High School Tryout and Pitching Velocity

At my son's HS (enrollment 2130 this year) a LHP who could touch 70 and had even a vague idea of what he was doing on the mound would be a lock to make at least the freshmen team.  

In 2012 they had two freshmen LHP (out of about 20 freshmen that made the team, and about 35-40 who tried out), one was 70-75 with good control and secondary pitches, and was the #1/#2 starter on JV, the other was 62-66 with fairly poor control and probably the #3 guy on the freshmen team.  JV guy was much more physically mature, though somewhat short/stocky, and apparently not a great student. Freshmen guy perhaps slightly more projectable body type, not sure on the academics.

I don't think projecting either to play college (or pro) ball at 15 (then) would be much more than a WAG. HS head coach has previously expressed a belief that anyone who plays varsity ball in HS can find a place to play in college, and every graduating senior last season had an offer to play somewhere (though a few passed to go to more challenging academic situations).

Hey Bum, I know just what you mean. My guy is not very tall either and did some pitching last year. Since everyone loves tall pitchers, I tried to encourage my son to be a hitter and work on his fielding.

Since your guy is a lefty and has a good feel for the zone maybe his height will not keep him back.

Good luck to Bum jr. as he begins his HS career! Mine hopes to at least make the JV team as our school has a Freshman, JV, and Varsity.

If your boy can hit, they'll find a slot for him on JV at my kid's school.  He's a little vertically challenged for 1B so I'd have him doing lots of OF work to show that he can track a fly ball.  And keep working on the hitting, as well as bunting and situational hitting.  As for pitching, yeah, the velocity is not impressive, but if he can throw strikes in practice, he'll get a chance to pitch, and if he gets outs, he'll get more chances.  But you never know who else is going to be on the team so it would be good to be ready to play OF.  As for college, why worry about that?  Go play JV and have fun.  It's not like DI colleges are giving scholarships to high school freshmen.

...oh, wait....

At that size I would say that he will have an up hill battle , but who knows...... he might  end up in the pros someday.  one step at a time

Bum....I think Bum, Jr. will do just fine! 

My LHP Freshman / 2017, can only hope to follow in his footsteps!.....then hopefully, I can provide words of wisdom...similar to Bum, Sr..

In your dream, if Bum Jr. was a right hander, do you think he would have had a chance?

What level of pro-ball is Bum Jr. at now?   

It's hard to have much credibility answering this question if you have any idea about how the non-dream Bum, Jr. turned out, so I think I'll just answer this question generically.

After having watched kids progress through HS for a while now, I've come to the conclusion that size and strength as a freshman don't really matter much.  The good coaches have learned not to pigeon-hole kids based on those things, and the "pretty good pitcher and hitter" part of Bum's description would stand out more than the 5'6", 140 lbs, or even the 68-70 velocity.  Oh yeah, and the LHP part - I agree 100%with jacjacatk on that one.  A young LHP with a decent idea of what he's doing, even without great velocity, probably gets an opportunity at JV at least.  If he consistently gets guys out at JV (or JVC, wherever he starts out), he'll move up quickly, and the same is true of the ability to become a starter - regardless of whether he starts out as a reliever or not, if he consistently gets guys out, his role will grow.

Anyway, the development of some combination of strength, velocity, size, command either will come or it won't, but it's much more LIKELY to come if you have a kid who starts off with some idea of what he wants to do, is persistent, has a good work ethic, is coachable, and has a great attitude.

What I would probably tell dream Bum, Jr. is to work hard, not let any lack of immediate success get him down, and if he approaches things with the same attitude he displays as a freshman, his opportunity will very likely come sooner than later.  When it does, be prepared and make the most of it!

Yes, he would have had a chance.  Just not as a LHP.

Think BIG, if you don't things won't happen.

HS baseball should be about giving the best the opportunity, not just the biggest.

When DK was a senior there was a freshman who made varsity right out of the box. He was small, thin and I don't think he was past 70 as a RHP.

He came into relieve after DK who at that time was hitting over 90.

Can you imagine how those hitters felt after trying to keep up with 90 now they were totally thrown off balance.

We called him the secret weapon.

By the time he was a senior he was tall (almost 6ft), still lanky and hitting 90.  He was D1 behavior talent wise, but he had poor grades so most schools would not take him  on in baseball.

 My son's HS coach had a similar tactic.  The ace had a 93-94 mph FB (he was drafted in the 6th round in 2012).  He was often relieved by the junk ball pitcher who barely broke 80 with his FB, but had a nasty curve that literally dropped off the table.  Made the batters look silly as they tried to adjust to a much slower pitch.

Well I think I can attack this one. I am a dad of a 2017 that turns 15 seconod to last day of this year.he is aLHP that has placed second a usssa state as a 13yr old and 14 yr old. Pretty good pitcher that can hit 70 but cruises about 65 weighs exactly 140 and is 5'8". Entered tryouts for his 6a in August of this year. Enrollment is about 1600 in his high school. Made the team but January 2 is when practice starts and he will get a shot at JV or the freshmen team. So overall as a dad the boy has a decent work ethic is a 3.5 gpa student. I am 6'3" so I am hoping we have more upside to come I was a late bloomer. I am terribly nervous for him. I am sweating way more bullets then he is. I do think he has a natural talent that I was not born with. What he does with it is up to him I do pay for a pitching coach for him. I just love to watch him pitch and play. He is a decent 1b as well. But time will tell where it all goes.

i believe this was my first post.

welcome!

okballdad,

Welcome. Where are you located? Here in Ca baseball doesn’t start until Feb.

There’s no reason to sweat bullets. Unless he does something pretty stupid, he’s going to play. The question then becomes, will he on the Fr, JV, or V, and then will he be a regular starter or one of the kids who has to continue to work hard to earn playing time let alone a starter’s job.

Here’s the trick. Everything depends so much on the situation, there’s really no way to guess what’s in store for him. There are programs out there where he’d be the stud #1 pitcher on the V as a Fr, and some programs where he wouldn’t get more than an inning or two on the Fr team. It really doesn’t have as much to do with his skills as it does with the skills of the other players on the team.

Having said that, my best advice would be to sit back and enjoy the next 4 years because its likely they’ll be your last opportunity to share in his experience to the degree of watching every game, meeting all his teammates, and sharing all the highs and lows.

We are in Oklahoma. Scrimmages start mid February,season begins march 1st. So practice begins first day back from Christmas break. We are in same district as the mighty owasso high school. That went 36-0 on there way to state title this year. I have always been a worry wort. My son not so much. He loves baseball and I have supported his dream, but make sure he takes care of the academic side. and I will make sure I enjoy the next four years. I am sure he would make starter on the freshmen team, just hoping he gets a shot at JV. I am keeping all this to myself Not trying to influence his decision making with my perspective, but will answer if he asks me.

Welcome aboard okballdad!

Don't worry, everything will be fine!  Trust this as sage advice!

Owasso HS, didn't Pete Kozma (SS STL class of 07) attend that school?

That's the one and only. Larry turner the owasso head coach is a major draw for anyone in the area. People move into his district just to play for him. His grandson is a sophomore playing for him now. And he is a big boy.

sorry to high jack the thread Bum