@ReluctantO'sFan posted:Personally, I wouldn't worry about 4 seam vs 2 seam vs spin rates vs etc... at least until his 77 max velo ticks up. If he starts to increase velo then usually "over the top" guys have success with 4 seam FB and 12/6 curveballs. (please take this with a grain of salt as I do not know your son, just trying to give you some honest feedback) My recommendation is to find a quality pitching coach along with a proven program that can help with the increase in velo. Movement, spin, vertical break, and so on.... can significantly change with faster velocities.
Thanks for the reply! To be clear, me working on his data is kind of just for fun and mostly for my own interest. He's already committed to his D3 school and their coaches will have him this time next year and earlier. (My other son is a D3 sophomore RHP, so this isn't my first rodeo.) No worries here.
My son has had good pitching coaches, velo programs (and injuries !), and so I know his his velo is what it is: not huge, liable to tick up over the next few years, but huge jumps are pretty rare. (He's also a powerlifter so he has some strength to unlock: deadlifts 530 and squats 440 at 17 years old). He certainly is at just about the lowest end of velo for a college pitcher, but was helped by many factors, LHP, his decent size and strength, maybe his trackman data, and of course all the other things that go into getting a commit: luck, grades, fit, the financial aid, etc. (I'm pretty glad to be done with recruitment for both sons, to be honest!)
But spin rate and the other metrics are still useful for strategies even at lower velos; you don't need to throw only in the mid to upper 80s and beyond for that to be the case. (See the article I posted above.) From what I've read, a Bauer unit over 24 qualifies as high spin (of course, that's adjusted for velo, which is what Bauer units do in the first place) and so your fb has more carry and you should work more up than down, and maybe not bother with the 2-seam which takes a bit off his velo anyway. That would make sense why my son even at his relatively slow velo gets a lot of Ks, especially paired with his out pitch which is a good changeup. Also, while some things change at higher velocities (and can be altered by grips, etc.), it's my understanding that spin rate does not drastically change with higher velo, that it is pretty much built into all the subtle ways you body throws the ball. Some pitchers are low spin, some high spin, some average spin--and that's regardless of velo. There are MLB players who throw high spin fastballs in the 90s and MLB players who throw low spin fastballs in the 90s. Same with low velos.
So I'm curious about this in a general way and also for some guidelines to him to work on over his final hs season. Not going to drastically change anything since he hasn't been broken: he's the best pitcher on his team and has a D3 commit.
What I really need is someone who is just a step or two more versed in interpreting and applying the Trackman data than I am , even at the hs/lower velo level. (But just in a general conversational way for just this data set rom a PBR event--not looking to spend several thousand to send him to Driveline or the Texas Baseball Ranch!)