Do you have to throw 90's to get a shot at MLB?

GOod point, Its amazing this year how many guys i see consistanty throwing mid to high 80's touching 90, 91 occasionally. things seem to be changing because last season virtually every pitcher i saw threw 95. I hate to bring it into the discussion but could steroids finally be making a way out and we notice first in pitchers velocities? (HGH is here still)

Look at the current Jamie Moyer. Most HS pitchers throw harder than him.

Keep in mind that just because you throw 90 plus that does not make you a pitcher--MLB looks for pitchers with heat

I went to a AA minor league game today and didn't see a single pitch over 88 MPH. On the other hand I went to a single A game a few weeks ago and saw several pitchers in the 90-92 range, several others stuck in the 80's. I don't know if this is unusual or just that radar readings are more available than in the past.

I've been watching this too. Seems most of the starters I've seen cruise in the 88-89 range. Once in a while you will see them bust one 91-92. Then you see the relievers come in. They will be mid 90's consistently. Seems like maybe you need to be able to get into the 90's, but don't have to cruise there - especially as a starter.

90 MPH or more gets the scouts out to see you. Once you are a pro, you gotta learn how to pitch.

Moyer was close to 90 when he signed. So was Greg Maddux. Most of these guys dial it down 2-3 for many reasons- command, movement, injury, etc. The reality is that these guys had to have the required minimum velocity to get a look. Once they made it and proved they could pitch, the stalker went away. Very much like the stop watch once a player made it.

25 man roster with 10 pitchers give or take, times 30 teams= You have to be extraordinary..I mean that vs a population of 300 million in just America means you might just as well go try to get hit by lightning..1 in 100 million is a huge ratio.
Does extraordinry mean 90 mph? My opinion is that it means you get guys out in all circumstances at every level in which they see you.
It's ironic, I was watching this guy in spring training and wondering much the same..sorta like did he know where the bodies were buried or have some compromising pictures of Dave Duncan or LaRussa??
90 will get eyeballs going your way but the whole game is the deal.

The answer is "NO", but it sure helps. Throwing over 90 and being over 6 feet tall and you will get you noticed, which may be the hardest part. As a scout told me; "pitchers under 6 foot and throw upper 80s are a dime a dozen".

with regards to throwing consistently to a spot, MLB pitchers cant even do it.

the BEST pitchers hit the target 50% of the time. (i watched 10 games over the last 2 weeks and counted hitting the glove versus the catcher moving the glove around 6 or more inches)

the average MLB pitcher hits in about 1/3 of the time

they just have better stuff and dont get hit AS hard when they miss. than again sometimes missing the glove works out better than hitting it

i have alway's said, 90 gets you signed.........getting hitters out keeps you moving.
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with regards to throwing consistently to a spot, MLB pitchers cant even do it.
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i disagree on this. you watch a mlb bullpen the guy's are like william tell. you don't get called up if you can;t hit your spots.

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Originally posted by 20dad:

i disagree on this. you watch a mlb bullpen the guy's are like william tell. you don't get called up if you can;t hit your spots.

i dono what that first sentence means.
but ive rarely see an MLB pitcher hit the target twice in a row

quote:

i dono what that first sentence means.
but ive rarely see an MLB pitcher hit the target twice in a row

I would second that. I would agree though that on "occasion" almost every pitcher in the bigs can hit his spots and when he does he does the no-hitter or the rare perfect game. There have been a few in the past that have had impeccable control- Greg Maddux is one who readily comes to mind.

I have heard that hitting spots in the bigs is like a 60% average, the other 40% of the time they miss. It's up to a great catcher to know when and how the pitcher is gonna miss to make it more difficult for a great hitter to put it in play.

Take pitch types for example- The hard breaking curveball for a lot of mlb pitchers never comes anywhere near the strike zone and the catcher is usually moving one direction or the other to track it in his glove. The same can be said for the hard change-up because of its lack of controlability- if its low then its good- thats hitting the spot. The 2 strike high fastball out of the zone is another pitch that is difficult to control because the pitcher is usually putting a little extra gas on it to blow it by the batter.

Very rare is it indeed that a pitcher has just pinpoint control of all his pitches over the coarse of 7-9 innings. He may have pretty good control with one or two of his pitches and hit his spots in the general area 60-705 of the time, but almost impossible to throw all pitches and locate them with impeccable control.