- [Kyle Hendricks] I'm going to get a couple.
Cut…it cut, we'll put it in the tape.
What's up, guys?
Kyle Hendricks here to give you a few pointers on some changeups today.
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For me, a changeup is a big pitch, obviously, my most important pitch.
I really didn't start developing it until I was in college.
So for you younger guys out there, I would focus primarily on your fastball,
and as you get a little older, you can start mixing in some other off-speed stuff.
For me specifically, it was the changeup.
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The changeup, it's such a feel pitch to start with, and you want to take
as much velocity off of it as you can.
I think your three strongest fingers are going to be these three right here.
So for my changeup, I'm really trying to take those three out.
I'm almost trying to draw a circle between my thumb and my pinky.
I could throw a changeup just like this…like, obviously, you don't want to show your fingers
to the hitter.
So I just lay these on it, and they're barely touching.
I barely even feel it, and throw it just like this, right out of the side of your hand.
I used to throw mine big circle, and pinky down, when you have small hands.
As you start getting older, hands start getting a little bigger, I start my circle,
getting it smaller, as small as I can.
So, it's really thumb and your pinky, and get your pinky as high up on the
baseball as possible.
It's going to feel very weird probably at first, but you want to see a lot of space on the baseball
on this side, so it really comes out easy as you pronate and turn over.
The bigger your hands get, the better feel you get, that's why you have to just keep playing catch a lot.
Keep playing catch with it so you get really comfortable on these pressure points,
and you know how to move it off of these two fingers, and take as much velocity off of it as you can.
Changeup is only as good as your fastball.
I have to establish my fastball first, and then the changeup will be able to work off of it.
So, here's four-seam fastball…four-seam changeup right off it.
If you're a two fastball kind of guy, you can go four-seam changeup, two-seam changeup.
Same hand grip, same hand position, just changing the ball from four-seam to two-seam.
Four-seam changeup is going to be a little tougher to make move, so I'd say a four-seam changeup is a lot
better for just taking velocity off, making it look just like you're four-seam fastball,
but making it eight to ten miles an hour slower.
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A two-seam changeup, I think you can really dig in on some of these seams
with your fingers, and really start to get action, and get a lot of movement on it.
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So, if you're really looking for strikeouts to miss bats, then I would focus on two-seam,
especially if you throw a two-seam fastball.
And if you're looking for soft contact, if you're looking for early outs type of thing,
and you throw a four-seam fastball, I would go with a four-seam changeup.
- [Commentator] A strikeout.
- So, you want every pitch you throw to look the same coming out of your hand.
For my four-seam, I'm trying to stay on top of it, drive it with angle, and stay through it.
That's the same thought I'm having with my changeup.
As I'm coming through, I'm on top of the baseball, and staying through it, through the glove.
My two-seam, I'm on top of it also, but you're really coming inside the baseball,
and finishing almost like this to get that action to tumble out.
Two-seam changeup, same.
I'm getting on top of it, pulling down through the inside part of the baseball,
and you want it to come off your hand this way, and get that sinking depth.
So, I'm just going to show you guys kind of four-seam fastball, four-seam changeup off it, two-seam fastball,
two-seam changeup off it, just to see to flight of the ball,
and see how they both look similar.
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Now just the four-seam changeup.
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See that one?
He's going to stay straight, and almost cut at the end of the zone.
Now, two-seam grip here for my two-seam fastball…
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And right off the two-seam fastball is the two-seam changeup.
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And both of those are going to sink, and go to the other part of the plate.
- Swing and a miss on a good changeup by Kyle Hendricks.
- I knew when my changeup was getting better, and started to develop,
when I could get ahead with my fastballs early.
But any changeup I threw, you could just tell the hitter,
they thought it was a fastball, and they were always out front.
If you throw a changeup off of your fastball, and you see a hitter just waiting back for it,
and sees it and puts a good swing on it, it's either not looking like your fastball,
you're telegraphing something, whatever the hitter, whatever feedback they're giving you in how they're
swinging at your changeup, that's going to tell you how good you're becoming
with your changeup.
So, thank you guys for hanging out with me, talking about changeups.
I wish you the best of luck in developing yours.
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