Ava’s letter

Here's the picture of what you're building this season.

You throw harder than almost anyone your age. That's not a small thing, and it's the hardest part of pitching to teach — you already have it. So let's be clear about what this season is actually about: it's not throwing harder. It's turning that arm into pitching — command, a changeup hitters can't read, and staying steady in the circle when something goes wrong. That's what turns a hard thrower into a pitcher who wins games.

• Your velocity is a genuine weapon. Hitters have to respect it, and that respect is what makes everything else work.
• You're fearless. You want the ball when the game's on the line, and that's something a lot of pitchers never learn to want.
• Your mechanics are clean and repeatable when you trust them. You don't have to muscle it — the arm is already there.
• Your changeup is coming along, and when it holds the same arm speed, it's nasty. Hitters are starting to look silly on it.

Fill up the zone, especially when you're behind. When the count goes 2-0, everything in you wants to throw harder — and that's exactly when you spray it. Trust it. Your normal, controlled fastball is plenty; you don't have to add anything. Get strike one, get ahead, and make the hitter deal with you instead of walking her to first. Pitchers who pound the zone put pressure on everybody else. That's your game.

The bullpen reps aren't glamorous — the corners game, the changeup where you're just trying to make your arm look the same, the reset after a bad pitch. It won't feel like it's adding up. It is. The pitcher who's dominating next season is the one who learned to command it this year, when it was hard. You already have the arm. This season is about becoming the pitcher who runs the game with it. Keep going.