Great Outing! Not an expert, just a baseball dad and pitcher's father that's been at it a while. Throwing gas with 2K's per inning against a top HS team is high cotton. It's hard at that age to live near max effort and not give away some bags. I think the goal is to work on the misses being competitive, it's hard tho, even the pro's struggle with 0 - 2 sliders that are close enough to give the hitter's pause...
@Master P posted:We just got back from our opening weekend going to Dallas to play a couple games. Beat a good 15-1 Grapevine team even though we didn't see their top arms. Then beat Denton Braswell today.
The boy went 4 shutout innings against Grapevine, 0H, 8K's was 91-94 in the first inning. The 4 walks are concerning but not a bad first outing.
That's impressive! That GV team is no joke. Too bad the powers that be didnt set up a match up against DH on the "hill" (all pun intended). That would've been must see TV and would've drawn scouts and coaches from ALL OVER. Great when these pre season tourneys pit great teams across state lines that normally wouldnt happen.
@GratefulNTXlurker posted:That's impressive! That GV team is no joke. Too bad the powers that be didnt set up a match up against DH on the "hill" (all pun intended). That would've been must see TV and would've drawn scouts and coaches from ALL OVER. Great when these pre season tourneys pit great teams across state lines that normally wouldnt happen.
He had pitched the day before for them in a much more important game. I was just glad we got the game in. Due to the rain it had to be moved and didn't start till 8pm.
Season still going good, 12 regular games left. Undefeated in district. Still in the top 20 in the state.
Son has mostly been playing outfield, they desperately needed another outfielder and son was their fastest option. Doing a really good job for someone that has not been in the outfield since he was 10. Gives him more practice being a team player.
@Master P posted:We just got back from our opening weekend going to Dallas to play a couple games. Beat a good 15-1 Grapevine team even though we didn't see their top arms. Then beat Denton Braswell today.
The boy went 4 shutout innings against Grapevine, 0H, 8K's was 91-94 in the first inning. The 4 walks are concerning but not a bad first outing.
Welp. The boy had a start against one of the top teams in the state. 3 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 4K. Gave up 2 bombs, 3 doubles and a triple.
Baseball.
@Master P posted:Welp. The boy had a start against one of the top teams in the state. 3 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 4K. Gave up 2 bombs, 3 doubles and a triple.
Baseball.
That has happened to every pitcher that has ever stepped on a game mound. Learn what you can from the experience, flush it, and move on. Tomorrow is a new day.
@Master P posted:Welp. The boy had a start against one of the top teams in the state. 3 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 4K. Gave up 2 bombs, 3 doubles and a triple.
Baseball.
This game will humble you quickly.
My 2025 had a similar nightmare in his first appearance this preseason. He had never given up a home run on "The Big Field" before. He then proceeded to give up a grand slam & a three-run homer in the same inning 😁.
To my surprise he handled it well. He told me after the game " Well it can't get any worse than that, can it?"
Has been solid ever since and has become The closer on a 9 -3 team.
I'm sure your boy will bounce back! @Master P
I will ask some questions. Who was calling pitches? Can your son shake if he doesn’t like the pitch call?? What pitches were the extra base hits off???
@adbono posted:That has happened to every pitcher that has ever stepped on a game mound. Learn what you can from the experience, flush it, and move on. Tomorrow is a new day.
That was almost the exact text I sent him. I added that I was proud of him and he kept his composure. It happens, its baseball.
@adbono posted:I will ask some questions. Who was calling pitches? Can your son shake if he doesn’t like the pitch call?? What pitches were the extra base hits off???
First inning gave up a full count bomb on a 94 FB to a Tennessee commit the other way. Second inning left an 0-2 change up and a kid hit it 400' Then he just started catching barrels.
His coach calls the pitches but they can shake it off. The other team was being aggressive and executing.
Additionally, your kid is in the 99th percentile for highschool velo.
So if and when a hitter barrels his pitches, it's going to come off real hot. Comes with the territory.
@Master P posted:First inning gave up a full count bomb on a 94 FB to a Tennessee commit the other way. Second inning left an 0-2 change up and a kid hit it 400' Then he just started catching barrels.
His coach calls the pitches but they can shake it off. The other team was being aggressive and executing.
Fair enough
@DaddyBaller posted:Additionally, your kid is in the 99th percentile for highschool velo.
So if and when a hitter barrels his pitches, it's going to come off real hot. Comes with the territory.
This is true. Hard throwers can give up bombs that go a long way. In a Karl Young college summer league game in Houston I gave up a HR to a LHH named Alvin Rueben (who later played DE in the NFL) at Del Mar Stadium. The ball was still going up as it cleared the RF fence, it easily carried the grass and the service road, and hit a car that was traveling on Hwy 290. Had to go close to 500 ft.
@Master P posted:First inning gave up a full count bomb on a 94 FB to a Tennessee commit the other way. Second inning left an 0-2 change up and a kid hit it 400' Then he just started catching barrels.
His coach calls the pitches but they can shake it off. The other team was being aggressive and executing.
additional thought:
We have a couple teams regionally that are really good at picking signs .... knowing what is coming really helps kids "catch barrels"
@ReluctantO'sFan posted:additional thought:
We have a couple teams regionally that are really good at picking signs .... knowing what is coming really helps kids "catch barrels"
Its funny you mention that. The day after I was at a game talking to one of the pro area scouts who watched his outing. He was talking about how he thought the other team "saw something" and how comfortable they were in the box, etc. Then he said, "We liked to see him get rocked, it happens in baseball."
my 2027 had a great day yesterday on JV. Hit his first hs home run oppo. It was on the varsity field but to be fair it is a short right field fence. 300 at the corner. Not entirely sure how far it went since it was not right at the corner. but it was more than 300'
@Dadof3 posted:Ha ha! Yeah. I get both sides. Going to be interesting here when we start next week. However, the coaches (here) are going off mostly indoor practice, hitting off machines. Some kids are great practice kids, others are gamers…. That being said I know several people are questioning the starting line up. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
My son told me the other day he once had a teammate who was a great baseball player — until you saw him in a game.
@Iowamom23 posted:My son told me the other day he once had a teammate who was a great baseball player — until you saw him in a game.
So I saw this one kid who was listed as starting. I really questioned it (to myself ) due to the hiccup in his swing. I even casually mentioned something to the coach (who I am friendly with). So we are now 4/5 games in and the kid has yet to get a hit. Killed the ball in practice. Not so much in games.
@Iowamom23 posted:My son told me the other day he once had a teammate who was a great baseball player — until you saw him in a game.
My son had a high school teammate who looked like anyone’s first pick for next level prospect. He was 6’4” 200. He was the last player in the roster. He didn’t make varsity until senior year.
@RJM posted:My son had a high school teammate who looked like anyone’s first pick for next level prospect. He was 6’4” 200. He was the last player in the roster. He didn’t make varsity until senior year.
Same. My youngest son had a 16 U travel ball teammate that had all the measurables. And his single mom thought he was all that. We called him Baseball Jesus. Looked great in a uniform. Couldn’t play a lick.