Weight Down, Velocity Up For Hard-Throwing Chittum

Nicholas Chittum RHP / 3B / Grosse Ile, MI / 2020

GROSSE ILE TOWNSHIP - Talk is heating up. Visits are next on the agenda for Nick Chittum as interest continues to grow in the 17th-ranked 2020 in Michigan, who at the PBR Preseason All-State event touched 88 on the radar.

Since then the 6-2 190-pound right-hander said he “hit 92 in a bullpen” at the Little Caesar’s training facility.

“A big part of my improvement has been my mentality,” explained the Grosse Ile senior-to-be. “I’m a lot more mature. I’ve also been lifting for pitching specific and building my lower half. One day it all clicked and I started throwing harder.”

Eastern Michigan, Xavier, Toledo, Hillsdale, Western Michigan and Purdue are among those showing an interest in Chittum.

“My velo hasn’t stopped,” the fifth-rated uncommitted junior in the state said. “Once that levels off, I’ll change some stuff up with my lifting and keep working.”

Things have gone well to get to this point.

“This year I’ve been spot on with my fastball,” Chittum noted. “That’s my best pitch. I can place it really well. I’m not afraid to go inside on a hitter.

“The number one thing I want to do now is develop a super solid second pitch. I’m trying to develop my curve more and trying to throw it harder. It’s 68-72 and I want to get it in the mid-70s. With my change, I can throw it for strikes but I want more bite on it.”

While his baseball game has gone up, his weight has gone down.

“I know I’m an extremely hard worker but that wasn’t always the case,” Chittum explained. “I’m 6-2, 190 right now but when I was a freshman I was 5-11, 230. I went on a cruise at Thanksgiving my freshman year and got off the boat at 230. I didn’t like how I looked. I started to lose weight slowly and ended up at 165. The following season I was at 185 and putting on muscle.

“It took a lot of determination and a lot of work,” Chittum continued. “Really, that’s what it all boiled down to. I really felt bad about myself, it just took the will to change it.”