Originally Posted by Golfman25:
Originally Posted by jolietboy:
I would say exit velocity is actually a huge part of evaluation. Like you said low speeds are a death sentence for hitters. While high bat speeds don't guarantee success it gives you a lot of raw ability to work with. And the truth is most kids with high bat speeds are also really good hitters. And while there are enough bad pitchers out there to let even slow bat speeds succeed when push comes to shove and you are facing a quality pitcher those low bat speeds disappear. I think a lot of people want to trash the measurables rather than embracing them and then finding a way to improve them.
I think the real issue is ranking the players by bat speed/exit velocity. Yes, you must have a min. bat speed/velocity to have a chance at success. But what is the difference between 80 and 85? From all accounts, that is enough speed to compete in HS. So, imo, once you reach that level of speed, focusing on the ability to make solid contact is more useful.
agreed while the extra 5mph is helpful certainly it is more than conceivable the guy with a 90 is better than the guy with the 95. To clarify I was thinking more of the 70's that has been mentioned several times. I think you would be hard pressed to see a really good hs hitter with exit velocities in the 70's. For sure not low 70's.