Pitch charting is one of the most valuable tools a baseball coach can use—yet most teams are still doing it on a paper sheet that ends up in the trash after the game. This guide covers exactly what to track when you chart pitches, how to read the data once you have it, and how a modern pitch charting app like Pitch MetRx eliminates the manual work and turns your data into decisions you can act on.
What is pitch charting?
Pitch charting means recording key information about every pitch thrown during a game. At minimum, a pitch chart captures:
- Pitch type — fastball, curveball, changeup, slider, etc.
- Location — where the pitch crossed (or missed) the strike zone
- Count — the balls-strikes count when the pitch was thrown
- Outcome — called strike, swinging strike, ball, foul, in play
- Batter handedness — right-handed or left-handed
When you accumulate pitch charts across multiple games, patterns emerge that tell you far more than gut feel ever could. You learn which pitches your pitcher relies on, which locations are producing outs, and where hitters are making contact.
Why pitch charting matters in baseball
The difference between a good pitching performance and a great one often comes down to pitch selection and location. Velocity and mechanics matter—but without understanding how your pitcher's specific arsenal plays against live hitters, you're coaching blind.
Pitch charting data answers questions coaches ask every game:
- Is my pitcher getting ahead in counts? What's their first-pitch strike percentage?
- Which pitches are generating swings and misses vs. getting put in play?
- Are left-handed batters handling a pitch that right-handed batters can't touch?
- Is the curveball producing weak contact or getting barreled up?
Without a pitch chart, you're relying on memory. With one, you have evidence.
What to include in a baseball pitch chart
A useful pitch chart captures enough context to be actionable without being so detailed that it becomes unmanageable during a live game. Here's what experienced coaches track:
Pitch type and location
Record the pitch name and the zone it was thrown to. Standard zone charts divide the strike zone into thirds horizontally (inside, middle, outside) and vertically (up, middle, down), giving you nine primary locations. Tracking location by pitch type reveals which spots your pitcher attacks and which they avoid—often unintentionally.
Outcome category
Group outcomes into a few clear buckets: called strike, swing-and-miss (whiff), foul ball, ball, and in-play result (out or hit). Sub-outcomes like groundball, flyball, and line drive add even more context but can be filled in after the play if needed.
Count and batter handedness
The same pitch behaves very differently at 0-0 vs. 3-2. Recording the count lets you analyze how your pitcher sequences and whether they're attacking or surviving when behind. Batter handedness helps you spot platoon tendencies—pitches that dominate righties but get crushed by lefties, or vice versa.
How to read a pitch chart
Raw pitch chart data isn't immediately useful. The value comes from calculating summary stats that tell a clear story:
Strike percentage
Total strikes (called + swinging + fouls + balls in play) divided by total pitches. A healthy strike percentage for competitive-level pitchers is typically 60% or above. Low strike percentage = too many walks, deep counts, and high pitch counts.
First-pitch strike percentage (FPS%)
What percentage of plate appearances started with a strike on pitch one? Research at every level consistently shows that first-pitch strikes lead to dramatically better outcomes. A pitcher who throws 70% overall strikes but only gets ahead 45% of the time is grinding much harder than the numbers suggest.
WHIFF% (swing-and-miss rate)
Swing-and-miss divided by total swings, by pitch type. WHIFF% identifies which pitches are generating genuine deception. A curveball with a 30% WHIFF% is a weapon. A changeup with 5% is getting squared up. Unlike strikeouts, WHIFF% doesn't depend on the count or the umpire—it's a purer measure of pitch effectiveness.
BAA (batting average against)
How often are batters getting hits when they put a specific pitch in play? BAA by pitch type and location reveals which parts of your pitcher's arsenal are truly safe to throw—and which are getting hit hard in certain spots.
The problem with paper pitch charts
Paper charts have been the standard in baseball for generations, but they have a fundamental limitation: they only go one direction. You fill in the chart, and later—if you have time—you count it up by hand. Most of the time, the sheet gets folded and forgotten.
Even when coaches do compile the numbers, calculating strike%, WHIFF%, and BAA by pitch type for each location variant takes real time and spreadsheet work. By the time the analysis is done, the game was three days ago.
A pitch charting app solves this by calculating everything automatically. You log each pitch during the game, and the report is ready the moment the final out is recorded—no manual math, no spreadsheets, no delay.
Using a pitch charting app in baseball
A good pitch charting app for baseball should do four things well:
- Fast pitch logging. You need to record each pitch in two or three taps from your phone while standing in the dugout. Anything slower falls apart in a live game.
- Automatic stat calculation. Strike %, FPS%, WHIFF%, BAA, and SLG% should update with every pitch—no manual counting required.
- Location-specific breakdown. Knowing that a curveball is effective isn't enough. You need to know it's effective away to right-handed hitters and gets hit hard when left up in the zone.
- Shareable reports. PDF or Excel export lets you share the data with your pitcher, their parents, or other coaches—and creates a record for long-term development tracking.
Pitch MetRx is built specifically for this workflow. It's mobile-optimized for the dugout, calculates every stat automatically, breaks down every pitch type by location, and generates exportable reports after every game. It also includes a mid-game report you can pull up between innings, and an AI-generated game summary that synthesizes the key takeaways when the game ends.
Pitch charting for pitcher development
The biggest long-term value of pitch charting isn't the game-by-game reports—it's the development picture that builds over a full season. When you track pitch-by-pitch data across every start, you can answer the questions that actually move pitchers forward:
- Is the work on his changeup grip showing up in his WHIFF% this month vs. last month?
- Has his first-pitch strike rate improved since we changed his pre-pitch routine?
- Which pitch is his most effective two-strike offering against right-handed batters over the last 10 games?
These aren't questions you can answer from memory. They require consistent data—and consistent data requires consistent pitch charting.
Getting started with pitch charting
The hardest part of pitch charting isn't the method—it's the consistency. The value compounds over time, which means the biggest return comes from logging every game, not cherry-picking select starts.
If you're just starting out, begin with the basics: pitch type, zone, and outcome. Once you're comfortable with the logging rhythm, add batter handedness and sub-outcomes. Within a few games, the reports will start telling you things about your pitcher's tendencies that you couldn't see clearly before.
Pitch MetRx makes it easy to get started. Create a free account, add your pitcher and their pitch types, and log your first game. The full report—including strike %, FPS%, WHIFF%, BAA, and a complete pitch-type breakdown—is ready as soon as the game ends.
Pitch MetRx is a pitch charting app built for baseball and softball coaches who want real-time data without the complexity. Log pitches from the dugout, generate post-game reports instantly, and track your pitchers across a full season — all in one place.