Pitch Location Patterns: The “Where” of Their Approach
Pitch location patterns are about zones and MLB The Show 25 Stubs hot spots.
Many pitchers are predictable about where they like to aim. Some live low and away, some attack high inside, and some stick to corners and avoid the middle. These patterns often come from personal comfort zones or a lack of confidence in pitching to certain areas.
Why It Matters:
If you can predict the vertical and horizontal tendencies of your opponent, you can pre-position your PCI, cutting down reaction time.
How to Read Pitch Location Patterns
Heat Mapping in Your Head:
As the game goes on, keep mental notes: Are most pitches high? Are they avoiding inside fastballs?
Count-Dependent Locations:
In pitcher’s counts (0–2, 1–2), do they throw low and away junk?
In hitter’s counts (2–0, 3–1), do they pound the zone middle-in?
Runner Influence:
Location patterns can change with runners on base — for example, some avoid the dirt to prevent passed balls, leading to more high strikes.
Common Location Habits
Low & Away Lifers: Aim there on almost every pitch because it’s safe.
Climbers: Try to overpower you with high heat after offspeed pitches.
Corner Snipers: Rarely pitch over the plate, aiming for black edges to avoid hard contact.
Counter Strategy:
If they stay low, start shading your PCI down.
If they love inside heat, cheat your timing to catch it early.
If they nibble too much, develop discipline — force them into hitter’s counts.
Sequence Patterns: The “How” of Their Approach
Pitch sequences are the order in which a pitcher throws pitches. This is where advanced hitters make their biggest gains.
Even if a pitcher mixes pitch types well, they often have favorite sequences they subconsciously return to — like a two-pitch combo or a setup-then-finisher pattern.
Why It Matters:
Breaking the sequence code means you can call pitches before they happen.
How to Read Pitch Sequences
Setup → Finish:
Many pitchers use one pitch to set up another — for example, throwing a high fastball to change your eye level before dropping a curve.
Back-to-Back Avoidance:
Some never throw the same pitch twice in a row, which means if you just saw a slider, you can rule it out next.
Confidence Combos:
If their best pitch is a slider, they may pair it with a fastball inside to set it up.
Common Sequence Patterns
Hard–Soft: Fastball in the zone followed by a breaking ball away.
Soft–Hard: Offspeed early, then high heat to blow you away.
Double Junk: Two breaking balls in a row, especially to chase-happy hitters.
Counter Strategy:
If you see a repeating two-pitch combo, sit on cheap MLB Stubs the second pitch when it matters most.
Use your early ABs as data collection — even if you make an out, you’re building sequence awareness.
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