Amount of talent needed to play D3 baseball

This doesn't directly answer your question. But maybe it will help. Below are some recent radar readings I have observed. It is not a scientific sampling from a statistical standpoint. All the readings were taken off a Stalker.

JUCO - 85
JUCO - 83-87
D1 (small) - 87-88
NAIA - 84
NAIA - 89

theres quite a few d3 players throwing upper 70's.

one thing you should consider is college coaches will probably be able tack on some velocity once you get there.

Update. Watched a D3 game recently. Both pitchers were low to mid-80's.

My son is a D3 pitcher, and the velocities range widely.

Low to mid-80s is probably the most common. Most teams have at least one pitcher who is high 80s, but many teams also have at least one 78-80 mph pitcher, usually with great control and several pitches. There are some D3 teams whose pitching staff is mostly in the 85-90 range also. Wide range!

My two sons play D-3. We've seen rhp's from roughly 82 and up, most around 84-86, but some above and some below. We've seen 2-3 low 90's rhp's as well (normally closers). Lefties can soft toss effectively almost anywhere, even in very low 80's, but their margin of error is slimmer (soft tossers with breaking balls and control can be effective, but when they're off, their leash is very short), even at D-3. My sons' school has a rhp that throws low 90's at times, and he's had MLB scouts at several games.

My guys tell me you can see any pitch, at any time, in any count, and college sliders are much much nastier than anything they saw in high school.

D-1's apparently don't much care for pitchers under 6 feet tall, so you see lots of good pitching out of guys under 6'. I've seen pitchers that I know could be very effective at D-1, that don't much get a sniff because of their height.

You would be surprised at the number of Division I caliber players who are playing Division III baseball

why would a coach be so closed minded to not have pitchers under 6' tall. look at pedro, he was measured at 5'11" at his prime!

While college coaches prefer taller pitchers, plenty of verticaly challenged pitchers do well in college. Colleges are less height sensitive than MLB. The closer on my sons team is 5-11 160#. He uses 3 or 4 arm slots and works in the low 90's though. Unusual, to say the least.

Remember that coaches recruit off what they "see" not what they hear about someone or what they may have read on a message board. How fast you throw is relative to many things. You may be a 5-11, 147 lb. bean pole that a coach looks at and says, you know, I can see he is only low 80's right now, but if we added some muscle to that frame we just might have something. If you are only 17 and undersized they may project you growing another inch or two and with maturity adding to your velocity. When they see you, they may also fall in love with the fact that you can throw three or more pitches for strikes and nothing seems to rattle you. There are many variables that go into the talent equation which makes this an almost unanswerable question.

Think of it as buying a car. Would you buy a car just based off the write-up in the newspaper? I doubt it. You are going to want to see it and find out for yourself. When you see it, you may overlook some flaws in the car because other factors outweigh them and you know you can correct the flaws over time. Don't let preconceived notions about things prevent you from getting out there and showing your abilities off before these coaches.

Finally, imho, I think you have to be a good player to play in college. I don't think you need to have overwhelming talent but you need to be decent. If you are a solid player, with some heart who is not afraid to compete, you can make it at the next level. Most importantly, you need to have the courage to get out there and show your abilities off to these coaches. Without that initiative, all these other points about how much talent it takes becomes moot imho...

i think that was put very well ClevelandDad. makes a lot of sense and a very specific answer to a not so specific question.

Chris - Thanks - I appreciate that (CD)

The margin between DI and DIII is often times very slim, and that goes for all sports. The edge will always go to the bigger, faster, stronger, even if the difference is slight.

quote:

Originally posted by ClevelandDad:
Remember that coaches recruit off what they "see" not what they hear about someone

But this was posted by a very respected memeber of these boards in another thread:
"players ARE OFTEN recruited & sometimes even signed sight unseen on the word of a trusted hs or summer coach"
I didn't get it either. How's it going CD?

quote:

But this was posted by a very respected memeber of these boards in another thread:
"players ARE OFTEN recruited & sometimes even signed sight unseen on the word of a trusted hs or summer coach"
I didn't get it either. How's it going CD?

Poptime - that is true that sometimes players are signed sight unseen. I should have said players generally need to be seen. I am aware of a case from our high school in fact where an offer like that was made. I am not sure how many games the program that made the "sight-unseen" offer has won however. Thanks for asking and I am doing fine As I have told others, cherish every moment of your son's senior season

quote:

Originally posted by ClevelandDad:
cherish every moment of your son's senior season

So far, so good, they're off to a 3-0 start and Logan's hitting in the .600's....but it's FREEZING!