How to Throw a Changeup in Baseball at the High School Level

Changing speeds is one of the most effective tools you can implement relatively easily in order to significantly improve as a pitcher. If you are
able to effectively mix up your velocity, hitters will remain off balance and you will have them guessing more at the plate. A simple circle changeup will do the trick, and once it is part of your arsenal, you will be striking out more hitters, and your fastball will seem even faster to hitters.

In order to properly grip the circle change, first place the ball into your palm and grip it with your entire hand, like a "palm ball." Your middle finger should be directly over the center of the ball. Next, slide your index finger along the ball toward your thumb, and also slide your thumb up toward your index finger just as if
you were pinching or holding an object with these two fingers. When gripped properly, your index finger and thumb should form sort of a circle on the side of the
ball. Hence, the name "circle" changeup.

When throwing the pitch, the key is to keep your overall motion looking the same as if you are throwing a fastball. If it looks different, batters will notice and you will tip off the pitch. In order to maintain the appearance of your regular fastball motion, do not drive with full power off your back leg. In other words, keep everything the same, except do not push off as hard off the pitching rubber. Perceptually, you can envision in your mind that you are only using fifty percent or less force. When doing this, the key is to maintain the mechanics of your basic motion on your other pitches.

Finally, follow through the same way as you would when throwing fastball. However, the one difference is that you should not snap your wrist when releasing the ball. Unlike your fastball, let the ball roll off your middle, ring and pinky fingers without any wrist action. When thrown properly, the circle changeup will come out slower than your fastball, and it will have a tendency to tail to the right for a right-handed pitcher, or to the left for a lefty.

While practicing this pitch, focus on not doing anything different or unusual with your grip in your glove and keeping your windup consistent to your fastball motion. Further, since the pitch is traveling much slower than your fastball, focus on keeping the ball down. If you throw it high or up in the strike zone, that is when the pitch will show itself early and has the potential to be hit hard.