If you’re looking for a soft toss machine, check out the models listed on this page. Soft toss machines are a great training tool to use at home when practicing by yourself. You can use them in your garage or your backyard as long as you have a good soft toss net. They will help you develop hand-eye coordination and the ever important bat speed. In high school I was able to get a good soft toss net, and practice in my garage all winter long.
I know that it’s easier to make a good decision on which product to buy if you can see it in action. Therefore, I was able to find some good YouTube vidoes that show exactly how they work. Check those out below.
Ground style machines
The Jugs soft toss pitching machine
Although not actually a pitching machine, the Jugs Soft Toss Machine (pictured to the right) sits on the ground, and tosses balls up to the hitter at five second intervals. It will hold up to 14 baseballs, and actually runs on batteries as well as AC power. I have heard however, that the batteries alone do not power it enough to toss it accurately every time, so you may want to use the AC power. It comes with a remote so that a coach, teammate, or friend can trigger the toss keeping you on your toes.
Toss Master soft toss machine
Very similar to the Jugs model, the Toss Master soft toss machine made by Axiom, sits on the ground and tosses the ball up to the hitter. It is also battery charged and can be used without a power source. You can make adjustments to the angle and distance that it tosses the ball allowing you hit at different areas of the strike zone. It tosses the ball every 7 seconds.
Wilson soft toss machine
The Wilson Sof-Toss machine is another ground model that holds up to 14 baseballs, and is battery powered. It will work up to 10 hrs on a single battery charge.
Feeder style machines
The ATEC soft toss feeder
The ATEC soft toss feeder (pictured to the right) is a different style than the Jugs machine, in that the balls are not tossed up from the ground, but right around strike zone level. In fact, it is called a feeder because not only does it serve as a soft toss machine, but it also feeds the ATEC pitching machines. This machine appears to be very well constructed, but is also a little more pricy than most other models.
Wheeler Dealer soft toss machine
The Wheeler Dealer appears to be a pretty nice soft toss machine. It looks very durable, and holds a numerous 27 baseballs. And it’s called a Wheeler Dealer for a good reason. It is able to very portable because it has a couple of wheels at the base so you can roll it around much like a suitcase. To learn more visit the Athlonic Sports Official Home Page and check out the video below.
The Quic Hands
This model is very similar to the ATEC soft toss feeder. The ball moves down a metal chute, and hits a little metal scoop that deflects the ball upward and outward into the strike zone of the hitter. This is about as basic as a soft toss machine can get, and looks to work pretty well. Check out the Quic Hands home page for more information.
Backyard Batter
A different style of soft toss pitching machine is the Backyard Batter. It is similar to the regular ATEC feeder style machine, but it drops the ball down the chute, and bounces it off of a small trampoline, and then up to the hitter. To see this, check out the YouTube video.
Summary
Altogether soft toss pitching machines are one of the handiest pieces of training equipment you can invest in, because they allow you to practice your swing by yourself. No, soft toss alone does not make you a better hitter, but it does help with hand-eye coordination in the offseason, in practice, and as a warm-up before games.
Closely examine the models mentioned above and choose the one which you think will work best for you. All of the models are priced in the range of $100-$330. I would personally prefer the feeder style machines because I think they would be a little bit more reliable and accurate, but I’ve never tried the ground based models so they may work well also.