interpretation comes up in youth tournaments where a team must use at least three different pitchers in a single game, but that rule is league-specific. Always check the local league's rulebook before assuming a three-pitcher rule applies. For age-banded pitch counts and required rest days across youth and high school baseball, MLB's Pitch Smart pitching guidelines(opens in new tab) are the most commonly referenced standard outside of Little League's own rulebook.

What is the 21 outs drill?

The 21 outs drill is a game-simulation pitching workout where the pitcher records 21 simulated outs (seven full innings) inside a single bullpen. Each pitch that fails to produce an out (a ball, a foul ball that would extend an at-bat, or a simulated hit) resets the count and the pitcher keeps throwing. Total pitches needed to record 21 outs is the tracked number, and the goal is to drive it down across the season. The drill builds the mental side of pitching: working out of jams, sequencing pitches against a count, and finding command when fatigue sets in late in a long workload.

How do you add 5 mph to your fastball?

Adding velocity comes from three changes that compound over a year of focused work: leg drive (longer stride off the rubber and a stronger glute push), arm speed (the velocity-development pattern in the long toss and overload-underload throws above), and mechanical efficiency (closing the front side, finishing on a balanced foot strike, and keeping the head over the back hip until release). A high school pitcher who lengthens the stride and adds dedicated long toss can pick up several mph across a winter, with a smaller secondary gain once the mechanics tighten up. Weighted-ball overload-underload throws can support those gains for older pitchers when run under supervision, but they belong in a once-a-week block, not in every bullpen. For age- appropriate progressions on the foundational throwing skills that velocity gains are built on, USA Baseball's youth baseball skills matrix(opens in new tab) lays out which throwing competencies a pitcher should own before adding velocity work at each age band.

How should accuracy drills fit into a pitching session?

The wall drill, bucket drill, and 4-corner spot pitching anchor accuracy work, with the first two locking in release-point repeatability and the third adding four distinct corners to hit in one bullpen. Beginners run 20 to 25 minutes of pre-catcher drills, 12U pitchers run 30 to 45 minutes including a 25 to 30 pitch bullpen, and high school arms run 45 to 60 minutes with a velocity or off-speed block. End the session when arm speed softens, command drops below 50 percent, or the league's pitch count hits its cap, tracked with a clicker or our pitch count tracker.

Can pitching drills be done alone?

The two at-home drills (solo wall pitching, mirror drill) need no partner, and the towel drill runs solo with a target hung on a wall. Long toss, bullpens, the 21 outs drill, live at-bat simulations, and most velocity work need a catcher or tosser. A backyard wall plus a regulation baseball still covers a meaningful share of the weekly pitching workload solo, especially during the early skill-acquisition phase.