Body type, pitching and projectibility

Absolutely. Not even close.

 

Not that 5'11" is really "diminutive" though

Your player needs to understand that it takes years and years and more years to work on their stuff, like you know Rome wasn't built in a day. Thats why guys like David Price and Sonny Gray chose to go to where they did  first and came out ready to play the ml game within a season. Others can be ready sooner, but its a long, long hike for most. Projection is important because they look at what you will be like at 23-25 not at 18 (college is different). 

 

Unfortunately there are coaches who want very tall pitchers. I remember a coach telling me once he prefers to look up to his pitchers, that is a preference, and they have reasons why. Work on the stuff, stop worrying high velo at 17,18, find the right program and go for it.  That's the secret to doing your homework during recruiting. I mean if all of the pitchers at one program are all over 6FT, there is a reason for it.  And that downhill plane does mean something.

 

I don't remember son ever being impatient as to when "that day" will come. It was about enjoying the moments. This is what we work on this season, this is what we work on next season.  I think parents push too much too soon these days. 

 

There is SO much more to it, not all about height and velocity, though that helps. Its also about being right handed or left handed, does he have a beard at 15,16 or a babyface,  how the pitcher delivers the ball, his mechanics,  run on the ball, inside outside, type of pitches thrown AND movement.  I mean if you throw 95 and it comes in as straight as an arrow, no one will care how tall you are.

JMO

 

Great points TPM, i will add that several of MLB scouts who saw my son told me he had a Plus curveball. I know he needs to master the change up and have heard he will need a slider in D1 baseball to get guys out. We'll see, i tell him all the time .....there's always room for improvement, guys catch up to fastballs eventually.

 

See link on height/pitchers effectiveness:

http://sabr.org/research/does-pitcher-s-height-matter

TPM is correct...so much to it..... play at the highest level you can and compete.... work work work... and grades do matter.... don't forge that

 

My son is now mid-level D1 at a program that typically wins 40 games a season... tops out at 88-89   nasty sinker , slider and curve.. he is 6'3 205 now.... BUT when he was 13-14  I had no clue where he would end up... 

 

One thing I have to say... the coach told him that they picked him over another player because of how he conducted himself when he was not pitching

If he has a good breaking ball he wont need a slider, one or the other. Two many breaking balls isnt good on the body.  But he needs the off speed so he will probably spend lots of time on that.  

 

 

Take a pitcher well over 6 foot who throws at a high slot ( some call it over the top) and you have a leathal combo when it follows a downward plane.

They discussed this the other night, CWS, forget which game.

 

While a 6'5" pitcher throwing 92 would be a higher valued prospect than his 5'10" teammate throwing the same velocity (all other things being equal), my observations are that most college programs will value today's velocity over tomorrow's potential. Maybe it's different at the pro level.

Noticing LSU seems to have a "type"

look at P on roster, most are 6'2"  and 193 Give or take, esp the Fresh/soph on there. 

I always told my son....You never know who is watching!!!....His travel coach a college player...always told them to be dressed before you get out of vehicle, don't dress in the dugout....and never let anyone see your parents carry your stuff....and smile at everyone....

       
       
Totally agree with the never know who is watching thing.  But times change and now the big thing is to have team mesh shorts and warm up shirts.  Take your BP in those and then get in your uniform.  So I wonder how that changes things?

Originally Posted by 2019Dad:

Another way of thinking about it is: "research has demonstrated a clear relationship between body mass and pitching velocity" See http://www.gammonsdaily.com/bo...-sabathia-conundrum/  So if that is true, the kid who is likely to gain body mass is more likely to gain velocity. FWIW, the relationship between body weight and velocity was apparently noticed here on HSBBW a number of years ago http://www.community.hsbasebal...peed-and-body-growth (Topic: Interesting Correlation Between Pitching Speed and Body Growth)

 

That research didn’t say body mass was the most important factor in velocity. It said Body mass and 9 temporal and kinematic parameters related to pitching mechanics combine to account for 68% of the variance in ball velocity for a collegiate population of athletes.

 

 

There are still a bunch of old redneck coaches and scouts in baseball. And there are things they like to see and things they don't. I will mention a few but I am sure there are more.

They like kids that look like ball players, hat on correctly, shirt tucked in, know where your glove is, a little bit of hustle, and head always in the game.

 

 A lot of baseball guy's I know don't like loud offensive music while your rolling into the parking lot, come hurrying in half dressed, outlandish ed tattoos piercings and haircuts unless you can hit like Harper, talking while the coach is talking, these types of guys really do still respect the game and want the youngsters to also........If your coach is Snoop Dog then disregard the above.

I think the team mesh shorts and warm up shirts are ok as long as it is a team they are playing on thing. My son's last 2 years of travel ball his team did that. Lots of them are playing in college now. They did have standards for even that though. shirts tucked in, hat on correctly, tennis/ turf  shoes - not slides etc

How do these two project?

       
       
Snoop dog would be a great coach!  I'm in.

My kids showcase team requires them to be in full uniform when entering the parking lot to the venue they are playing at.  Like said before, you never know who is watching.  If its an old school coach who does not like to see the shorts and t-shirts then you have that covered.  Better safe then sorry.  Don't want to miss out on an opportunity 

Originally Posted by joes87:

My kids showcase team requires them to be in full uniform when entering the parking lot to the venue they are playing at.  …

 

What is a “showcase” team?

This is one of those phrases that means nothing but passes for some strange sort of wisdom.  If you think you can put a competitive baseball team together without players with bad haircuts and tattoos listening to hip hop or some other wild music - GOOOOOD LUCK.

 

Did Barry Bonds respect the game while he was an all time great and then not so much when he became greater while taking steroids while being a world class a-hole the entire time?

 

How about Manny Ramirez in any of the hundreds of ways he was crazy?

 

Ted Williams practicing his swing in left field while the game was going on?

 

Any number of guys starting with Babe Ruth showing up to the park hung over or intoxicated?

 

Mariano coming in from the bullpen to Enter Sandman?

 

Actually what I think people are trying to convey and doing so very badly is this:  it is hard to take a player seriously if he doesn't have the right level of commitment to his talent.  None of the examples I gave of various knuckleheads and silly things detracts from the seriousness of all of the players when it came time for them to perform.

 

If you are a marginal player looking for a spot - then understanding the decision maker and what makes them tick is a good idea.  If I ran a baseball team in 2015 and a scout told me not to draft someone because he listens to Snoop then I think it is time for some new scouts.

 

   

Trying to differentiate a little bit between your run of the mill travel team and a team that is geared to college recruiting.  

       
       
What a professional athlete or a movie star or anybody else does or reveals after they become a success should not even be in this type of comparison.You go go right ahead and send your 17 year old boy to a baseball camp with saggy pants and flashing gang signs and all the disrespectful crap that goes with it, and then hold your breath and wait for the phone to ring.