2023-2024 DSU Pitching Staff Review

 

A Year In Review: 2023-2024 DSU Pitching Staff

The 2024 season proved to be another successful and record-breaking year for the Dakota State University baseball pitching staff. A season which saw the DSU baseball program finish with a 36-16 record, marking the third consecutive season of at least 30 wins, also featured a pitching staff create additional success for themselves both individually and collectively at the conference and national levels. 

The DSU pitching staff finished the 2024 season ranked nationally in the following statistics:

• 10th in ERA
• 10th in K/9
• 10th in WHIP
• 10th in Runs allowed
• 11th in Earned Runs allowed
• 21st in Strikeouts

In the conference, the DSU pitching staff finished the 2024 season ranked in the following statistics:

• 1st in ERA
• 1st in Home Runs allowed
• 1st in Earned Runs allowed
• 1st in Runs allowed
• 2nd in Strikeouts
• 2nd in K/9
• 2nd in WHIP

The DSU pitching staff also found themselves atop of many of the leaderboards in the conference at the individual level.

• 1st and 2nd in ERA 
• 1st and 2nd in Wins
• 1st in Saves

Throughout the season, members of the pitching staff were able to set new program records. Single season strikeout record, single season complete game shutouts record, career record holder for strikeouts, career record holder for saves were all feats shattered throughout the 2024 season. Additionally, members of the pitching staff were named conference pitcher of the week on 4 separate occasions. Because of their success, the DSU pitching staff collected numerous All-Conference awards at the end of the season. Of the 12 student-athletes from DSU that received an award, the pitching staff accounted for two 1st Team All-Conference and two 2nd Team All-Conference selections. 

To say the pitching staff had a successful season would be a vast understatement. But, we did not get here overnight. Coming off the heels of a successful 2023 campaign, the DSU pitching staff knew the level of expectations were only going to be higher for 2024. In order to see how our success came to be, it is important to reflect on the year as a whole.

FALL 2023

Like most programs, the fall is the period for observation and internal competition. Beginning practice on the first day of classes, the fall provides an opportunity for our coaching staff to evaluate our talent and overall strengths and weaknesses. While no countable games take place in the fall for our pitching staff and program, it is still crucial to track their results and performance to see how they fare individually and against their fellow teammates who they are competing against for a role. In an 8 week team practice period, the pitching staff competed live in intrasquad scrimmages three times a week along with five games against outside competition. 

Within those live outings, the pitching staff was tracked on every statistic and metric conducive to the success of an entire staff and the individual themselves. Not only were they tracked, but they were given full access to their statistics and performance metrics so that they can see their areas of strengths and where they need improvement. Every pitcher learns a different way, whether it is visually or through interpersonal communication. Regardless, it is essential that a pitcher is provided with full transparency on how he is performing. At the end of the day, numbers do not lie. So, having every pitch tracked is essential to their development.

To give some insight into what we tracked, we placed a high emphasis on overall strike percentage, first pitch strike percentage, first two of three pitches for strikes percentage, off-speed strike percentage and time to plate. Collectively, we placed an overall staff goal of 65% on the first three metrics, 60% on off-speed strike percentage and a 1.30 or less on time to plate. Through the first two weeks of intrasquad scrimmages, our staff recorded a 56% overall strike percentage, 50% first pitch strike percentage, 46% first two of three pitches for a strike percentage, 46% off-speed strike percentage and a 1.44 time to plate. Needless to say, we were far away from our goals and needed to make improvements quickly. Through adjustments we made in weekly bullpens, daily throwing and individual development work we made significant progress over the 8 week fall period. To conclude the fall, we increased our overall strike percentage from 56% to 60%, first pitch strike percentage from 50% to 57%, first two of three pitches for a strike percentage from 46% to 62%, off-speed strike percentage from 46% to 57% and decreased time to plate from a 1.44 to a 1.30. While our staff as a whole did not exceed our overall goal in some of the metrics, which is difficult to do with the numbers we set, a vast majority of our pitchers did in every metric across the board. Nonetheless, our pitchers displayed tremendous development as a staff and individually over the fall team period.

Speaking of development, having an organized and structured plan is key to that process growing. Every day, each pitcher arrived to practice knowing what their throwing, arm care, recovery and conditioning looked like for that day. Within that plan, which was laid on a master spreadsheet, they also knew when their bullpen and live days were. Along with the tracking of statistics and metrics, our program also values the implementation of technology and video analysis to aid in the development process. Every time a pitcher threw off the mound, whether it was a bullpen or live outing, their performance was video recorded and documented through Rapsodo. Similar to the statistics and performance metrics, these video clips and Rapsodo reports were also shared directly with each pitcher. 

No games are won or lost in the fall. However, the success of a season does not start with game one in February. The fall is critical to team chemistry, system implementation and player development. Once the fall ends, player development begins to ramp up even more over the course of the winter.

WINTER 2023-2024

At the end of the fall, each pitcher meets with the coaching staff to construct an individual development plan that aims to put them in the best position possible for a successful spring season. The development plan focuses on attacking weaknesses while also building on the unique strengths each pitcher has. Every pitcher is different and they each have different goals and aspirations for the season. Therefore, each development plan is customized to their makeup and not cookie cutter across the entire staff. 

The individual development season is another roughly 8 week period, taking us right up to final exam period in December before players head home for winter break. Within this 8 week period, every pitcher follows the same outline. This outline entails starting with a deload period, followed by a ramp-up period and then a few weeks dedicated to increasing velocity, mobility and overall strength. Once this phase concludes, our pitchers followed it up with another deload period before their winter break program went into effect. Now, while every pitcher followed the same general outline for the 8 week period, it is what is done within those 8 weeks that separates each of them and puts their individual development plan into action. Again, each pitcher is different and they all have specific areas of their craft they are aiming to improve. Therefore, the drills and exercises done to improve their craft and reach their goals again stem from the the of transparency between player and coach found in their customized individual development plan.

Let's look at a couple examples of those individual development plans being put into action. Early in the fall, we noticed that we had a pitcher, "Pitcher A", whose fastball spin efficiency was significantly lower compared to the general staff average based on the Rapsodo reports we were documenting. Based on that and video analysis, we noticed that his 4-seam fastball grip and arm path mechanics were causing his fastball to cut, negatively impacting his spin efficiency and velocity. After conversations with Pitcher A, we opted to go all in on developing a cutter as well as a two-seam fastball to eliminate the problem while also creating a wider range in horizontal break throughout his pitch arsenal. In the fall, Pitcher A would sit 81-83 mph with his 4-seam fastball. After implementing a cutter and 2-seam fastball into his arsenal, Pitcher A returned in January and sat 85-87 mph and saw significant jumps in areas such as overall strike percentage and first two of three pitches for a strike percentage. We also implemented a consistent velocity training program and specific plyo ball drills to aid in velocity development and decrease inadvertent cut on his fastball throughout the development season. Pitcher A earned a spot on the travel roster all season and consistently sat 87-88 mph, topping out at 89.8 mph, during the spring season.

Another, but slightly different, example of individual development came with Pitcher B. Pitcher B arrived to our program rehabbing from elbow surgery and redshirting for the season. Pitcher B was not medically cleared for any work in the fall, yet we still created an individual development plan for him for the winter and into the spring. After assessing his physical frame and performance in the weight room, we determined that Pitcher B's notable weakness was his lack of strength and mobility in his lower half. Therefore, we implemented a specific lower half strength program through med ball and conditioning drills to allow Pitcher B to maximize his strength in that area and return to the physical makeup he had prior to his injury. Over the course of the winter, Pitcher B lost over 20 pounds and began to see his strength/mobility in his hips, legs and glutes return. Because of this, he was able to be cleared in time to appear in some developmental games for our program this spring. Nearly a year after his surgery, Pitcher B consistently sat mid 80's with his fastball and is fully cleared to resume all baseball activities heading into summer competition.

Nonetheless, these are just a couple examples of how we prioritize player development within our program to maximize each pitcher's potential.

After this period, our players are away from campus for roughly a month with completing final exams and being home for winter break. However, the work towards the season and their individual development does not shutdown. Each pitcher received a winter breaking throwing program that laid out in detail what is expected of them on a daily basis until we reconvened as a team in January. By this point, our pitchers had put in nearly 6 months of work into their craft and it is crucial they did not lose any progress with the season on the horizon. 

Shortly after the new year, we reconvened as a team and resumed full team practices. With only a month until the first game of the season, it was crucial for both our pitchers and hitters to see live reps as much as possible. Nearly every practice, whether it was live at-bats or an intrasquad scrimmage, saw some form of live competition occurring. By this point in the season, the focus is on gearing up for the season. Our pitchers were expected to return to campus in shape and prepared to build up for the season. Before we knew it, we were hitting the road for Kansas City, MO to open up against Avila University to begin which resulted in a prosperous 2024 season.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The 2023-2024 DSU pitching staff has a ton to look back on and be proud of this season. But as shown above, we did not achieve our success overnight or get "lucky". We put in the work from the first day of fall semester and kept at it right up until the last game. Through all the ups and downs, our guys stayed persistent and as their coach, I could not have been more proud of their efforts. 

Aside from talent and work ethic, I believe the main contributors to our success were the transparency and accessibility in our pitching staff. From the start, our pitchers were encouraged to gave their input and insight. After all, it is their career, their development and their team. This was viewed as a working relationship and one that encouraged dialogue and feedback on a daily basis. On top of that, our pitchers had access to everything they could want to aid in their development. From statistics and video to data analytical reports, our pitchers have full access to the resources needed to further their development as student athletes in our program. Our job as coaches is to empower and provide our players with anything they need to maximize their experience as collegiate student-athletes. Surely, we can always do better, but we believe we are headed in the right direction.

As my first year at DSU draws to a close, I cannot express enough how fortunate I am to be in this position as the pitching coach in this program. We have a strong and deep pitching staff that will be a focal point of this program for years to come. I value our pitchers', and all players for that matter, work ethic and dedication to their craft. But more importantly, I value the relationships created along the way. I am proud to coach the young men we have in our program and I am proud to be a Trojan. That said, our work is far from over and our ultimate goals have yet to be achieved.

Back to work.