6.84 60 YD Speed at 1B

quote:

Originally posted by bigboy17:
New poster, forgive the multiple questions....

My son is a 6-2, 190 lb 1B with sub 7.0 speed, [6.84 in Williamsburg VA TPX Event] was his summer best....

Curious to know what value this may bring him?
He is an above average defensive player, above average contact hitter, with average power...although this is changing rapidly over the course of the summer...

Thanks and I will try and take a break and listen!

bigboy - welcome to the hsbbweb!

The only ones who can truly answer these questions are the college coaches who have seen him play. I can give you my general take on the question however.

In general, I believe first base is a power position rather than a speed position. Perhaps your son could play another infield position and/or the outfield given his speed. There are exceptions to everything however. Some coaches might like having a first baseman who can also run and also be willing to sacrifice on the power numbers. It really depends on a particular coach's philosophy imho. The speed is a nice asset for your son as the more positions he can play, the more likely he will be able to find playing time at the next level.

Thanks Cleveland....he does play OF on occasion and played 3B a few weeks his junior year to help cover an injury. Defensively, he's a much greater asset at first with his height & ability. I doubt he will get a real opportunity his senior to play OF as he is a strong candidate pre-season for all-region and all-nGA at 1B.

I agree with you on the speed being an asset...it was a real eye-opener for the coaches at the Williamsburg event....

Eager to see what happens...

Thanks again!

I will pass on some information my son's HS coach gave him when he tried out against older kids this summer for an elite team. He said you need to assess yourself against "like players" in "like positions" for a college athlete (not HS) and see if you think you fit the profile. Once you do this then figure out what you need to work on to exceed those expectations for that position.

In your son's case he has the size, but corner infielders, particularly 1st basemen, MUST have power in college. They are not playing first for their great fielding, nor are they looking for contact hitters. I took a look at the video you posted of your son hitting and while he may be a great athlete he certainly does not posses the kind of a swing a college first basemen would be expected to have. That does not mean he can not develop one of course.

It is almost like you need to profile the likely postions he might play in college and then work towards those. My comments are in no means trying to be critical, but give you some additional insight in where he might fit. You could post the video over in the hitting section to get some input, but he has some serious short comings as a power hitter. (again not trying to be overly critical just realistic)

Welcome and good luck!

BOF, thats a big help. That has been our philosophy all along. Of all his tools, power has been the slowest to develop. He grew 13" in his junior year and the lights really came on.

This is our only available video until this weekend and I agree its not a great showing. We hesitated to post it to his recruiting site but chose to do so to keep the ball rolling [hopefully not a mistake?]..I will post that as well to get some more candid advice.
We have had some calls from D3 schools in MN, OH, and KY...to be honest, he's had more attention from D3 football coaches without a ton of stats awaiting his senior season which seems a little odd to me?

If you are inclined, I would love your take on how you would define 'serious shortcomings' with regards to power. He did hit for power this summer, but not as much his junior high school season. I expect that to change for his senior year...certainly hope so for his visibility! Your thoughts would be appreciated, use PM if need be.

Thanks again...

let me get this right grew 13 inches in one year 5 1" as a soph and 6'2" as a junior. This is hard to believe.

It must have been 3".

It's true guys...5-0 as a freshman, 5-1 as a junior [football season] then 6-2 at the end of Junior year....[18 months] I am not convinced he's through growing...I only added the fact as he showed almost no speed or power until he crested 6-0 which seemed odd...maybe a big kid playing in a little body...you can guess the difference it has made..

One of my son's friends was 5'0 as a freshman and was devastated when he didn't make the freshman baseball team at a highly competitive boys school (think Barry Bonds). He grew to 6'8" as a senior in high school, made the basketball team every year. Did make the baseball team the next 3 years. Now playing basketball on scholarship @ and east coast school. It is amazing how some can grow!