Downtime for Throwing for Position Players?

How does his arm feel right now? Did he play the usual amount of games this year or less games? How about practice?

He says his arm is feeling good. He played 45 games (Summer/Fall). HS team is doing the Driveline program - I think they are on week five. He's done that program at least one other off-season. He long-tossed a lot over the Spring/Summer/Fall. He's been doing some lifting, but he's about to give that some more concentration.

My PP kid is throwing thru the winter. Arm has felt good, he no longer pitches, and had less wear and tear on the arm this past 12 months. Also, more people we trust and respect are encouraging to continue throwing if no issues at all with arm fatigue or soreness. Seems like a lot of problems people have is in the ramp up phase when they start throwing again.

In high school my son didn’t throw from November until February. He hit and worked out all winter. The expectation was to be game ready March 1. He was a position player who pitched as a closer. He didn’t have starter mileage on his arm. Size and build is also a factor to consider for rest.

My kid is working with Tread. I was somewhat surprised how quickly they ramped him up and got on run & guns. He is a catcher and he tells me his arm feels great and the velo is looking good. I joked with him to consider pitching again. He said there are no jobs for 10 pitch then gassed hurlers.

Generally I would recommend players to take 4-6 weeks off completely from all baseball, hitting or throwing.

This doesn't just allow the body to heal but also refreshes you mentally and creates a new hunger for baseball. You can still do some lifting in that time to stay in shape if you want.

I would take off two weeks from all sports and then start lifting again and then in another 4 weeks or so start baseball again, at least for pre HS players.

But of course there are cases when it might not be advisable to take some time off for example when you are already late in recruiting.