Here are the best baseball apps for improving your batting, throwing, fielding and base running skills

In baseball, mechanics are everything. Understanding the proper way to use your lower body on the mound can be the difference between an 80mph and 90mph fastball. Learning to keep your weight on your back foot at the plate can help you be successful in pulling an inside pitch versus going opposite field on pitches that brush the outside corner. In the outfield, it’s important to learn how to judge fly balls and reach the right spot before the ball lands. Catchers need to learn a quick release to catch runners stealing.

In the not so distant past, it was hard for players to learn these skills on their own. Expert coaches were few and far between, and for personal training, access to those experts was expensive. Thanks to the Google Play and App Stores, it’s never been easier to develop that expertise. We put together a list of some of the best apps out there for baseball training.

uHIT

For when you want to gain confidence at the plate, uHIT is a fun and immersive hitting simulation that helps you train strike zone and pitch recognition. It feels like a game, but actually simulates what a batter would see at the plate. If you need to work on reaction times, there’s a Reaction Time Enhancement feature that will help you react to a 90 mph fastball. If you find yourself swinging at pitches off the plate, turn on the hittter’s eye zone feature in the app. In baseball, it’s important to be confident at the plate and wait for your pitch, and uHIT will help players with both of those opportunities.

Hustle Sports Training: At-Home Baseball Drills

Coaches and players can spend hours looking through YouTube videos trying to find reliable training videos and content from people who know what they’re doing. There’s a ton of content out there, but how do you know it’s accurate or from reputable coaches? Hustle’s team of content curators does all the hard work for you by providing users with exceptional drill videos from top players and coaches, ready to be consumed. Pitchers, catchers, infielders, outfielders all have defensive drills to work on. Hitting and baserunning are also covered with top quality training content. Also, Hustle helps you save time by organizing the drill videos into the appropriate categories for whichever part of your game needs work. For amateur coaches, Hustle can give you ideas for building a practice plan to prepare your team for game time.

Smash Baseball

Anyone with a smart phone can now get real time video analytics on important swing mechanics like swing speed, time to contact, and bat path angle. Keep track of your progress at you get better throughout the season in training mode. Set goals for yourself and document the number of swings you take along with duration of training sessions. One of the most helpful aspects of this app is that it allows batters to watch themselves back in 3D mode so that you can see which aspects of your mechanics require work.

TopVelocity

A goal for most every pitcher is to increase velocity on the fastball. If you can overpower batters at the plate, you can be more effective on the mound, and this is the main goal of this app. TopVelocity states that their program can help pitchers gain 5-10 mph through various exercises and improvements to mechanics. It has very favorable reviews, but it’s important to call out that the app complements a 1-time investment in the program of $497 for the 3x Extreme Pitching Velocity program, which puts this out of range for many players and coaches. However, the purchase of the 3x program includes personalized video analysis and suggestions from the TopVelocity expert team.

CorePower Baseball

The goal of CorePower Baseball is to help players hit the ball farther. Most advanced players know that bat speed originates in the hips and legs just as much as in the arms. Proper rotation during the swing is essential, and CorePower Baseball was created to measure and report on that aspect of the swing. The app provides a number of instruction videos for how to use it. Also, there are many different levels for instruction from beginners to expert. Naturally, since this app aims to improve batting, it’s also helpful for softball players.