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I don't know the answer, so I don't know what to tell him..........so I'll bounce it off you guys.

Through no fault of his (torn ACL at Jupiter last year) we are at this point very late in the recruiting process where our HS and Summer coaches are getting calls and scouts are watching to "see if he's healthy" as he didn't get to show much this summer.

Always had a good eye and walks a lot.

He's 2 weeks into fall.

School "fall ball" this is his line.........9 actual at bats, 1D and 1T, 1HBP, 1 line out to CF, 5BB.  He's swung at 4 pitches (1 foul ball).  Great OBP, but as they say in the Caribbean "you don't walk off the islands".

Showcase games 5 actual at bats, 1S, 3BB, 1FO to LC.  3 swings.

He's running fine, and back to playing OF, but he asks "do I need to start to open up my strike zone just to get swings, but then what am I showing/proving".

He's on a HS team (very successful in playoffs) where it has been ingrained that you do the little things that make the team better and carries this over to summer ball, so much so that he sac bunted on his own in Fort Myers 2 years ago w/ men on 1/2 to get the winning run in scoring position in the bottom of the 6th.

Thanks.

“I don’t scratch my head unless it itches and I don’t dance unless I hear some music. I will not be intimidated. That’s just the way it is.”

Last edited by russinfortworth
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My kid is a HIGH OBP and take a lot of pitches batter. He won't swing at a pitch one inch out of the strike zone and often will take a strike (or two) waiting for the pitch he wants to hammer. As a dad spectator, it's frustrating because hits make noise and get attention.

Meanwhile I know other kids who go up there aggressive and rip at the first close pitch because they're thinking 100% hitter and zero percent patience. And, those are the guys getting 2 or 3 hits a game and getting attention.

While my son won't budge, if your son is considering being more aggressive, you might want to endorse it.

Is he really seeing that few strikes? 0.5 swings per plate appearance is extremely few swings, in mlb the average is around 1.5 swings per plate appearance.

If you track his stats what is his percentage of called strikes?

In mlb about 1 in 6 pitches is a called strike. Is he seeing way fewer than that?



Be honest about that, sometimes those patient hitters actually take a lot of called strikes and then the parents say "he has a good eye so the ump must have betrayed them" which in some cases is right but in many cases the "way outside" pitch actually was more middle away and should have been hit.

So the interesting question is is he really not seeing strikes or is he making the pitcher throwing 2 or 3 pitches into the zone before he puts one in play?

If he sees one called strike in every PA correct call or not he probably is a bit too passive (in mlb there are about 0.6 called strikes per PA).

So if you track him next time also track his total number of called strikes. Don't worry about correct call or not, just take the overall number.

It is OK to occasionally take a called strike early in the count to get a better pitch but if he has more called strikes than plate appearances he probably is too passive

Last edited by Dominik85
@Dominik85 posted:

Is he really seeing that few strikes? 0.5 swings per plate appearance is extremely few swings, in mlb the average is around 1.5 swings per plate appearance.

If you track his stats what is his percentage of called strikes?

In mlb about 1 in 6 pitches is a called strike. Is he seeing way fewer than that?



Be honest about that, sometimes those patient hitters actually take a lot of called strikes and then the parents say "he has a good eye so the ump must have betrayed them" which in some cases is right but in many cases the "way outside" pitch actually was more middle away and should have been hit.

So the interesting question is is he really not seeing strikes or is he making the pitcher throwing 2 or 3 pitches into the zone before he puts one in play?

If he sees one called strike in every PA correct call or not he probably is a bit too passive (in mlb there are about 0.6 called strikes per PA).

So if you track him next time also track his total number of called strikes. Don't worry about correct call or not, just take the overall number.

It is OK to occasionally take a called strike early in the count to get a better pitch but if he has more called strikes than plate appearances he probably is too passive

Agree with everything that you are saying and appreciate the input / context. 

I looked at the book we keep at the school games (mind you I don't think we've seen anything +85 yet) 

He's had 5 pitches called a strike that he took.

Game 1

AB1 - Called Strike, Double

AB2 - B/B/B//Foul Ball/B

AB3 - B/CS/B/B/B

AB4 - LO CF

AB5 - B/HBP

Game 2

AB1 - B/B/Triple

AB2 - B/B/B/B

AB3 - B/B/B/CS/B

AB4 - CS (curve) /B/B/B/CS (curve)/B

And yes, in the Sunday games he's going deep into the count and taking pitches that are probably "hittable", but not what he was looking for.

I'll have him look that your response.

My son used to take a ton of pitches and walked a lot. I’d get the “not what I was looking for” after games. Took lots of curves for strikes. Then he set a goal for not taking strikes. I think he had 3 or 4 called strikes all summer. Funny thing happened, all of a sudden he was crushing curves. His approach now is if I can put a barrel I’m swinging. His OBP has suffered, but I’m sure a fly out to the warning track looks better than a 5 or 6 pitch walk.

Two truths … You can’t walk your way off the island AND you can’t walk your way to college ball. Hitters have to hack away and drive the ball.

After one strike prospects have to stop zoning and hack away. The pitchers are showing their stuff too. While they may be wild they’re all trying to throw strikes. Assume they’re going to throw strikes.

My son was that type of hitter up until the summer before his senior year, he learned to get a lot more aggressive and hunt fastballs early in the count. His walk rate went down, his batting average went down maybe even slightly, but his slugging percentage went Way up. Now that he’s a freshman in his first College fall practices and scrimmages, it’s serving him well to be much more aggressive in games. The coaches recruited him to drive the ball into the outfield, And ideally over the outfielders head. I don’t think any of the coaches who seriously recruited him ever mentioned anything about on base percentage.

Last edited by 3and2Fastball

I do not like the walk too and you may not be able to walk off an island but you can strike out of your way to recruitment. It may be a tall ask to change an approach during the season and I am not a fan of adding more stress to a hitter. Yes this is a small sample but he is hitting balls in his "zone". I agree separate the "exposure" by going to a showcase.

It must be frustrating during games where you want to show you can hit but can't because no one is throwing strikes. I would say if the league your playing in has just straight up horrible pitching you should attend a reputable showcase full of solid talent to show it. You aren't going to get on the radar for schools if you only show you can walk and not swing the bat. Show aggression but not to where your just swinging at horrible pitches. I had a similar issue as a pitcher where I would throw pitches pretty much down the pipe because no one was swinging and mistake pitches ended up being strikes because hitting was so bad when I played. I ended up doing a few showcases that summer against solid hitting and was able to show that I can do an at bat against good hitting. You should do the same but as the hitter.

Agree with everything that you are saying and appreciate the input / context.

I looked at the book we keep at the school games (mind you I don't think we've seen anything +85 yet)

He's had 5 pitches called a strike that he took.

Game 1

AB1 - Called Strike, Double

AB2 - B/B/B//Foul Ball/B

AB3 - B/CS/B/B/B

AB4 - LO CF

AB5 - B/HBP

Game 2

AB1 - B/B/Triple

AB2 - B/B/B/B

AB3 - B/B/B/CS/B

AB4 - CS (curve) /B/B/B/CS (curve)/B

And yes, in the Sunday games he's going deep into the count and taking pitches that are probably "hittable", but not what he was looking for.

I'll have him look that your response.

Be more aggressive, can't walk off the island, crowd the plate, etc.... @russinfortworth I just wanted to point something out. Kid roped a double his 1st AB in game 1. Then proceeded to hit a triple his 1st AB in game 2. From those points onward he likely didn't see much over the plate.

With some quick calculations, he is batting with a 666 average, 889 OBP, 2.555 OPS

I know this is only through 2 games (very small sample size) but if it ain't broke don't fix it! @2022NYC makes a great point. 

On a side note, it also matters where you bat in the lineup. Some guys will get pitched around to no matter the level of competition. It helps to have some protection behind you.

My son had a similar approach (only swing at pitches in his zone that he could drive, unless he had two strikes) because that was what he was taught coming up.  This resulted in a high on base percentage but quite a few walks mixed in with hits.  However, the summer after his freshman year, he began playing on a high quality travel program that attended more showcase type tournaments where more emphasis was placed on being seen by college coaches than on winning.  We both soon realized that the college coaches were not watching games to see guys walk.  Instead, they wanted to see which guys could hit the best pitchers.  As a result, my son began expanding "his zone" and became more aggressive early in the count.  He would also often swing at pitches 3-0 or 3-1 that were borderline balls/strikes that he would not swing at in a HS game, as he would rather get another hack in than walk (Note:  His travel coach encouraged him to do this).  In the end, this change in approach worked because he was recruited primarily based on how he hit at his travel ball tourneys.  As he finishes up his HS career and moves on to college, he will modify his approach to be more team oriented again (take on 3-0 if the pitch isn't grooved), but I will encourage him to stay aggressive because that is what has gotten him to where he is.     

Are there really showcase pitchers who pitch around guys? Sure in school ball it can make sense to be careful with the middle of the order and then throw the 7,8,9 guys some heat down the pipe to escape the jam but if I was a scout I don't want to see how the fastball and breaker plays against the 8th hitter but I want to see how it plays against the good guys. Sure getting nuked isn't great either but if I'm a college recruiter I want to see his stuff against the good guys (as most college hitters hit middle of the line-up in HS)

My boys generally change their approach at the plate depending on the coach. In travel they are aggressive and will many times cut at the first pitch as it may be the best pitch they see. In HS ball, the coach will rip them for taking a swing at the first pitch as he wants to see them get deep into the count due to the limited number pf pitchers. That is his strategy. He generally doesn't chew on them if they get a base hit on the first pitch, but lord help them if they miss or roll over it. I will say that my boys have a hard time not hitting a grooved first pitch fast ball in HS ball. I have always encouraged them to be aggressive hitters no matter who they play for. Walks may improve their OBP, but to make an impression they have to be hitters.     

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