GREAT YOUNGMAN

It couldnt happen to a nicer kid and a great family

He has a great future ahead of him

Size does make a difference. Last Friday I was at our HS game and both pitchers threw 87-89 consistently on the stalker. Both hit 90. Both had decent off speed pitches. I didn't see a scout with a gun, although there's enough room that one or two could have been at the scorer's table without my being able to see them.

Just wondering why he is attracting so much attention? I think it's great and wish him luck but he's only (and I use that loosely)throwing 88 mph. Is it cause of his size and potential that scouts are all over him? Im not saying only 88 mph as a bad thing cause many people wish they could throw that hard, but I could go almost anywhere and find a kid with that velocity, who has a little more experience pitching, and has very refined off speed pitches. I can go through my pitching staff and I have 3 guys that can throw 88mph, consistently 86-88 and hitting 89. Ones a 5'10 lefty entering the draft this year, ones a 6'6 righty with a lot of work to be done on his mechanics, and the other is a 6'2 righty with really good movement. They have attracted some attention but nothing like this kid. Is this because of his size and "freshness" of his arm? Or am I missing something about the article?

Chief

The young man has been over the 90 mark AND he is just learning how to pitch

He has great "make up"---we will see what we will see come draft time but in the meantime he is set to attend Duke

No offense to you and your program but he has been at the right places at the right time--- life is all about right time /right place---be it baseball or anything else--he has been fortunate to do the right things to help himself

Chief,

We have had him in the 90s before. He's a very athletic and intelligent and big pitcher. His arm works nicely and he shows an extremely good feel for the mound. He shows some good ability with the secondary pitches as well. This all makes him project off the charts.

I believe growing up as a catcher has actually helped him as a pitcher. He was a very good but 6 foot 7 catcher who could really hit. He even runs fairly well! He could pop 2.00 and under.

Signability could be an issue. We all know Duke is a great academic school. Freiman is listed in our database carrying a 4.87 GPA and scored an unbelievable 1540 SAT. He's very much a student.

Perhaps the biggest difference though, regarding the attention he's getting vs the 3 pitchers you mentioned, is everyone in scouting knows about him. They don't have to like him, but they can not afford to ignore him.

Thats great for the kid and I wish him well. I was thinking a 6'7 catcher would be kinda odd. Our 6'6 pitcher catches in the pen sometimes just when our catchers are doing something else, and it looks quite funny.

I remember sitting with TRHit at the College Select Showcase that year after watching Nate Frieman catch. I was sitting outside the pressbox helping Tom evaluate his players. Tom came out and I called him over and said that Nate needs to go on the mound. Little did I know Tom had just said that to a college coach sitting in the pressbox with him.

Nate went out and pitched and did very well. But he was not convinced that Tom and I were right. A few weeks later he went to Perfect Game and the scouts there suggested the same thing to him. All of a sudden he was a pitcher.

I saw him at the East Coast Professional Showcase and he did a great job there. But both him and his dad just came over to say hello and thank me (of which all I did was make a suggestion). I know that they speak to Tom a lot. This is a down-to-earth family that I wish the best for. This young man is a terrific person as well as a player.

I agree with Jerry that signability could be a problem, but I think it will depend on how quickly Duke hires a new coach after the draft. But with the coaching uncertainty at Duke I can see Frieman entertaining the idea of signing. Either way this young man has a professional future.

UPDATE

Nate was just named Conference MVP for the 2nd consecutive year

Season Stats for those who are into them:7 7-0 with one save --57 IP--ERA of 0.32 --- 82 K's and 10 Walks

In a recent game he pitched a 9 inning complete game , throwing 104 pitches and never going to 3 balls on any batter

Nate-- as they say "you have come a long way, baby!"

Good luck at Duke

WOW, sounds like he is "off and running" good luck to the lad.

CV

The Cherry on top of the Cake---Nate has just been named GATORADE PLAYER Of THE YEAR in the his home state of Massachussetts.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the draft on Tuesday and Wednesday

TR
I hate to break it to you , but MLb scouts rarely draft Duke signings high or at all in the MLB draft. mainly because they almost always attend Duke no matter where they are drafted. Plus college scholarship is $140,000 MLB teams have to pick that up too.

Same goes for stanford and ivy league colleges


Hey what movie you are gonna see next. Let me guess sisterhood of the traveling pants. I am seeing Mr and Mrs Smith next

Folks-- I promised my momma I would be good from now on where DRIVEL is concerned--

NO ReSpONSE

TR,

Thanks for your restraint in not responding. You have always been a class act and that continues. You have helped my family and my son immeasurably with great advice and kindness. However, in my few years of reading the posts on this site, I have never responded substantively about Nate until now, but this is a good time to do so.

I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to the many people out there who I may never know but who have hugely impacted my family's lives and that of my son Nate. To Bob H., TR, PG Staff, Fungo, Tiger Paw Mom (please say hi to me if Nate has the good fortune of pitching against Clemson at some point), Catcher Mom 03, Beenthere and the countless others (I know I could name many more here) who have given great advice and support, who have been kind enough to pass on their considerable wisdom and experience to us, heartfelt thanks. Words cannot express the depths of our gratitude and appreciation for all you have done for Nate without in most instances even knowing him at all. Whatever the future holds for him, all of you have played a role in helping him along the way and we will be forever grateful. Among the best pieces of advice I ever received was from the mother of one of Nate's teammates a few years ago who said that you had to go to http://www.hsbaseballweb.com. Boy, was she ever right. She also told me to connect up with and listen to Tom Rizzi. Hugely right again.

I don't know what this week holds for Nate. However, whatever happens, the Freiman family is eternally richer for having been directed to this site and the many people who post on it that mean so well. We are so glad that that tradition will be continuing. In the interim, thank you all again and all best wishes to your sons (and daughters of course too, sorry) in their baseball travels regardless of whatever level they are at. I just drove by a little league field in a nearby town where Nate played at when he was 11. Everything seemed the same except that Nate is 7 years older. The blink of an eye. Enjoy the ride.

Great post!

Best wishes to Nate this week. Whether his path leads to college or direct to the pros, it sounds like he will be a great success.

And to the rest of "our boys" who also might have some excitement this week, here's wishing you the very best outcome, and please share your stories with the rest of the members.

I did not see that Nate was drafted? Why not? He was top 50 among HS pitchers according to BA and he had a good season.

Lots of kids with solid college situations dont get drafted and some just flat out want to go to school---teams do their homework and make the decision not to waste a pick now-- the player will be there three years later

For your info--Josh Zeid the highest rated pitcher in CT did not get drafted either--He is headed to Vanderbilt

Nate is headed to Duke

Not bad options for either of the two young men