86mph

A LOT can be said for having "command" of one's pitches, whether high or low velocity.  Velocity always gets a lot of attention, but someone with outstanding command will draw the attention of those in the know.

I found the "eye test" interesting.  The batters never seemed comfortable in the box against the higher velocity while on the flip side it seemed the batters were just a hair off from beating up on the other pitcher.  In the end it was a low scoring game with only a few hits on each side.  Similar BB/K ratio, hits, runs etc...  

So true.  Comfort is the key re confidence and a few mph can seemingly change everything.

With the average velocity in our area being 75 mph a kid throwing 84+ will be dominant.  Although two years ago i witnessed one of our pitchers average 73 mph and throw a 87 pitch perfect game. 

Son's first game was Saturday.  It was an excellent game.  PG had the starters at 89 and 91 though I have no idea what they threw in the game.  Both used a lot of breaking stuff.  Both had very similar line scores, though the harder thrower needed a lot fewer pitches.   Opponent got the win, mainly  because they they got a couple timely hits. PG has the likely starter for our next opponent at 93.  Shoud be interesting!

Another factor is the time of the year.  Being early in the season the hitters will always start behind pitching and defense.  Some of that domination may be because they hadn't seen enough live pitching to get in a groove.  Who knows though?  Some days you have it and some days you don't

Movement?

86 will dominate at a lot of high school levels. There aren't that many guys out there throwing higher than that in high school.

Show me any HS pitcher that can throw any breaking pitch for a strike even 40% of the time and hit the outside corner 3/4 of the time and I will show you a guy that will mow down HS batters no matter how hard he throws.

If his FB is 78-80 he will be a comfortable 0-3.  At 83/84 he will occasionally embarrass HS hitters. 

At 86+ he will embarrass a lot of HS hitters and if he can effectively pitch backward then 2/3 or more of HS hitters have very little chance of hitting him on purpose.  Only a team with 1/2 dozen DI hitters will really look reasonable against this.  There are not a lot of them out there.

luv baseball posted:

Show me any HS pitcher that can throw any breaking pitch for a strike even 40% of the time and hit the outside corner 3/4 of the time and I will show you a guy that will mow down HS batters no matter how hard he throws.

If his FB is 78-80 he will be a comfortable 0-3.  At 83/84 he will occasionally embarrass HS hitters. 

At 86+ he will embarrass a lot of HS hitters and if he can effectively pitch backward then 2/3 or more of HS hitters have very little chance of hitting him on purpose.  Only a team with 1/2 dozen DI hitters will really look reasonable against this.  There are not a lot of them out there.

Agree. Last night there was a big early-season game locally, in which the area no. 2 ranked team took down the national no. 1 ranked team (ranked no. 1 by both PG and Baseball America). The winning pitcher was a big (6'6") lefty whose velo last night topped out at 86-87. www.latimes.com/sports/highsch...-20160229-story.html

2019Dad posted:

luv baseball posted:

Show me any HS pitcher that can throw any breaking pitch for a strike even 40% of the time and hit the outside corner 3/4 of the time and I will show you a guy that will mow down HS batters no matter how hard he throws.

If his FB is 78-80 he will be a comfortable 0-3.  At 83/84 he will occasionally embarrass HS hitters. 

At 86+ he will embarrass a lot of HS hitters and if he can effectively pitch backward then 2/3 or more of HS hitters have very little chance of hitting him on purpose.  Only a team with 1/2 dozen DI hitters will really look reasonable against this.  There are not a lot of them out there.

Agree. Last night there was a big early-season game locally, in which the area no. 2 ranked team took down the national no. 1 ranked team (ranked no. 1 by both PG and Baseball America). The winning pitcher was a big (6'6") lefty whose velo last night topped out at 86-87. www.latimes.com/sports/highsch...-20160229-story.html

Great story and great example, but I have to laugh at the subtitle on the video:

"retired 13 of the final 14 batters in order."

How does that happen?

I watched an 84-87 mph freshman LHP dominate Texas last Thursday. He did it with a well located fastball and a fabulous changeup.  You're going to hear more about him - I'm pretty sure.  He was also a terrific HS pitcher.

This was the first VS HS game I have watched in quite a while.  Both programs historically are competitive in top conferences.  Again I have no idea how fast he was throwing only what he has been clocked over the summer.  The batters looked over matched by the velocity.  Granted he has a unique delivery.  Pitches from the third base side of the mound and a low three quarter release point.  He threw 85% plus FB's.  Contact seemed incidental.  

My real point was the other pitcher in contrast had "average" velocity at best based on the eye test.  Threw more junk than the FB.  While the batters seemed much more comfortable against him he was just as successful.  

It was interesting because the chatter was all about how no one could catch up to the hard thrower.  No one was talking about the other pitchers performance even though he was keeping the bases empty just as effeciently as the other.  

Well the title of this thread is timely.  My son cruised at 86 mph on the radar in todays game. 

Velocity is very important. It lets you get away with mistakes. However it is far from everything. We faced some "power pitchers" (in both high school and college) that were simply very hittable. They couldn't command their off-speed pitches and/or hit the corners.

Velocity will get you seen and college coaches looking at you. But to be a successful pitcher at the next level it becomes the control (both of pitches and of mentally staying cool). I wouldn't say don't focus on speed as of course it is important, but I think it is important to remember that at the next level "everyone" throws hard.

_____

Amazon: Going with the Pitch SE

Author of "Going with the Pitch: Adjusting to Baseball, School and Life as a Division I College Athlete" (Second Edition)

real green posted:

This was the first VS HS game I have watched in quite a while.  Both programs historically are competitive in top conferences.  Again I have no idea how fast he was throwing only what he has been clocked over the summer.  The batters looked over matched by the velocity.  Granted he has a unique delivery.  Pitches from the third base side of the mound and a low three quarter release point.  He threw 85% plus FB's.  Contact seemed incidental.  

My real point was the other pitcher in contrast had "average" velocity at best based on the eye test.  Threw more junk than the FB.  While the batters seemed much more comfortable against him he was just as successful.  

It was interesting because the chatter was all about how no one could catch up to the hard thrower.  No one was talking about the other pitchers performance even though he was keeping the bases empty just as effeciently as the other.  

I put this in the Chicks dig the long ball category.  

There are two sounds that are very distinct on a baseball field - a well struck ball and a real live fastball blasting a catchers mitt.  A conga line of hitters whiffing at it is pretty sexy too.  Watching a kid K 14 or 15 in 7 innings can be impressive if there are not a lot of walks mixed in.

In the end though keeping the ball off the fat part of the bat is the pitchers top priority.  Changing speeds and having good control of multiple pitches will get most HS hitters out very consistently.  Sounds like that is what you saw.   It is not surprising though if you stand next to a lot of parents who say stuff like "I don't understand why they can't hit this guy ....all he throws is junk".