How to Throw a Cut Fastball

Nate and I are going to spend the next 2 weeks to a month and talk about how to throw off-speed pitches. Today is the cut fastball. Enjoy! And as always if you have questions please don’t hesitate responding to this message.

The cutter really acts as two pitches in one – slider and fastball – The ball has a fastball rotation, around 60 feet it cuts. For a right handed pitcher it cuts into a left handed batter. Just opposite for a left handed pitcher. The grip on the cutter is similar to that of a regular four-seam fastball. Grip it like you do a four-seam and bring your thumb up the inside of the ball. (with your fastball grip, remember your thumb is on the bottom of the ball with thumb and middle finger splitting the baseball in half) The cutter is like throwing an off of center fastball. The index and middle fingers are close together. Throw a cutter like a fastball.

The purpose of throwing a cut fastball is to make the hitter hit the ball without connecting with the fat part of the bat and giving it a good ride. The hitter will see a fastball and will not expect the ball to move. Isn’t that the intent for most off speed pitches anyway? 🙂

Cutter Tip#1: Make sure you don’t place the ball deep into your palm. All pitches eventually leave your fingertips, but you want to keep the ball moving quickly like your fastball.

Cutter Tip #2: Like a lot of off-speed pitches, this pitch takes awhile to get used to. You will experiment with different amounts of pressure on the ball to get a feel of what is going to work best for you. But if you don’t ever get used to it it’s okay. Remember, you only need three great pitches to become successful.

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