Sweeping Curveballs aren't a brand new pitch, it's just caught on lately and been renamed a sweeper the same way the cut fastball was renamed the cutter after a few years. There are a few pitches that do pretty much the same thing, but maybe have a slightly different release or grip so they're designated their own name. That's the case with the sweeper. It's a derivative of the slurve which is hybrid of the slider and curveball.
Here's the spectrum it sits on a spectrum of the 2 basic breakers: the slider and curve
Slider- Has a relatively sharp break point, and it's pretty horizontal, so in terms of breaking pitches, it's easier to read the break and track the trajectory BUT it is still such a fast pitch that it's extremely hard to hit because you have to make those adjustments without any extra time.
Slurve- Moves both horizontally and vertically, has decent velocity that's a bit lower than a slider but greater than a curve. It still bites hard. I've heard a lot of scouts aren't very interested in slurves, which was probably one of many reasons I never got offers. In my case, I just could not aim a 12-6 curveball, but I could throw a slurve. The slurve moves between 2-8 and 1-7, depending on how the pitcher throws it.
Sweeping Curve- Very similar movement to the slurve, but it has a little bit less velocity, and because it has less velocity, it doesn't cut as hard. It gives me batter more time to identify the pitch. So how is it effective? With the lower velocity giving more time for gravity to work, and the extra spin, it's like the break just never ends. It's an excellent "chaser pitch." It's best used when you need a swing and a miss because the batter identifies it and goes to swing, but it just keep. on. moving. Until it drops out of the strike zone. It's like throwing a 12-6 in the dirt to get a guy to swing.
Power Curve- We can debate if this one belongs here, but I'll throw it on here. It's moves like the curve but moves less and has more velocity like a silder.
Plain ol curveball- I don't think many guys in the pros throw this, except guys who don't throw from high over the top, it's basically the 1-7 movement, a bit slower, and a good bite.
12-6 curve- this is the curve most people who throw over the top are moving to. It just drops vertically and has good bite, not great velocity.
I don't think it's a great one to teach to our guys at the moment. The problem with a sweeping curve is that because it's a low velo pitch, it's easy to hang. The higher you throw it, the less it moves. If you release it too high, it'll only break a few inches and float down the middle of the plate: Gone Forever Aaron Hernandez. Sweepers are usually not used as pitches that you throw to throw a strike. It's a swing and miss pitch or a swing and dinger pitch. College is a dangerous time to develop pitches outside of the normal ones, there's usually plenty of work that can be done on the fastball, change, curve, slider.
