Bullpens & Pitching Mounds

Not every pitcher's family wants a full enclosed cage. A backyard bullpen gets a pitcher real mound reps on their own schedule — mound, plate, and a backstop screen, without the pole frame and full netting envelope a batting cage requires. Most Bearcat bullpens run $4,000-$9,000 fully installed, roughly a third of what a full cage costs.

Why a bullpen instead of a full cage

A lot of the pitchers we talk to don't need batting practice at home — they need bullpen sessions. Indoor academy mound time runs $30-50 an hour just like cage rentals, and a pitcher throwing two bullpens a week during the season is paying for it constantly. A backyard bullpen replaces that: unlimited pen sessions, catcher gear on, in the yard, whenever the arm is ready.

It's also the right call for smaller yards. A full 55'+ batting cage needs roughly 70'x15' of clear space. A bullpen only needs enough room for the mound-to-plate distance plus a backstop — often half that footprint.

What a Bearcat bullpen includes

• Mound. Regulation clay mound built to rulebook height and slope, or a turf-mound alternative for yards that don't want clay maintenance.
• Turf plate area. Red turf home-plate mat with the batter's box marked, matching the spec we use inside full cage builds.
• Backstop screen. A freestanding L-screen or a small netted backstop behind the plate — enough to catch missed pitches without the cost of a full enclosed frame.
• Drainage base. Same crushed-stone sub-base we grade under every cage and mound, so the pen doesn't turn to mud after a Texas downpour.

Mound specs, by level

• NFHS / high school: 60'6" rubber-to-plate, 10" mound height, regulation slope.
• Little League / USA Baseball: 46' or 50' rubber-to-plate depending on division, 6" or 8" mound.
• Softball: 40' or 43' circle depending on level, flat pitching surface.

We build to whichever level fits the pitcher, and can size the mound up as a kid moves through divisions.

Common Bearcat bullpen builds

• Mound + plate only. No screen, catcher stands where a catcher would stand. The cheapest way to get real mound work in the yard.
• Mound + plate + backstop screen. Our most-installed bullpen tier. Safe to throw unsupervised bullpens without a net crew watching every pitch.
• Bullpen-to-cage upgrade path. Build the mound and plate now, add the pole frame and full netting envelope later when the budget or the yard allows. Same base, same turf, no rework.

Already have a batting cage and just want to add a mound? See our batting cage page — a mound install folds into an existing cage build. Run the calculator or request a free on-site walkthrough for a fixed-price bullpen proposal.