LHP lift and step pickoff

[SH0102]

Please help settle friendly debate had with a fellow umpire:

With R1, can a LHP use the pickoff move where they lift stride leg and step and throw to first without having first come set?

ie, pitcher bends down, takes sign, starts to come set by standing, and while coming set, but before getting set, lift front leg up and then steps and throws to first.  

Balk or nothing since he didn’t pitch it?

Edit:  I assumed the answer is same in all codes but if differs, please share.  Thanks!

[maven]

Sure, why not? He's allowed to pick without coming set, and the otherwise legal move (as I'm assuming it is—stepping directly to 1B, etc.) is just a pick to 1B. Ugly ≠ illegal, and unusual ≠ illegal.

The only constraints on picks are stepping ahead of the throw and to an occupied base (unless...). The burden is on those who contend that this move is illegal to cite the rule prohibiting it.

[SH0102]

22 minutes ago, maven said:

Sure, why not? He's allowed to pick without coming set, and the otherwise legal move (as I'm assuming it is—stepping directly to 1B, etc.) is just a pick to 1B. Ugly ≠ illegal, and unusual ≠ illegal.

The only constraints on picks are stepping ahead of the throw and to an occupied base (unless...). The burden is on those who contend that this move is illegal to cite the rule prohibiting it.

Thanks Maven, that’s what I thought too.

Had a game (Hs kids) where this happened and BU called balk when he lifted bc it looked like he was pitching, and hadn’t come set.

Ironically no one argued, and def coach even said “you have to pause”, and I said in postgame I didn’t think it was a balk unless he pitched

[maven]

Your BU might have gotten fooled. If it's FED, the balk call killed it. Skip the penalty and move on. Maybe he fooled his coach, too. 

OTOH, he might have been right. If a LHP gets to the balance point and only then moves to 1B, that's a step balk. That's the line Andy Pettitte used to walk.