2023 LHP recruiting tips?

hbaseball,

Thanks for the background.  The first question that pops into my head is are you on a travel team/high school team?  Second question, does your travel organization or high school coach have experience with college baseball recruiting.   If so, and they are willing to help you this could be a great starting point.  The reason it is important is that a respected travel coach or high school coach can open many more doors than you can by yourself.   If other people say wonderful things about you, it is significantly more valuable than you saying wonderful things about you.  Make sense?

Additionally, if they can get you on the right track they can help you identify the types of schools looking for someone like you.   The college baseball universe is huge.   There are subtle and not so subtle differences across the NCAA, JUCO, NAIA organizations.  Figuring out where you best fit is only half the battle.

Good luck, and keep updating this thread.  Others will chime in to offer their experience and wisdom.  If you keep the thread updated, more people can help you.

By summer of ‘22 most D1 recruiting is done. Being a pitcher, and more so a lefty could make your situation different. However, it’s not like college programs are beating your door down.

With your size you have the potential to be a D1 pitcher. A little more velocity wouldn’t hurt. As Fenway suggested, a lot more help from a travel or high school coach would definitely help.

Going against you right now for D1 is the one time transfer rule, the transfer portal and extended Covid eligibility. Let’s be honest. If you were a college coach would you take an 18yo marginal high school prospect boy or a 20-22yo college transfer man with college experience?

You do need to give some thought to what you want to get from a college education. If you’re not sure about a major look for colleges that provide a diverse range of study for a couple of years before you have to pick a major.

It’s also not essential to pick the right major. Plenty of college graduates go into a field completely different than their major. You can use a summer internship in college to pave the way for your first job regardless of major. Just don’t pick a useless major.

Unless your coaches can get you references and exposure to D1s at this point you should be thinking D2 or D3. What is important is to get a quality education while having a quality baseball and social experience regardless of division level.

If you can’t get help from existing coaches you need to make contact with college coaches, find out where they will be next summer and get yourself in front of them. Don’t just go to showcases to throw spaghetti off the wall hoping some will stick. However, being a lefty pitcher you might get away with it.

Make a list of conferences you believe you could compete. Then, choose school within those conference that could be a good academic, financial, social and cultural fit. By cultural fit an urban/suburban kid might not be comfortable in a rural area. And vice versa. A list of fifty is not too many. Some won’t be interested in you. Some you will lose interest as you lean more about them. The list will quickly shrink. Then get to contacting them. If you call have a thirty second promotion pitch prepared. If you get through chances are they’re going to ask why their school is a perceived choice of yours.

Remember baseball may last through four years of college. Your education will get you started on your next forty years. If all goes well you get both. Good luck.

A  2023  6 ft 4; 225 lb LHP with a 2 seam sitting 85-87 is likely a D1 prospect.  What does your 4 seam run?  Typically it would be 1-3mph faster.   Sounds like you just haven't had the exposure other kids have had.  I say work out hard; have your mechanics tweaked; then go to a PG showcase in winter or early spring.  Light up a 90 mph and I bet you get A LOT of D1 calls! 

I definitely didn't think I'd get all these responses so quickly, but thanks everyone! To answer fenway's question, both my high school/summer team coaches don't have a ton of experience with getting people recruited(they only have contacts with the local colleges), but it would be a good place to start and I know they would definitely help if I guided them in the right direction. It's definitely something to note that people coming from JUCOs could have the same eligibility as me due to COVID, so obviously most D1 coaches would take them over a kid coming out of high school.  I'd say at this point in time, I've realized that using baseball to help me get into a good school will help more than going just for baseball to get nothing academically and be stuck, so thank you for the tips RJM. For my four seam velocity, I never throw it because for some reason it is slower than my two seam(fingers might be spread too far apart on the ball?). However, I will start getting a big list of schools together and asking my coaches to reach out to the ones that interest me the most.

Also, it might help for me to say that my summer team is 18u, and I don't know if it decreases the amount of colleges that would show up compared to a lower age group. I was born pretty late for my grade, so technically this year I could've played 15u.

-thanks for the replies and I will continue updating this thread as the process continues

18u is typically a place for already committed players and those playing out the string. The best place to be seen is on a 17u team or an individual showcase. The key is targeting events where schools are where there’s interest.

You should plan this coming year carefully.  Presumably you will shut down in the winter, then ramp up toward the HS season?  Doing a showcase during shut-down or ramp-up is not a good idea.  Maybe shoot your own video with a radar gun just before the season starts and send emails to schools.  Probably you should aim for a showcase at the end of the HS season, when your arm should be in top shape, that will get you a verified velocity.  PBR (much cheaper than PG) hosts these in many states, often colleges show up to the late spring ones.

You have been given excellent advise above, particularly from Dadbelly. Start using J-bands and long tossing, working out and hitting the weights, focus on the lower half, core and decelerator muscles. During long toss, use a 4 seam grip, move your fingers closer together and focus on getting a true 6/12 backspin with lots of wrist and finger action. Eventhough a winter shut-down is ideal, you do not have that luxury, you don't have the time considering your circumstances. Presumeably you didn't throw much this fall with your injury and given the fact that you haven't played for a high level travel team or gotten any exposure at PG or showcases, I assume your arm should be fresh and a shut-down may not really be necessary for you anyway. Just long toss and avoid competitive pitching for the rest of the year. Sign up for a winter, early spring showcase and start throwing bullpens a couple of weeks prior, then hit 90.

Thanks for the responses, they are definitely helping me get a better picture of the recruiting process. I actually haven't thrown since July, so shutting my arm down in the winter probably won't be as important as it might be for other players. Once I'm back to 100% (probably late November/early December), I'll gradually start to ramp up my throwing again. As my injury is core related, I've done a lot of strengthening the muscles with light weights that Calhoun mentioned but I still can't do explosive movements like pitching or lifting heavy weight.

It seems like everyone agrees that once I get a list of schools, I'll need to start getting my high school/summer coaches to email those college coaches so hopefully they'll respond with interest. After that, I'll need to find a 17u team that I can fill in for that plays in big PG tournaments where I can get myself in front of those coaches and be in contact with them before the event. Also, it might be important to get to a showcase this spring before high school ball starts.

Is going to a big PG tournament only recommended if I can hit 90 in those bullpens, or would it still be necessary for my recruitment if I come back sitting 85-88 like before? Also, how important is it to have a verified velocity on perfect game, vs just saying that it's how hard I throw? Do schools actually use the perfect game website to verify those things and scout players?

-Thanks again

With the more detailed info, make sure your core is ready before you start throwing and begin the heavier lifting. When you start thowing make sure you ramp up slowly, don't rush anything. I wouldn't think about bullpen or throwing from a mound until at least Feb. Do yourself a favor and don't break out a radar gun until you have been throwing from the mound for at least two weeks. After you are ramped up and aren't holding anything back, it is ok to go to a PG Tourney even if you aren't hitting 90 in pens. PG posts max velo and in a game with adrenaline, you may hit it, you'd be surprised. Verifed numbers are important for attracting inital attention but a coach will still have to see it with their own eyes/gun. Saying how hard you throw means absolutely nothing. Yes, coaches will use PG verified metrics to decide which players are worth investing their limited time into, particularly if you are reaching out to those schools on your own.

Did you take the ACT just once?  If so, study up and take it again.  Generally you will get 1-2 points higher with the superscore which is what most coaches care about. Not to mention you may just outright do better.  So, I would make that a priority this Fall.  If you get to 30-31 which it sounds like you will, most doors are open.

As to pitching,  if you are accurate and have decent secondary pitches, IMO you have most HA D1 and D3 on the table.  It sounds like you are interested in this route.   Patriot, Ivy and NESCAC are just a few.  High 80’s LHP will have plenty of HA D1 sniffs.  I also agree, make a short list if you feel comfortable.  Do some thinking and email them this month.  Most coaches will take an interest and someone will write you back.   Give them your background, why you like the school, your metrics, a very brief academic recap and a video link if you can (throwing mechanics without velo is fine for now).   You have the gift of being a tall LHP. That is a golden ticket in cutting through the masses.

DM me if you want more personal advice. We literally just (successfully) went through the process with a 6’4 + 2022 LHP. A lot of gathered info for just one result.

Best of luck and I really like your chances.

This may sound stupid. But it works. At PG events you’re better off rearing back and firing fastballs off the backstop at 90 than throwing strikes in the mid 80’s.  

We had a third baseman on our high school team with the yips. He went through a streak when he had trouble lobbing the ball from second the first (bounced a few). I told him when he gets out on the left side in a showcase just fire the ball at the first baseman. If it goes into the front row, so what. He showed off his arm. Colleges coaches weren’t scared away by the overthrows. They saw a gun they could fix.

Don’t buy into the 90 or bust mindset.  If you can have control, you don’t have to be 90.  Son hit 91 last week and PC wants him pitching at 87-89.  He hit 92 last year but it got straight and flat.  I know 90 opens doors but success in upper 80s for a lefty is just as important.  Son had offers from half sec and acc without hitting 90.  

But sounds like you still have to be 90 to get in that door to show them you can be successful at 87-89??

I would also venture to say that anyone who can legitimately "sit" 88-89 has the ability to "touch" 90-91.....    jm2c

Son was not 90 when he was recruited.  Topped 87 when he was committed but had incredible control with 4/5 pitches.

During the Area Code games, I intentionally "slanted" the pitching rosters [50% LHP].

This what the scouts wanted. Velocity was secondary, ability to "own" the mound is #1.

Bob

@Consultant posted:

During the Area Code games, I intentionally "slanted" the pitching rosters [50% LHP].

This what the scouts wanted. Velocity was secondary, ability to "own" the mound is #1.

Bob

Don’t you think most top half of D1’s are looking for righties that own the mound at 90+ and lefties at 88+? If a kid throws 95+ there’s some leeway on control?

Given only 18-20 players on the roster need to contribute there’s a lot of leeway for coaches to take recruiting risks.

RJM;

it depends on the Pitching Coach's ability to teach control to the 95 mph "Rookie". The opposing Coaches will instruct their hitters to take pitches.

Bob

Just wanted to update the thread again and say that I appreciate all the responses. To answer BBSBfan's question, I took the ACT twice and got a 29 both times with a 30 superscore. Hoping to get it up and prepare a little more next time. Still dealing with this nagging injury and not much progress is being made, so my recruiting process is definitely still delayed for a few months

30 is a very good score and puts you in a very strong spot. Be proud of that.  If you can squeeze another point via super score - which I bet that you will with another try, even better.  Injuries are a big part of the sport, stay positive and it will all come together at some point.  You have plenty of time with most of the HA schools still.

hbaseball, are you a 2023 or 2022?

@Brensdad posted:

hbaseball, are you a 2023 or 2022?

His profile says 2023.  

Felt like now would be a good time to update this again. I started throwing about two weeks ago, and I finally tried long toss yesterday and there was very little discomfort. Going to start reaching out to schools soon, and my goal is to be back on the mound in mid January.

As you are a 6’4 LHP who has been in the upper 80’s,  at this point your best ability will be availability.  I can’t emphasize enough to get healthy and near 100% first as HS season plus summer showcasing will be a lot.  I saw a few of my son’s teammates get banged up or worse right in the meat of the recruiting and dropped a level or more.  So, IMO try to keep HS pitch counts fairly low.  Depending on your pitchability, you will likely have 3 avenues starting late Spring.  1) HA D3 where you should be a top recruit. 2) HA D1 schools in Patriot league, etc will be really close depending on how you come back 3) a slew of not quite HA D1 (obv not P5) where you would slot in middle of road for LHP.  

I would also focus now on who your advocate is.  Do you have a good, well-known club coach? If not, can you afford some type of advisor?  If a trusted person can get a BP video of you in front of a bunch of coaches, you will get leads.  6’4 LHPs have a good life recruiting wise.    Best of luck - get healthy and strengthen your body for the load you plan on putting on it.  

When you are emailing schools....make sure you put something like this in the subject line

2023 LHP  6'4, 225 with a upper 80's fastball

A lot of coaches don't have time to look at all the emails....but that will get their attention lol

Thanks for all the replies. I finally got back on the mound about a week and a half ago, and I've thrown two bullpens. I used a radar gun for the second bullpen, and my velocity was pretty disappointing. I was pretty much sitting 82-84, and I know I've definitely gained muscle since the last time I was on a mound. It had been 7 months since I'd pitched before this, but I definitely wasn't expecting a 5 mph loss in velocity. Is this something I should be worried about? I don't really know what I should be expecting coming back from a fairly long break.

For those who haven't read the earlier messages, I had a core-related injury that happened during the summer

@hbaseball posted:

Thanks for all the replies. I finally got back on the mound about a week and a half ago, and I've thrown two bullpens. I used a radar gun for the second bullpen, and my velocity was pretty disappointing. I was pretty much sitting 82-84, and I know I've definitely gained muscle since the last time I was on a mound. It had been 7 months since I'd pitched before this, but I definitely wasn't expecting a 5 mph loss in velocity. Is this something I should be worried about? I don't really know what I should be expecting coming back from a fairly long break.

For those who haven't read the earlier messages, I had a core-related injury that happened during the summer

It’s early February so things are just getting going in the warmer states. And you haven’t been on a mound in 7 mos. So I wouldn’t be concerned about your drop in velo. Work on getting your mechanics back in form and the velo will follow.

@hbaseball - Do you feel fully recovered from your injury? I agree with adbono, you've had a long layoff and very little mound work... it's too early to be concerned about velo. Stay the course.

You should have a list of schools that you're interested in by now. You should be thinking about how you're going to get in front of those schools this summer. If you want to share the list (public or private), folks might be able to help with that. What about majors? Your ACT is relatively high for baseball players. It will be an asset with some schools. Conversely, some college coaches aren't interested in supporting players with challenging majors, like engineering.

Keep your finances private, but the cost of juco is usually much less than 4 year schools. Also, most public universities have partnerships with local community colleges that make the transition smoother (e.g. guarantee that specific course credits will transfer).

@MidAtlanticDad posted:

@hbaseball - Do you feel fully recovered from your injury? I agree with adbono, you've had a long layoff and very little mound work... it's too early to be concerned about velo. Stay the course.

You should have a list of schools that you're interested in by now. You should be thinking about how you're going to get in front of those schools this summer. If you want to share the list (public or private), folks might be able to help with that. What about majors? Your ACT is relatively high for baseball players. It will be an asset with some schools. Conversely, some college coaches aren't interested in supporting players with challenging majors, like engineering.

Keep your finances private, but the cost of juco is usually much less than 4 year schools. Also, most public universities have partnerships with local community colleges that make the transition smoother (e.g. guarantee that specific course credits will transfer).

@hbaseball  If you are considering the JUCO route.

Here is a free tool that shows JUCO Programs pipeline success.

CBI Juco Pipeline Dashboard  

Note, insights are up-to-date as of 2021 season, the 2022 season will be available some time late March/early April

Here is a quick video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-iMtaHNuUI&t=35s

Perhaps an instructor to help you get on track and see if there are some inefficiencies that can be cleaned up.

I've got two D3 players, one at a HA.  Both dealing with injuries.  PLEASE make sure that the school you get interested in passes the "broken leg test".  Or in this case the re-occurring core injury test.  IMO you're going to college to get an education ie you're not draft material?  If so, make sure you like the rest of the school and would stay if an injury prevent you from playing.  And that's my tip.

Again, thanks for the replies. I don't feel completely 100% and I've been told it could take 3-4 more months until I get there, but the doctors I've consulted with have given me the okay to pitch. Because of this timeline, I'm thinking that HA D3 schools and mid majors with decent academics would be my best bets. I've thrown about 4 more pens since my last update without a radar gun because my main focus right now is mechanics, so hopefully I'll see some progress when I get the gun out again. I'll try to have this thread updated soon with reasonable schools that I'm interested in and some updated pitching data so I can get more feedback.

also, for the people that have messaged me, I think some of them disappeared somehow so I'm sorry if you never got a response.

I thought now would be a good time to update this. Around 2-3 weeks ago, I got to pitch in a game for the first time since July. My velocity was around 84-86, which was about a 2 mph jump from early February when I first started throwing pens. I was happy with that because I was able to hit my spots and control the zone even if it wasn't where I was last summer. All that mattered was that I felt good enough to throw, so I was pretty excited.

I asked my dad to take some videos, and I realized that my arm action was slow and my hip-shoulder separation seemed to be pretty bad. For the past 2 or 3 weeks, I took about 2 hours of my day after practice to stretch out my lower body and work out the stabilizers in my shoulders with light weights/bands. It probably wasn't a good idea to work out my shoulders every day, but I thought it was fine since I wasn't using anything heavier than a med ball.

A few days ago, I got to come in to close against a conference rival. I don't exactly know what happened, but the ball felt like it was flying out of my hand. My control wasn't the greatest, but I got the job done and gave up no runs through two innings. I learned after that I was sitting 87-89 and topped at 90.

I still don't feel 100% recovered because it takes about a year, but I've been cleared to pitch and am definitely on the right path to recovery. I'm still not cleared to lift weights above 50 pounds, but I've been keeping up with my strength, so I think I've actually gained muscle. I can definitely tell that there's more in the tank.

All of this leads me to what I was going to ask, so I'm sorry if this was super long. I was thinking that now would probably be a good time to try to get on some coaches' radars. It doesn't seem like posting on twitter is getting a lot of attention from D1s, and it's only jucos that are reaching out to me. I definitely think junior college could be a good option, but I really want to pursue a 4 year school. For someone who doesn't go to PG/big tournaments, would the best option still be to email coaches? I really want to end up somewhere in the midwest or nearby.

For those who haven't read the whole thread I'll put some measurements below

6'4", 230lb LHP, young 2023, FB 87-89 T 90, 29 ACT (30 SS)

There are reasons that JuCos are the only schools that are reaching out to you. They are the schools that need you. Not one competitive D1 program needs a incoming freshman P. All of them have plenty of older arms that are proven against college competition. And the transfer portal is always available if they want to pick up another one or two. If playing D1 baseball is your goal do yourself a big favor and go to a JuCo that develops pitchers. Pitch for 2 years there and get better. Then you will be ready and your chances of being recruited to play D1 will be much greater.

With that ACT you might look at high academic D3 schools too.  The SCIAC (Southern California) has had a pitcher drafted in each of the past few seasons including a third rounder in 2020.  Some of the schools in that conference have a ton of need based and merit based aid available, if that interests you.

First congrats!  Great to hear you are back and no doubt your pitchability improve plenty with more mound time.  Seems there is more in the tank if not working yet with weights - I am bullish.  Good stuff.

IMO, it is a decent time to sit down with your parents and decide what you want out of a college experience and then make a plan of action.  Too wide of a net makes it hard to chase up on all that you need to.  If you choose to focus on HA,  in our experience  and conversations last year (I have a 2022 LHP), you are a Patriot League candidate, also Ivy and most all D3 on the board- I am sure more conferences but just not familiar enough with others.  30 ACT assuming grades to match should be okay for all of these.   Might be worth one more crack at that ACT for that superscore.

I would do this in next 1-2 months-

1) get to a PBR event or to a facility where you can get a trusted/verified radar number that you can quote.

2)  find a coach/trainer/advisor with credibility who can speak to college coaches on your behalf.  If that means seeking a known pitching coach or something more creative than a club coach, get in motion to build a relationship.

3) film a less than 2 minute video of pen.  Put in YouTube format and then you can attach link to videos when emailing coaches.
4)  reach out to club teams in you area that do go to bigger tournaments and look to guest at some bigger events.  P is the one position where someone will usually will take on to have more arms.  Try to work on a summer schedule that includes tourneys that get traffic.  Generally speaking a college coach ,for your profile (IMO), will want to see you 2 times live. Make it easy for them- attach your expected schedule.  Some coaches will also send out where they go and if there are a couple top targets, google the coach name and recruiting schedule to see if you can find it or past ones.  You can also go to their camp-once you know they are interested ( I wouldn’t randomly pick school camps without invites, wastes too much time and money).

When you get most of these things then send emails with all of this included.   You need either to make it easy for them to understand your skill level or you need to find someone who will make calls for you.  There is a whole world of advisors that make calls as well but it is $$$.  There are also showcases like HF and such where I think you would get plenty of interest but I would advise going earlier than later.

if you have aspirations for a  higher baseball level than I mentioned, someone else can provide better advice as above was our sandbox.

Best of luck, look forward to hearing of your success.

lefty that size, touching 90 not even in the summer before senior year, he is a d1 recruit at a respectable conference right, maybe not P5, but thats pretty good.

@CollegebaseballInsights posted:

@hbaseball  If you are considering the JUCO route.

Here is a free tool that shows JUCO Programs pipeline success.

CBI Juco Pipeline Dashboard 

Note, insights are up-to-date as of 2021 season, the 2022 season will be available some time late March/early April

Here is a quick video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-iMtaHNuUI&t=35s

We've just reconciled 2022, NCAA-D1,  other divisions are pending

New feature provides JUCO pipeline by Position and Grade Class.  Which will allow you to evaluate which schools have a history of sending certain skillsets to the next level

@Brensdad posted:

lefty that size, touching 90 not even in the summer before senior year, he is a d1 recruit at a respectable conference right, maybe not P5, but thats pretty good.

Seriously? You don’t even know if he can throw strikes and get good hitters out. He might be able to get to one right out of HS but if it’s a good program he won’t see the mound. Is that really what’s best? Look at the EOY stats at any top 100 D1 and see how many innings the freshmen pitchers get. It’s hardly ever over 10 and it’s often less than 5. You really think it’s a good idea to forfeit a year of eligibility to throw 4 innings? I don’t. Not to mention that freshmen pitchers often don’t get much coaching either. All that time is spent with the 8-10 guys that can help them win now. You don’t get any better when you don’t play. Go somewhere that you can play!