Your Swing Is Developed. How Well Is Your Approach?
You’ve spent years working on your swing, competing against quality pitching, and developing the physical skills to perform at higher levels.
But how thoroughly have you developed the way you study pitchers, establish expectations, make decisions, and adjust during competition?
Against advanced pitching, the information available to you changes throughout the game. Your ability to interpret that information influences how you prepare and what you’re ready to attack.
The HittersIQ System brings five connected areas of strategic hitting development into one framework, helping serious baseball and fastpitch softball players examine how they think and compete.
Every Decision Begins With an Expectation.
Before a pitch is thrown, a hitter has some idea of what might be coming.
That expectation may be influenced by the pitcher’s repertoire, scouting information, the count, previous pitches, or the hitter’s own experience.
The challenge is determining how much confidence to place in that expectation.
Consider a hitter facing a pitcher with a fastball, slider, and changeup.
The hitter knows the pitcher has all three pitches available. Scouting information suggests the pitcher frequently uses the fastball early in counts, but the hitter has limited information about how this pitcher attacks them specifically.
The hitter develops an initial approach based on their strengths and the information available.
As the game progresses, new pitches provide additional evidence. Some observations may support the original plan. Others may raise questions about whether the pitcher is approaching the hitter differently.
The hitter must determine what the information supports, what remains uncertain, and whether the plan should change.
This is the thinking the HittersIQ System is designed to develop.
Develop the Skills Behind Your Decisions.
01Study the Pitcher
Know what information you have and what it actually tells you.
Advanced pitchers vary in repertoire, movement, velocity, command, sequencing, and how they attack individual hitters.
A hitter may have scouting information before the game, observations from teammates, or knowledge gained through previous matchups.
The challenge is interpreting that information accurately.
Seeing a pitcher throw two first-pitch fastballs is useful information. It does not establish that the next first pitch will be a fastball.
Hitters learn to examine pitch characteristics, identify potential tendencies, evaluate the reliability of scouting information, and recognize when the available evidence is limited.
Development focus: Pitcher scouting, repertoire, tendencies, sequencing, command, and evaluating evidence.
02Build Your Approach
Know what you’re looking for and why.
A hitter’s approach should account for their strengths, the pitcher’s capabilities, the count, and the game situation.
Consider a hitter who handles fastballs in the middle of the plate particularly well.
That strength may influence the hitter’s initial plan, but the pitcher may rarely provide that opportunity. The hitter must consider how to maintain an approach that fits their strengths while recognizing the challenges the pitcher presents.
The goal is to develop a clear plan the hitter understands and can explain.
Development focus: Individual strengths, attack areas, pitch expectations, count leverage, and game planning.
03Make the Decision
Understand what influences your choice to swing.
A hitter has limited time to recognize a pitch and decide whether to swing.
Preparation and expectations influence what the hitter is ready to recognize. Information available during the pitch also matters.
HittersIQ examines how athletes understand pitch recognition, how they establish their attack areas, and how they evaluate swing decisions.
A hitter may make a reasonable decision and still get out. Another may get a hit after swinging at a pitch that was poorly suited to their approach.
Understanding the decision requires examining the information available when it was made.
Development focus: Pitch recognition knowledge, swing decisions, expectations, attack areas, and decision evaluation.
04Compete With Control
Understand how your interpretation of an at-bat influences the next one.
Two hitters can experience the same strikeout and respond differently.
One reviews the pitch sequence and considers whether their expectations were reasonable.
Another concludes that they cannot hit the pitcher’s changeup.
That conclusion may influence what the second hitter anticipates during the next plate appearance.
HittersIQ examines how athletes interpret competition, what beliefs they develop from those experiences, and how those beliefs influence their preparation and decisions.
Development focus: Beliefs, interpretations, emotional responses, expectations, and competitive decision-making.
05Learn and Adjust
Use new information to decide whether your plan still makes sense.
An adjustment should have a reason.
A hitter who strikes out on a changeup may immediately decide to look changeup in the next at-bat. But one pitch alone may not provide enough evidence to justify that change.
Instead, the hitter should examine the pitch sequence, the location, the count, their original expectation, and the information available about the pitcher.
Sometimes the evidence supports changing the approach.
Other times the hitter may reasonably maintain the original plan while paying closer attention to a particular pitch or situation.
HittersIQ teaches athletes to review previous decisions, evaluate new evidence, and understand when an adjustment is justified.
Development focus: At-bat review, evidence-based adjustments, refining expectations, and applying lessons during competition.
Watch How a Hitter’s Approach Develops Throughout a Game.
Consider this hypothetical matchup.
A right-handed hitter faces a right-handed pitcher with a four-seam fastball, slider, and changeup.
The hitter’s scouting information suggests the pitcher frequently uses fastballs early in counts. The hitter is particularly comfortable attacking fastballs in the middle of the strike zone.
First At-Bat: Establishing the Initial Plan
The hitter begins with a plan to attack a fastball in their preferred area.
The pitcher throws:
What should the hitter take from this at-bat?
The pitcher demonstrated all three pitches and used the changeup in a two-strike count.
The hitter should also examine the decision to swing at the final pitch.
Was the hitter expecting a fastball? Did the changeup appear hittable early in its flight? Was the hitter protecting too large an area with two strikes?
Those questions help the hitter investigate the decision without assuming the answer.
The hitter’s decision: Keep the initial fastball approach for now. One plate appearance has provided useful information, but it has not established a reliable pattern.
The hitter also recognizes that the changeup is a pitch this pitcher is willing to use with two strikes.
Second At-Bat: New Information Challenges the Expectation
The pitcher begins the second plate appearance with a changeup for a called strike.
The next pitch is a fastball outside.
The count is now 1-1.
The hitter has seen the pitcher use the changeup in two different counts.
Does that mean the hitter should start looking changeup?
There isn’t enough evidence to make that conclusion.
The pitcher has shown that the changeup is available early in counts, but the hitter still needs to consider their strengths, the pitcher’s command, and the information supporting the original plan.
The hitter’s decision: Continue looking for a fastball in the preferred attack area while recognizing that the changeup is a realistic possibility.
The hitter understands that an expectation is a preparation tool, not a prediction guaranteed to be correct.
Third At-Bat: Deciding Whether to Adjust
By the third plate appearance, the hitter has seen the pitcher use the changeup in multiple counts.
The hitter also remembers that the pitcher has missed outside with the fastball and successfully used the changeup below the strike zone.
Before entering the box, the hitter reviews what is known.
The pitcher has demonstrated confidence in the changeup. The hitter has limited evidence about how frequently it will be used in any particular count. The hitter’s preferred pitch remains a fastball in the middle of the plate.
What should change?
The hitter may decide to maintain the same primary attack area while refining their awareness of the changeup and avoiding the assumption that an early-count fastball is inevitable.
If additional reliable scouting information supports a more substantial adjustment, the hitter can incorporate it.
The hitter’s decision: Maintain a plan that fits their strengths, account for the pitcher’s demonstrated options, and avoid committing to a pitch solely because of the count.
What This Example Demonstrates
The hitter’s understanding develops throughout the game.
The first at-bat provides initial information. The second challenges an expectation. The third requires the hitter to evaluate whether the accumulated evidence supports a change.
The goal is to make decisions based on the information available while recognizing what remains uncertain.
That’s how the five areas of the HittersIQ System work together.
This is a hypothetical teaching example. The pitch sequences and decisions are illustrative, not verified game data or universal prescriptions.
Developed by Geoff Rottmayer.
HittersIQ was created around a central question:
How can hitters develop a deeper understanding of the decisions they make during competition?
The HittersIQ System organizes that development into five connected areas: pitcher study, hitting approach, swing decisions, competitive thinking, and in-game adjustments.
The framework emphasizes examining the information available to a hitter, understanding the assumptions influencing their expectations, and developing the ability to explain their approach.
It also recognizes that two athletes can face the same competitive situation and require different areas of development.
The objective is to give serious baseball and fastpitch softball players a structured way to examine the strategic side of their game.
Founder, HittersIQ
The Same Pitcher Can Expose Different Needs in Different Hitters.
One hitter may understand a pitcher’s tendencies but struggle to translate that information into an approach.
Another may develop a strong initial plan but change it too quickly after a difficult result.
A third may recognize useful information during competition but have difficulty deciding how to apply it.
These athletes have different development needs.
The HittersIQ System provides a common framework for examining strategic hitting. The areas receiving the greatest attention should depend on the individual athlete.
Understanding where to begin is part of the development process.
How Well Do You Understand Your Own Approach?
You’ve invested years developing your physical ability to compete.
Now examine how you prepare, what information influences your expectations, why you make particular decisions, and how you respond throughout competition.
The HittersIQ Strategic Hitting Evaluation provides an individualized examination of your strategic understanding, with written findings and a personalized development plan.