@NotABaseballGuy posted:More questions below related to exit velo:
Let me provide a little more info on this and get your thoughts on how exit velo is defined in this conversation. The data I have for him comes from last summer's Stanford camp cage sessions courtesy of Rapsodo. I'm sure many of you know how they run those cage sessions. I think he had five opportunities to hit BP while getting measured by Rapsodo. His fastest exit velo swing during those sessions was 99 mph. The second and third fastest were at 87 mph. The meat of the bell curve were between 75 mph and 85 mph. Keep in mind that this was summer after sophomore year. I think he's stronger now.
In any case, when you all talk about exit velo, I don't really know how you define that. Are you using the peak number (99 here) even if it seems like an outlier? Or are we not even talking about BP exit velo at all? For example, at Headfirst last summer, no one, to my knowledge, was measuring BP or live game exit velo. It was all measured from a T. Is T exit velo the relevant stat? I assume that T exit velo and BP exit velo would be different. If so, are we just taking the peak number no matter who much of an outlier it would seem to be?
The next time he's in a Rapsodo situation, should he not care about whiffing on a few pitches and just swing for the fences? He rarely whiffs on a live game pitch. Should he risk whiffing more to try and bring his exit velo up?
We didn't go to Showball last summer. How is exit velo measured at Showball? Is it from a T or is it BP or both?
Should we be going to a local PBR event to get an updated exit velo measurement? Or can we just wait until this summer's Showball and HF?
Finally, how many of you would agree with @Wechson that "to start at competitive D3 it likely should be mid 90's for a C"?
IMO, PBR has the best exit velo measurement since they do it on the field. HF exit velo is a joke. I watched kids take the most ridiculous swings. At one point they had an attendee holding the gun. Not sure how SB does it. My son felt he had a terrible BP round at SB but a few coaches (1 D1, 1 D2, and the rest D3) commented on his swing and approach and not to worry about the results in that setting. Also, hitting balls hard during the games is probably the most important. Hitting a ball hard against a good pitcher is even better.
One thing I'll mention on SB and HF, it is very hard to stand out as a position player/hitter. As a catcher, he needs to be -2.0 or have a cannon to 2B that impresses the coaches.
Don't want to beat a dead horse, but at the two SB events my son did last summer, every single D3 coach asked what his SAT score was. The Patriot League coaches asked about it in later conversations, but they still asked. Some of these HA D3 schools are among the most competitive schools to get into. Admissions isn't going to give a coach a slot for a kid well below their average admitted students or one who they feel will not be able to handle the academic rigor of the school.