lack of velocity

what has he been doing since this summer?   Did he take time off?

can you compare video from this summer?  check mechanics and frames,  he may be moving slower.

If he just started throwing again,  my experience is that they do drop off some initially as they are getting back in baseball shape but he should catch back up quickly. 

Winter showcasing runs this risk.  I would actually prefer that a pitcher be totally shut down in Nov-Dec and then just start throwing again, increasing gradually, from early January to the end of February. 

If there is no reason to believe he has an injury, it could be the layoff.  It could be winter weight/sluggishness.  It could be tightness from off-season weight lifting, especially if he played football in the fall and has done a lot of upper body work.

My thinking is, don't sweat it.  As long as he's fine during the spring and summer, there's plenty of time.

+1...I don't think this is uncommon...it is January...we are talking about January...I know of pro scout event held this past weekend where there were 30 scouts from 18 teams and about 20 pitchers.  Many/most all studs, D1 commits...I was told only 1 hit 90.  Pretty sure the scouts get it.

If he is in shape and ready to pitch, 6-8 mph drop would signify some problem.  Could be mechanics, health, or even mental.  I wouldn't ignore that big of a dip in velocity. 6-8 mph is just too much for a pitcher that is physically ready to pitch.

Has he grown a lot since July?  Is it possible the gun was off? Is it possible the gun in July was off? If or when he is game ready, check that velocity again.  Once again, if there is that much drop, there is a problem of some sort.

I'm with PG.  My son had a drop (2-3ish mph) in the fall when he had recently and quickly lost 40 pounds.  He put back on about 15-18 pounds of muscle and set 89-91 in his first time back on the mound against live batters in a scrimmage yesterday.  That was setting a little higher than he finished the fall.  A 6+ mph drop has to be something.  

Don't think a layoff accounts for 6-8 MPH drop...something else at play here.  In fact, a few months off in Winter would / should not account for a drop, in fact arm should be pretty live after a break...assuming he was still staying fit, the throwing arm (or arm strength) is not what creates arm speed (velocity) it is how the core of the body moves into landing.  Too many people think we train the arm, and activities like long toss, or other training is not developing arm strength (technically speaking) but creating sequenced, powerful body movements that provide arm speed (whip).  I am guessing something else is going on.

Any chance you have a short clip video from either of these two events you could post a link to on here.  If you had a comparative link to a short clip before that would help even more, but if not, a recent video would work.  Also, what was actual MPH before the drop....any other changes?

He consistently(until now) sits 82-84; touching 86 a few times over the summer at D-1 fields ( both scoreboard and gunners behind screen).  He really hasn't thrown since August-mostly long toss 2x/wk at home or the local field + 1 bullpen 35 pitches,  but has worked out a lot on core, and mr. pushups.  He has gained about 20lbs since July-mostly muscle according to Pediatrician(He has to go every 3-4 months for other issues related to breathing.)

Problem: he is by age a 2016, but will graduate this yr-2015.  so, some coaches who had contacted now aren't-he's bummin'

No real video other than a couple PBR events.

So if I understand correct, he recently was sitting 75-ish?  If he followed the workouts you described, he should be fit to pitch, especially with the continued long toss, and bullpens. 

I can't see anything based on the information you have posted, that would account for such a high drop in velocity.  I guess to your original post, yes I would be concerned.  Maybe there is a qualified pitching instructor who has seen him before, that can make an assessment on his current mechanics.

If you'd like, you can take a short (maybe 2-3 throws from mound at game speed) from the 1B side (if RHP, or 3B side for LHP), and post here...would be glad to offer opinion.  Also would like to see the PBR video to compare.

That's a significant gain of muscle. Has he lost some flexibility? Is he doing explosive push-ups, or just hundreds of standard push-ups? If he put on this much mass without some guidance from a fitness instructor who knows something about pitching, I would wonder about a muscle imbalance.

Our son had similar issue that he reached good velocities last Fall. Then, Son started to attend showcases in last winter (2014), but he was not able to repeat his best velo and in fact, his velocities were getting worse. His pitching coach says pitchers have their cycles, and Son's long season (15 straight months of pitching) may also be a fact. So he is at "Shut Down."

Will post more information if Son is able to reach his best velo, when he returns this upcoming HS season. 

This is what happened with 2016.Could be ,could he not stretched out enough depending on frame 20 lbs is a pretty good jump nothing much to say wooh but still 20lbs.in his core training can you talk with?I could see your guy is just not stretched out enough.If hes not telling you something hurts you'll get it figured out.Just keep in mind its Jan. We never will/have attended a winter showcase.

Flexibility could definitely account for some of the drop off...