How important is speed

Well you definately have great speed. Speed is valued because it's something that can't be teached. It can be improved with a track coach though... This also, helps you in the recruting process because you can play a variety of positions.
By the way hitting .380 sounds good to me.

The first time you watch a major college game after years of watching or playing high school ball, the most impressive difference is the speed of the game. College coaches aggressively recruit fast players who can field their position capably and hit reasonably well. As a result, it may look like the college players are playing at "fast forward" speed.

Since you brought up your fielding, I'll share the thought that while one is blessed with speed, good fielding is principally a learned attribute. Keep working hard at it, and the combination will reward you.

Best of luck to you!

For a position player, the most important thing is your stick. Speed is a secondary consideration that will help you.

Our thinking regarding speed


Last year the # 1,2 and 3 hitters in our lineup were 6.8 or better in the 60

We also like speed and defense in the outfield and make sacrifice some "stick" get that

How much speed helps you can be a direct result of how a coach approaches the game and his team make up

Brent Brewer, 60th pick in the 2006 MLB draft. My son played with him so I got to watch him up close. Glove: C (at best, at SS), Arm: C, Bat B, Speed: A+

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So True TR...

quote:

How much speed helps you can be a direct result of how a coach approaches the game and his team make up

Here are the ends of the spectrum...

Went to Corvallis to see Oregon State last year...I love to look for things that stick in my mind on such trips...one of the first things that struck me with OSU was the tremendous outfield speed...and the Beavers used it to great effect offensively as well...bunting, stealing...

Contrast that to Arizona State who often populated their outfield with massive DH Types, and as a result had some staggering offensive #'s last season.

Which is right? Neither, exclusively...

...and while no one is going to turn down speed, and I am sure that OSU would love to have the big guys, and ASU would certainly use the speed...

...in order to maximize your chance for success, you ought to be aware when looking at schools what your skill set is and how it matches up with program philosophy.

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quote:

Originally posted by obrady:
Brent Brewer, 60th pick in the 2006 MLB draft. My son played with him so I got to watch him up close. Glove: C (at best, at SS), Arm: C, Bat B, Speed: A+

If he was the 60th player taken, I doubt it was because of his speed. It had to be that scouts projected his arm, bat and glove far better/higher than he was playing/performing. In effect, scouts had to believe that his bat was going to catch up with his speed at some point and his glove and arm were also going to improve considerably with the coaching and playing in Milb.

Infielddad,

I know the kid, personally.

PG write up:

PG Report Brent Brewer is a 2006 shortstop/outfielder from Fairburn, GA with a very athletic body at 6-2, 190 lbs. athletic actions, good feet, very good range, strong arm, he can fly, 6.28 in the 60 with a 4.19 home to 1st, good bat speed, line drive swing plane, needs to adjust approach, shows power potential, very highest level athlete with good draft potential.

If you check his stats from the Brewers, yes, Brewer was drafted by the Brewers, he plays for the West Virgina team, you'll see he's amde around 30 errors this season. He has a strong arm, but tends to throw the ball away. The rest are just, well OK.

quote:

I know the kid, personally.

I am not at all questioning or disagreeing with your information and observations on the player's current ability, strengths and weaknesses.
My point is that some scout, in this case, the Brewer's, projects him to play at a much higher level and and also projects the hitting, fielding and throwing skills will improve considerably with professional coaching and playing every day.
That is why the draft is so darn hard to figure out. If this young man ran a 6.28 and didn't have other highly projectable skills, he might not have been drafted in any round.

Speed you either have it or you don't.

However I do think the 60 time is over rated. If you want to really time a BASEBALL player time home to 2nd and home to 3rd. how a base runner turns the bases makes all the difference. There are many 6.7 and 6.8 runners who can circle the bases faster then a 6.3 and 6.4 runner. When is the last time running 60 yards straight meant anything in baseball?

Ryno,
I don't agree with either of your statements.
There have been amazing developments in strength and technique training focused on speed which demonstrate very clearly that significant improvement in speed can be taught. I doubt you will find any strength and conditioning coach in a major college program who would agree with your position. With good coaching and improvement in technique, and plenty of player effort, your 60 time and speed on a baseball field can improve, sometimes dramatically.
So far as the 60 time is concerned, nearly every scout will want to know your time. That 60 time correlates well with positions you might be able to play in professional baseball. Our son showed me a recently published article that studies speed as a factor in professional baseball. Very interesting points are how speed correlates with position and that speed of the players is the best at the AA level.
Some reasons are provided including the talent of the players, the effort being given, and the continued development of the players/speed from A ball to AA ball.
If anything, speed in baseball is vastly underrated and the recent success of the Oregon St program is a shining example.

Perhaps you are not understanding my comments. First you can indeed improve on technic and slice a couple tenths of a second off a time based on form however you can't take a 7.3 guy in AA and make him a 6.5 guy. As far as my quote on the 60 being over rated again let me explain 20 yard times would be more effective in determining a players quickness. Home to 2nd and Home to 3rd would showcase a players ability to turn corners and to break off a bag properly. Running a world class 60 at say 6.1 or 6.2 can not demonsrtate how you run the bases. When sprinting for a fly ball do you tuck and run or do you reach and look? Running a 60 yard sprint is a long way from determining whether you can track a ball or run the bases under control.And as far as the 60 determining the position you can play well that somewhat of a given when looking at OF and that's why a 20 yard sprint would be a better indication for an infielders. Now Oregon St utilizes the small game very well but so does many programs based on their talent pool and how the coach approaches a game to say Oregon St won because of their speed is not accurate.

RYNO,
I am not sure why you limit the speed analysis to running bases. Middle infielders chasing balls into foul ground, Texas leaguers and the like are in need of speed. You cannot play outfield in many of the minor league parks I have seen without significant speed. Running bases is only one part of speed.
As I said before, your speed will likely define your position, or at least the possible positions. If you are a 7.3 guy in AA, you likely have options to catch and play 1B/3b and nothing else.
I agree that, normally, you are not going to get 7.3 to 6.5 improvement at the AA level, but players should not be waiting until they are 22/23 to focus on speed and technique.
Speed/running technique should be part of every weight training/strength and conditioning program from high school and beyond. Through that approach, players can have significant improvement which will expand the positions they can play, how well they play them, and, for some, how long they can play.

Hubby had the privilege of being the onsite doc at a to-be-nameless college showcase this past weekend, heavily attended by scouts. He enjoyed sitting in the midst of them and listening to the comments. Eventually got into a conversation with one guy who has represented several MLB organizations. Hubby was VERY surprised at how highly he and those organizations rated not only speed in the evaluations, but the WAY in which the player ran. I guess that would be considered part of his reading on the player's athleticism.

Speed isn't everything, but it appears to be very important to this particular scout.

Speed,....
Its a fiesty little bugger that usually helps to get the job done! Running in a straight line or running around the bases,....its a definite plus IMHO. Comes in quite handy when bunting!

Speed never hurt anyone.

If you can run, you don't have to talk about it.

If you can't run, you say that speed is irrelevant.

quote:

Originally posted by infielddad:
RYNO,
I am not sure why you limit the speed analysis to running bases. Middle infielders chasing balls into foul ground, Texas leaguers and the like are in need of speed. You cannot play outfield in many of the minor league parks I have seen without significant speed. Running bases is only one part of speed.
As I said before, your speed will likely define your position, or at least the possible positions. If you are a 7.3 guy in AA, you likely have options to catch and play 1B/3b and nothing else.
I agree that, normally, you are not going to get 7.3 to 6.5 improvement at the AA level, but players should not be waiting until they are 22/23 to focus on speed and technique.
Speed/running technique should be part of every weight training/strength and conditioning program from high school and beyond. Through that approach, players can have significant improvement which will expand the positions they can play, how well they play them, and, for some, how long they can play.

I agree, speed is not all about running bases.


Some coaches covet speed according to the
game they play. Speed is important in small ball, and not so important in long ball.

JMO.

Ok everybody perhaps no one has read my intial statement. What I stated was that I believe the 60 time is over rated in identifying baseball speed, baseball speed. They don't even time the 60 in football they do splits up to the 40. Never did I say you don't need speed in baseball as a matter of fact speed can and will open alot of doors. Now if you took split times 10, 20, and 30 yard times this would identify quick feet and reaction time. A 30 and 40 yard time would be a more accurate time in identifying Outfielders that's 120 feet. There are runners who are slow at start but have a strong top end. 60 yards is 180 ft literally clay to warning track not a good read for controled burst. Texas leaguers, pops behind 3rd and 1st these are 25 to 40 yard sprints not 60. The 60 yard sprint is a poor speed read for baseball, my opinion of course. My comment about home to 2nd and home to 3rd would show how a player runs the bases it would identify players who could leg out doubles and triples and would be a more accurate read of a base runner. Somebody please show me were the 60 gives an accurate reading on controled speed? Controled speed with a glove, chasing a ball that is fading toward you or away. The 10, 20, 30, and 40 yard split times would give a better reading on potential abilities. Just my opinion....