Attending first showcase-what to do?

have try for 92-94 (only kidding)

If he pitches 84-86 let him pitch at 84-86. If he rares back on a few thats fine (there may not be much velocity difference anyway) but IMO I don't think it is going to matter, unless he hits 88-90 consistently. The coaches will want to see where he is most comfortable with velocity.

The coaches will be looking at his mechanics (for ease of motion), arm angle, arm action, arm speed among other things that other posters are more versed in.

The coaches may look at him in the bullpen as well. They will look at how he handles himself and his composure on the mound. How he reacts to whats happening.

With only 1 inning of work I would recommend focusing on his fastball and his best off speed.

One more thing...once he is out there go find a quiet corner and watch from a distance and be quiet. They'll be watching for the nutty parents too!

Bagsbaseball,
Have your son approach a showcase in this manner:
Two things he should focus on.
1. He should be in the best physical shape as possible at the exact moment he takes the mound in the showcase.
2. He should be in the best mental state as possible when he takes the mound in the showcase.

For the best physical shape a few things are important. Get plenty of rest and eat properly prior to the showcase. Get there early but not too early.

For the mental preparation it is important to “get organized”. This means making sure the equipment is all checked, cleaned and ready to go. The bat bag has all the necessary items including bats, glove(s) cleats, and whatever personal items he might need. Make sure his clothes are picked out, clean and packed.
Don’t set your son up for failure. Ignore the 88 mph fastball or 75mph curve. He needs to relax and have a good time and be what he is...not try to be what he isn’t. When your son gets to the showcase he needs to be confident that he can succeed with what he has, not concerned about failing because he lacks something.
Best of luck.
Fungo

For me the thing I want to see in a player is for the player to be HIMSELF---dont try to be something you are not

My son has been to several showcase tournaments as a pitcher only. The advice above is right on point. Another thing which has helped our son, is that he has a warm up routine that he used during HS and did this in his showcases. Although it is tough sometimes to do the whole routine, he almost always does his stretching routine and his run in the out field. This has helped him to relax, get into his rhythm and his own zone.

My son has been to several showcase tournaments as a pitcher only. The advice above is right on point. Another thing which has helped our son, is that he has a warm up routine that he used during HS and did the same thing in his showcases. Although it is tough sometimes to do the whole routine, he almost always does his stretching the same way and his run in the out field. This has helped him to relax, get into his rhythm and his own zone.

Would agree and disagree..normal routine, be who you are, do what you do those present will always see what they want to see - including their own biases and their own needs and quirks.

That being said...we can talk all we want to about mechanics, and mental attitude, pitch command, and getting batters out....but having been through scores of these things and having debriefed scores of recruiters and scouts...there are what I call "Qualifying velocities" for each level of ball. (MLB, DI, DII,...) You don't make that velocity you will simply not be considered at that level. No matter how well you ply the craft.

Case in point...Watched a couple prospects who we'd watched for years, at a showcase who simply rared back at the event and threw as hard as they could to get their velocities up. Hit batters, walked players, threw in the dirt, and on that perfromance were invited to national events simply due to "qualifying velocity". Both ended up with big DI rides, one has command the other still struggles to find the plate but has a velocity that makes schools drool. Other clean pitchers at the shcowcase with finely crafted motions, who simply got players out were ignored.

We'd all love to believe that beautiful mechanics and an ability to get batters out counts, and it does, but only beyond a qualifying velocity.

Do you overthrow at a showcase? No, absolutely not. but be aware that velocity does matter and it is worth throwing a couple ball to "touch" (not my term, a scouts term) a qualifying velocity.

Here is another thing to be aware of...many Scouts will judge your future velocity in part on the basis of your running speed, no, really.

Without going to far into physiology...to scouts footspeed is very indicitive of a high percentage of "fast twitch" vs. "slow twitch" muscle fibers, fibers that are in part responsible for creating velocity. Don't underestimate the importance of your 60 time, even if you are a pitcher.

Velocity is irrevelant next to movement, location, a fairly decent arsenal of pitches and how he uses them, mechanics, projection and attitude, as far as a pitcher is concerned.
If son throws a fastball at 90+, it means nothing if he only has one pitch to throw. JMO.
We didn't showcse our son until we knew he had a fairly decent command of his pitches, therefore we waited until his mid junior year for the first showcase.

TPM..What is your son's velocity? What velocity does he live at...and what can he touch? I know he is a quality DI pitcher.

I have noticed the "Tall" 6'5" + is highly sought after. People were hot for the Ranger Team at area code due to the Tall kids and the "heat" they threw. A few had good outings and few did not. Some colleges will take a project kid who is tall as an oak and yet only throw 82-83 in high school. I say throw what you know and throw low.

My Two Cents

Observer44,
Last summer he hit 94, this past year maybe max 92, maybe.
FB lives at 87-90. Three effective pitches for strikes and go as low as 74 on his change up and since it is his most effective pitch he uses it pretty frequently. Loose arm, 3/4 slot, which was corrected this year in not throwing aross the body as frequently as he did in HS. At 19 is still encouraged NOT to rely too much on the curve (for all of you who insist on your 14 year olds throwing them). Not afraid to throw inside or outside.
At a game I asked one of the scouts what was his velocity was and he said it didn't matter, the movement (and sink) he gets was more important.
And Penja is right, keep it LOW!

I also wanted to mention how we get so wrapped up with velocity. Greg Maddux still amazes me throwing in the low to mid 80s where the power hitters just drool "dinger!" Roger Clemens had 80s ball in high school and transfered to UT Later. LOL, Then who knows 8 to 9 CY Youngs in the end.

My two cents

Penja,
Your two cents was worth it!
There are too many youngsters who need to concentrate on more than velocity. I say make good habits early on to establish goals in pitching mechanics and the velocity will come.
One does not have to have a 90+ fastball to be effective. I agree with the qualifying velocity, 90+ is noticed, but don't try to reach for it the first time at a showcase.
Bagsbaseball,
Do not have your son pitch to the gun. Trying to throw his hardest may not help him in hitting his spots.

TPM...Very impressive. Congratulations for not letting him give into the lure of the curve! It will be fun to watch him excel this year!

With all due respects, Velocity is another area where your "Blue Chip" world and my real world of "less than Blue chips" differs.

You are absolutley correct, pitching craft asnd movement is most important....in the Blue Chip World where high velocity is common.

Here is the reality right now for most college prospects...not the blue chips mind you, but good young pitchers who throw 85-86.

Am currently in touch with at least 8 parents of '06 pitchers who have really developed the
craft, demonstrated a solid ability to get players out at their high schools, in select team play, and in well known regional showcases in the last two and a half months.

At 85-86 MPH they have all been told that they have nice motions, and good pitch selection but do not have the velocity to be even considered no matter how well they pitch or how many kids they get out. They are all DESPERATELY searching for a way to increase velocity. Believe me they would LOVE to meet a DI coach who is looking for pitchers rather than throwers.

As for Maddux....Listen to any game that Maddux pitchers, the announcers go on and on about how it would be impossible for him to make in todays velocity hungry world. Zito had a heck of time getting taken seriously with an 88-89 MPH fastball.

Not saying that it is right...but I can tell you from this years recruiting trenches that it definately is the reality out here right now....

Observer44,
TRUE...

don't throw to the gun?

who in their right mind could give that advice?

TPM et all make good points, but comparing established college players to unknown hs players is apples & oranges

velo does turn heads!

the significace of an 84 mph guy letting it fly will be, are those "flyers" 88mph or 94mph

Bags, let us know how your weekend in Columbus went

The showcase is over, thank goodness! How did he do? I don't know. His fastball was 82-84, change-up 72-74, I don't know on his curve. He was the only pitcher that we saw in two games that did not allow a runner on base. He had two ground outs, three pop flies. From what I can tell, the line ups started with the best hitters and he faced the 3 thru 7 batters the second time around. It was clear that the first two pitchers were the best there but after that I have no idea. Some kids threw hard but were all over the plate and gave up lots of hits. I guess only time will tell!

Bags,
Keep us posted on what you hear.

Bee>,
Not sure about your post, but a young pitcher should not pitch to the gun in a showcase. If you are a pitcher who is not in good shape, you could get hurt..it is NOT worth it. JMO

Observer,
Maybe you didn't read my post. If a young pitcher concentrates early on development, by the time he reaches recruiting time he my have safely hit "Blue Chip' velocity. If a junior in HS is throwing mid 80's in the fall,chances are he is not going to be throwing 90 or above come senior summer. And if the criteria is 90+ for the larger D1 schools, then maybe that player is just not and never will be a D1 candidate for that school. I personally would rather see my son safely stay in his comfort zone, without struggling to impress and go play where he best FITS in. A really good college recruiter knows when a player is throwing comfortably or throwing to impress the gun. As Bags said, there were some pitchers who threw really hard, all over the plate and gave up hits. And as you know, in the bigger conferences, everyone can hit the 90+ fastball down the middle. Velocity gets you noticed, but the pitcher who shows potential and has a good feel for his pitches and how to use them will get the nod. In other words as TR said, BE YOURSELF.

In the ACC, there are a lot of players who do not hit 90+, in fact CU STRUGGLED when a slower pitcher started. They had very good control and able to off set the hitters timing and take sometimes 3-4 innings before they could adjust to the velocity.
Sorry, know lots of young pitchers who stepped it up in their junior, senior year for the scholarship now sitting out with arm and elbow surgeries. Or they suddenly realized they don't throw enough different pitches
so along with increasing their velocity now they are working on other pitches. Instead of developing theose muscles over the years, now their whole body is slighty confused, chances are injury will occur sooner or later.

Thanks Tiger Paw, you made me feel better. My son stayed away from the curve ball until late last summer and this summer. He has always known how to throw one, but did not. He is lucky in that he has four pitches that he can throw consistantly for strikes. I hope that helps where he lacks in velocity.

quote:

but a young pitcher should not pitch to the gun in a showcase

TPM, soo, just what purpose do the 25 guys behind the screen flashing their radar guns serve?

and if they are of NO importance, why not chase their butts outa there?

I have yet to see or hear of a showcase requiring scouts to
"CHECK YOUR GUNS AT GATE"
and you can have 'em back on your way out



How about it TR, it that the way to go?



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