2020dad posted:4seamer posted:Those wanting an update - he played game 3 this evening. Went 2-4 at the plate. On the mound he was: 2 IP, 1 H, 1K, 0 BB, 0 R, 0ER. So far over the three games:
5 IP, 3 H, 3 K, 1 BB, 0 R, 0 ER. .157 BAA
4-11 at plate, 4 RBI, 3 SB, and 2 BB - .364 BA, .462 OBP
HSBASEBALL101 said:
"The kid probably has more experience than all of those guys."
This player has more higher leverage playing time than average for his age. He played for the 10u team that won Elite 32 a year+ ago.. was invited and played on his region's 12u NTIS team more than a year ago.. and has played in the state's higher competitive 10u/11u/12u major circuit. I think at 8u they were third in the nation in elites but they didn't call it that then. Not quite sure.
As for the level of play he is in today, I would guess - guess, mind you - from what I have seen as about AAA 15u or 16u, depending on the team they faced. There are one - maybe two talented players on each opposing team, and velo sits about mid sixties to mid-70's. I think one arm I saw might have hit upper 70's but he was all over the place.
Se these are the things that make this thread confusing. In all my years coaching pitchers and watching my son's teams I have NEVER seen a kid with that wild a difference between his cruising speeds, not to mention the to p velo. So you want me to believe that there is a 10mph span in his cruising speed? Normally you are looking at no more than 3mph. And the max may be couple mph higher than the top end of the cruise speed. Now of course this does not take into consideration older more experienced pitchers throwing at a high level who intentionally use different grips to achieve a desired effect giving up velo for movement. But even then a 13mph swing from lowest cruising speed to max velo is a stretch. That kind of difference is called change up. I am not seeing 70+ out of that arm. Some of these things just don't seem to jive. And by the way have you seen a good 15u or 16u team lately? Even taking your high end of say 77... probably low end pitcher at 15u and cut at 16u.
The hardest 11U pitcher I have seen was at the Elite 32, a "tall" lefty from Indiana Lids cruised 72-74 and touched 76 mph. (on his very tall dad's pocket radar). This was 3 years ago. And from 50 ft. Hope the kid is still out there pitching.