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BREGMAN ON HITTING ”VERTICAL HOP”

Apr 26, 2022

Verlander has the best 4-seam fastball with vertical ”hop” according to the hitting charts Alex Bregman reviewed. What is Bregman’s approach to hit the “vertical hop”?

Swing down? NO. He tried that and it resulted in him slicing the ball/cutting it by pulling across his body or hooking it.

WHERE DO YOU AIM ON THE BASEBALL? Swing a barrel above the 4-seam hitter to account for his visual perception.

STAY ABOVE THE BASEBALL WITHOUT SWINGING DOWN. Listen to Bregman’s approach to hit the pitch up in the zone.


Watch below and see some ”nasty” 4-seam fast balls.

In the video above watching Gerrit Cole throw his 4-seam fastball,

  • he has a lower arm slot;
  • lots of extension – so releasing the ball closer to the hitter;
  • high spin rate so the ball is not effected by gravity as much and thus ”comes DOWN LESS”; and
  • high velocity (100 m.p.h.).

Basically, just like an elite level softball pitcher with a great riseball.

No matter whether it is a four seam fastball UP in the zone in baseball or the riseball in softball, the same EXACT MECHANICAL CHALLENGES are present for the hitters:

  • Getting the barrel on plane with the pitch;
  • Generating high exit velocities to ”do damage”;
  • Good thoracic spine mobility to create ”force couple” rotation;
  • Alignment of the lead arm, shoulder line, and barrel at swing launch; and
  • Maintaining proper posture.

Expressing the same concepts, but in terms of FLAWS or areas where lots of hitters struggle when trying to hit the high pitch are:

  • Collapsing, dipping, dropping the back shoulder;
  • Poor thoracic spine mobility;
  • Weak/low exit velocities resulting in lazy pop-ups;
  • The bat angle is too steep;
  • Snapping the barrel rearward/early supination of the top hand forearm;
  • ”Chicken-winging” the lead elbow;
  • Turning the triangle resulting in excessive tilt of the shoulders; and
  • Starting with high hands in the set-up, then dropping the hands to launch the swing.


The most important consideration is the correlation between exit velocity and barrel path (launch angle). As launch angles should be going down in order to get on plane with the higher pitch in the zone, bat speeds and thus exit velocities will also go down because of the shorter, flatter barrel path necessary to hit the UP LOCATION — BUT exit velocities should NOT go down so much that the result is a lazy pop-up.

IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THE HITTER & COACH measure and understand what the outcome is of each swing; in other words, launch angle plus exit velocity equals _______________? Line drive? Home run? Lazy pop-up?

It takes proper swing mechanics and lots of intense practicing with the right gadgets and protocols to match the right barrel path with maximum exit velocities that results in home run power against elite pitchers with vertical ”hop”.

IMO, as expressed in a previous article on HIT APPROACH versus TAKE APPROACH of the riseball, pitches UP IN THE ZONE are thrown harder, easier to square, and easier to hit out of the park.

In MLB, the same year where MLB pitchers usage of the 4-seam fastball up in the zone increased, MLB launch angles were at some of the highest — averaging 21.7. That seems ODD, doesn’t it? Swinging up at pitches going up. BUT, likewise, equally as ODD (as stated by Bregman in the video above) SO IS SWINGING DOWN.

More bad news for MLB hitters: the batted balls for pitches UP & IN yielded the WORST EXIT VELOCITIES at 81.9 m.p.h.

As a result, 21.7 launch angle plus 81.9 exit velocity off of the barrel equaled more swing and misses & more lazy pop-ups.

As you work hard to figure out ”your” best approach to the 4-seam fastball or riseball, make sure to consider the trade off between “your” launch angle and “your” exit velocity and realize it matters.

PURSUE EXCELLENCE & WIN THIS PITCH!


About the Author

Mike Lotief coached 17 successful years as either the head softball coach or co-head softball coach with his wife Stefni Whitton Lotief at the University of Louisiana from 2002-2017 with an overall coaching record of 731-176 (80.6 winning percentage). Every season, the Ragin Cajuns softball team advanced to the NCAA tournament and also advanced to three (3) Women’s College World Series (2003, 2008, 2014) and from 2012-2016 advanced to five (5) straight NCAA Super Regionals. Coach Lotief produced over 40 All American selections and his 2017 team lead the nation in scoring and was ranked in the Top 10 in home runs, slugging percentage, on base percentage.

The coach is a cancer survivor (twice) and was the first person in the U.S. to receive the Pro Trach device. Mike and Stefni spearheaded and raised the funding to build the new softball stadium in 2009 and the new softball indoor hitting facility in 2015. They are proud parents to Chelsea, who played softball and graduated from the Univ. of Louisiana in 2018, and Andrew, who is a junior at Louisiana studying Mechanical Engineering.

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