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35 replies

85 MPH Lefty without a school?

D dashriprockMember
Ive followed this site and message board for a couple years and have found the information very helpful. I have referenced the recruiting guideline table many times and we followed the recommmendations closely in my sons pursuit to continue his baseball career in college. He has received many calls and emails, mostly smaller schools and jucos and a few d-1, but no offers.

- My son is a 6-3 180 left handed pitcher (senior). He played travel ball with one of the top programs in the midwest this past summer, but he played on their "B" team, and pitched in front of few, if any scouts or r/c's.
- He's listed in the top 1,000 for PG in 2010 and they have his fastball velocity listed at 86 mph from his start in Jupiter this past fall. (One pro scout told me they had him at 87 a couple times.)
- He was invited the the Area Code tryouts and topped out at 85. He was told afterwards by an area scout, that he was a "hidden gem" and a serious pro prospect.
- His SAT is 1530 and ACT is 24 with a 3.2 GPA while taking honors and AP classes
- We went to 1 camp this winter, but were snowed out of 2 that we had planned to attend. The camp we did attend is a great school and we both were impressed with the coaching staff. They seemed interested after the camp, but my son is the one who keeps in contact. All 3 schools have shown some interest, (mainly email) but they all say the same thing, "We will try on come to a game this spring."
All 3 schools are out of state and quite a drive (4 hr +, while 1 school is on the east coast). So my question(s) is, will the coaches come that far to a spring game; since they are not calling and just e-mailing, am I mis-reading if their interest is sincere; and what are our best options at this point?
any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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BumBum1,000+ posts
dashriprock,

First of all, have no fear. If your son is a good pitcher, a LHP throwing 86, he will pitch in college. I would start with a two-prong approach:

1) Research the best J.C. programs in your area. Focus on the ones with a track record of feeding into D1. 85+ is minimum D1 speed for a LHP so if your son has some success they will know.

2) Don't wait for them to email your son. Have your son email them. Email 50+ of them. I'm serious. Your son will get some responses from some of them and this can lead to invites to visit their campus. It is not too late, but get the word out NOW.
D dashriprockMember
2009 PG WWBA World Championship
Player:
Position: LHP
Height: 6-3
Weight: 180
60 Yd:
OF Velo:
IF Velo:
1B Velo:
C Velo:
Pop Time:
Fastball: 86
Curveball: 70
Slider:
Split:
Knuckleball:
Change-up: 74
FB Range: 83-86
PG Grade:
Sparq Verticle:
Sparq Shuttle:
Sparq Thirty:
Sparq Powerball:
Sparq Rating:

Thanks for your quick responses. Above was copy and pasted from PG crosschecker. Before the early signing period he sent at least 50 emails to schools. He heard back from probably 20 and all kept in touch via e-mail until the signing period, then almost all of the emails and phone calls stopped. He has talked to some jucos, but all are out of state. Im not sure how to post sat or act scores, but will try too. He also has a video on you tube and I will give the link to those interested.
ClevelandDadClevelandDadHSBBWeb Administrator
dash - I think Bum has good advice.

From what you posted, I have no doubts your son is a college player. My take is to work this from the bottom up rather than the top down. See if you can find one juco program that is a fit for him. After you have established a base, you can continue to look for other opportunities as the spring progresses.

fanofthegame's son attended a juco last year. He tore it up at the juco and one year later is now starring at USC. That's right, the Trojans of Southern California.
CADadCADad5,000+ posts
Late signing period isn't until April. Try to find a JUCO spot as a backup but don't give up on a D1 job. Try to target a spring break college camp if possible and don't forget there's still summer, although the chance of getting a scholarship instead of just a roster spot drops as you go along.
Last edited by CADad
TPMTPMHSBaseballweb Member since 2003
To pitch in college, every pitcher needs more than one pitch to get people out. To pitch at the higher D1 level, 90+ is usually sought after plus two other pitches that can get hitters out. For lefties, you need to have very solid breaking pitches if the velo is not hitting 90.

85 for any pitcher doesn't mean that you will get the opportunities you think you should get. You haven't mentioned how his other pitches are, does he rely on them, is FB hittable, does it sink, does it have movement or straight up the middle? Does he struggle more against righties or lefties, can he hold runners on, etc. Can he field his position well (I think people often forget this is VERY important for many coaches).

What was your son's rating on PG (did he do a showcase with them)? Have you followed that guideline in recruiting? You mention he was listed in the top 1000. What do you think your son did that day that got a comment from scout he is a very "serious pro prospect", did he mean after HS or after a few years of college? Don't take what one scout said as the gospel.

Your son has had exposure at Jupiter and at area code, so it's not exposure, a lefty topping out at 87 should have raised some eyebrows, perhaps you were too late in the process OR perhaps he is reaching farther than his talent dictates at this time, perhaps a good solid JUCO might be in his best interest right now.

I am not trying to be negative, but there are many realities in college recruiting, and just pitching 85 is only one of them.
Last edited by TPM
D DiamondFan100+ posts
Dash,

My son was in a very similar situation (but not 6'3" much to his disappointment!). Played on a very strong summer team, went to Jupiter, lefty in mid 80s, excellent student etc... Was getting a lot of attention from D3 schools,hoped to play on a D1 program, but no real offers in the early period as all the schools go after their top priorities. He applied to a number of schools and stayed in touch with the coaches via e-mail, even though it was mostly one way. Let the coaches know you have applied, and been accepted if it happens. It's one less hurdle for them possibly. He had a good spring varsity season and continued to keep the schools informed of how he was doing. He was pretty well set on going to a very good D3 school when he received late offers in May from several of the D1 schools he wanted to go to. Two factors made this happen, well three actually: He had a good spring season, he kept in touch with the coaches, and he was a pitcher. Every program wants pitching, especially left handers. He is currently a junior, still playing, and very happy with how things have turned out

There are a number of factors that can lead to open spots on a roster, grades, the draft,injuries,kids not being admitted, transfers, kids leaving school etc...Those spots generally have to be filled

Throwing 90 plus is great, but in the Midwest at least, there aren't as many kids consistently in the 90's as people might be lead to believe. Every program has pitchers throwing that hard, but there are just as many, or more, especially lefties, in the mid to high 80s that are successful.

Apply to the schools that you are interested in and stay in touch with the coaches. There is nothing to lose and something good may come of it. Good luck.
D dashriprockMember
TPM- I tried to give a general overview of my son's abilities in my original post as I didnt want to be one of "those" dads. I'll just add that his secondary stuff is good and hes very athletic. No doubt we were late to the process in Jupiter as he was a last second addition to the team and I believe my son wasnt listed in the scout guide. I can't speak for the scout and what he meant by serious prospect or his time table. But I do know there was a buzz about him in Jupiter, as this was his first game with the "A" team, and I had 3 A/C's ask me about him during the game, and we really thought something would happen, school wise, after his perfomance there.
Diamond Fan- Our situations sounds eerily familiar. He has applied to 5 d-1 schools and been accepted at all of them. He still e-mails them, but like you said its a one way street right now. He's a lefty and he's still e-mailing the coaches, so he just needs to have a good spring.

I appreciate the pm's and good suggestions from all. I'll have him keep in contact with the 5 schools and hopefully they will come watch him in a few weeks.
TPMTPMHSBaseballweb Member since 2003
Thanks for giving some more information.
The most important thing to remember is that the signing period is not until April and coaches are very busy with their teams, that's why so many try to get in as much as they can before their season begins. You may not hear from any of them until after their season is over and they can evaluate their needs.
Follow the advice of that given here, definetly get him set up with a JUCO, don't pass up an opportunity to improve in a place where he can play rather than sit, that's very important.

Good luck.
oldpitcheroldpitcherMember
Son has gone through the same type of experience.He plays for 1 of the top travel teams in the US and is probably their best PITCHER. others have more velocity but none pitch better. His dream was to play D1 but he has signed with a Fl JC. In my opinion it is a good choice for him.I think his JC coach will help him get ready for the next level with out question.You need to reevaluate what you want for the final outcome.I know my son can pitch D-1 right now,but it isnt my choice, it is his.
DB Danny Boydston1,000+ posts
Dash,

Coming from a parent of a "soft tossing" LHP, all it takes is one person to like what they see. Son wasn't a "wow" pitcher in high school and wasn't heavily recruited. One D1 school liked what they saw and gave him a chance. Today he is a junior and is having fun and some success. Having said that, if a D1 would not have been in the picture, Juco or some other diamond and academic school would have been perfectly fine. Baseball is baseball, it's all played with a ball, bat and glove. Hang in there and good luck.

Danny Boydston
T TheBigNasty10+ posts
(Changed screen name to TheBigNasty from DashRiprock to avoid cunfusion with another poster)

85 MPH lefty has a school!!!

I just wanted to thank everyone for the pm's and encouragement during the recruiting process and give an update on Lefty, and for any parents that are in the "process" right now, to take advantage of all the knowledge that is available on this site. Use the recruiting guide also.

Not getting any offers before the early signing period may have been a blessing in disguise, as my son watched every player from his travel team make a college committment. It put a chip on his shoulder and I think, made him work harder on his game and body during the winter. So don't get discouraged! You gotta fight the fight...

The school my son wanted to attend is a local, mid-major D-I, Ball State University. Just before the early signing period ended, they told him they still liked him, but didn't have a spot for him. Fast forward to April, and the p/c e-mailed, wanting to know when my son was pitching. He came to the game and then told my son he wanted him to come visit and watch a game in a few days. We did, they made an offer and my son accepted on the spot. It all happened very quickly.

So my son gets to attend a school that he has talked about since he was little, Dad can make it to all the games, and Momma is happy that Lefty is close by. It seems like a great fit, but only time will tell. Classes started Monday and fall ball will begin soon and I can't wait! Go Cards!
T TheBigNasty10+ posts
Thanks for the kinds words everyone! Lefty says school is awesome...which is good...all i usually get is "fine", when I ask how things are going.

I've attached a link from the BSU website.

I know many of you enjoy following poster's son baseball path, post high school, and with all the good karma on this site, I'm ok with letting you all know him. Another kid we can root for and follow...

http://ballstatesports.com/Vie...200&ATCLID=204933450
T TheBigNasty10+ posts
Thanks again everyone and proud I am.

PGStaff: Thank you and I hope your right about 90 MPH. I have seen some posts on this site and the PG site, with people wondering if PG ranks players by attending their events. I can honestly say that PG ranked my son fairly high and had him on their follow lists, without him every attending any PG event or showcase. I was amazed how they would know about a kid that went to a small high school (300 students) in the middle of no where, and have him ranked, sight unseen. That tells me that its not a money grab like some events and PG is the leader in identifying talent. They get it right and I'm not saying that because they ranked my son. The best example:
We had a kid from our county drafted in the first round this year. He's was a no doubter as far as being a high draft pick, but I think PG was a key ingredient in his being a first round draft pick. The had him first and slowly moved him up their lists, then he had a coming out party in the Metrodome and soared up everyones lists. The rest is history...It was neat to follow a kid since he was 8 years, and watch him blossom into a 1st rounder.

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