Pitching coaches are prepared for incremental improvement when students experiment. That is especially true when learning to throw a changeup, a pitch that requires a mix of deception and precision that often makes it the toughest to master.
Then there is that day in the Eck Stadium bullpen last fall. Wichita State pitching coach Mike Pelfrey demonstrated the grip for a circle changeup with freshman Payton Tolle. Tolle, who rarely used the pitch, started throwing.
"I show him a grip, and the next pitch he threw was like a plus changeup," Pelfrey said.