Developing Your Pitching Arsenal and Game Plan

with Derek Johnson,
Chicago Cubs Minor League Pitching Coordinator;
former Vanderbilt University Associate Head Coach/Pitching Coach;
2004 National Pitching Coach of the Year,
2010 National Assistant Coach of the Year;
the 2011 Vanderbilt pitching staff led SEC in ERA and strikeouts.

Under Coach Johnson's tutelage, six Vanderbilt pitchers have been drafted in the first round, including David Price who was taken by the Tampa Bay Rays as the first pick of the first round in 2007.

How does a pitcher dominate a game from start to finish? In this lecture-style presentation, Derek Johnson provides an arsenal of pitches and strategies to build a game plan for success at any level.

Coach Johnson explains the Vanderbilt "Fearless in the Zone" philosophy and its importance for every pitcher on his staff. He teaches you how many pitches you need to master to be dominant at any level, how to build your pitcher's plan around his strengths and when and how to make necessary adjustments.

Johnson answers such questions as:

• How to determine what pitches you can throw due to your natural arm slot
• How to know if you're on the side of the rubber that's right for you
• How to develop your basic plan against right-handed hitters and left-handed hitters

You get a detailed demonstration on the 4-seam fastball, 2-seam fastball, change-up, curveball, slider and the split finger. He displays how to grip each pitch and how minor adjustments can add or subtract movement and velocity from each pitch. He discusses everything from what side of the rubber to pitch from and why to how spacing and finger placement can impact velocity and movement.

Coach Johnson teaches you the three P's for your pitching plan, what to do if the hitter is comfortable, how to attack a hitter in four different counts: early, ahead, behind, and even. Johnson also talks about different situations including how to pitch early in a game vs. late in a game, what to look for when reading a hitter and how to set up a plan accordingly.

This DVD is loaded with golden information that every pitcher and coach needs to learn and understand to reach your highest potential and add more W's to your win column.

94 minutes. 2012.