To be fair, a pitching machine is pretty unnatural compared to a human pitcher (can’t see when it’s about to launch) and they are typically closer than 60 feet.
On the other hand, a real MLB pitcher is not just throwing fastballs down the middle.
On the other hand, a real MLB pitcher is not just throwing fastballs down the middle.
How cheap could one prototype a 'programmable' pitch machine that can handle the scenarios one would want to practice against?