2019Dad posted:NYdad2017 posted:I really can't comment on the scouting end of things, because it's not my job. However, while it is great to be able to hit faster pitching, a player has to realize that those will not be the only pitches that he will see. Can he get away with it in a tournament when the opposing team knows little about a player? Absolutely. But as he moves along through HS, and even when facing some of the better travel teams who usually have sharper coaches, his being unable to hit off speed will reveal itself.
For the player in question it's either a lack of practice on different pitch velocities/types or a lack of recognition. Hopefully for your friend it's the latter.
Thanks NYdad. I don't want to knock the kid -- it's not that he can't hit off speed. I guess what I'm saying is when the velocity is more-or-less average, he looks OK and does OK, but there are a few other kids who stand out to me more. But when the velo is high, this kid looks like the best hitter on the team -- maybe it's not that he is really doing that much better against high velo than he does against average velo, it's just that the other kids do a lot worse against high velo. I don't know if that makes any sense . . .
What I am thinking is that if he has trouble or he can't hit guys that throw 68 to 75 in high school would be because he just can't wait on it, I also have this problem, can't hit when they pitcher is throwing slow, so I get anxious and go out and try to get the ball, which doesn't work well. When I faced guys throwing harder, for instance, this summer faced a lefty throwing 87, I hit a one hopper to left field fence which was 340 feet. I just change my approach at the plate when someone is throwing faster because I am not used to seeing high velocity guys all the time, so I shorten up, eliminate my stride and focus on keeping my hands loose. Most of the time, guys throwing uppers 80s will try to groove a fastball right by the hitter on the first pitch, so they throw it down the middle, all you've got to do is make good contact and it will go.