I feel like I field ok playing s.s. and during pepper but not as well when pitching. How do you practice fielding middle shots with not just having some trying to blow you up in bp. Is there a better safer way?
Practice! Get some low impact balls like some Clincher F12's or some Incrediballs. Have someone hit them to you from about 40'. Start off slow at first & have them hit harder & faster as you go along. This will help you to increase your reflexes & reaction time. This is actually a good exercise for all infielders. The best thing is that it can be done year round, indoors or outdoors.
Learn proper technique! There is absolutely no reason for a pitcher to be in front of the pitcher's plate on contact. That's bad technique! Learn to pitch with your weight on your back foot so that you can begin your retreat quicker.
Learn your craft! By this I mean that you've got to know what you're doing out there & exercise some control. If you know where your pitch is going, you can predict, with some amount of accuracy, the direction in which it'll come off the bat. With practice & experience, you'll also know when you missed your spot & need to be on special alert.
Work with your MI's. For the most part, I don't believe that a pitcher should fade up the middle. It's much safer for them to fade to the weak side. If a RH hitter is up, fade into the 3-4 hole & have the 2b cover the middle. Do the same on a LH hitter with the SS.
The best pitchers out there are not just chucking & ducking. They're purpose pitching & they rarely make mistakes when they're on. If they're adept fielders, they may even position themselves in the 'danger zone'. Most often though, they try to dictate the direction a hitter hits the ball & get themselves clear of that area.