My son is 14 and is pitching 77mph. He is a young freshman and has excellent control and change up. He is about 5'7 140 and just seemed to be growing. is this a good highschool speed and I winter what mph progression he will make pin 3yrs when he is a senior. I hope he has a scholarship opportunity, he is very smart, #4 in class of 300.
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I'm no expert, but will just offer my opinion.
First off... 77mph for a 9th grader is very competitive, especially for his current build. Second... good control, and the ability to throw a change-up is also a plus for his age. Many kids do not want to throw change-ups at younger ages, until they figure out that a good one can be their best pitch.
Third... absolutely no way to tell you how hard he will throw as a junior/senior. No one knows how big/strong he will get. I have coached kids who were that size at 14-15, and they got stronger, but didn't get any taller. They went from 78 to 83. Let the progression take care of itself. If he's throwing 90+ in a couple of years, be thankful. Plenty of kids grow, but still don't throw that hard. A good work-ethic and learning the craft of pitching is more important than max velocity. Velocity will come with work-ethic, natural growth, and improved mechanics over time.
Fourth... while there are never any guarantees, a lefty throwing in the mid-80s with good command of the strike zone will earn $$ to go play ball somewhere. You just can't sit around and wait for the scouts to fall out of the sky. Since your son is doing extremely well academically, he will have a lot of options, should he continue in that regard.
Good luck!
Thanks for the feedback. He is skipping 14u this year and going to play 15u since he is a freshman. A lot of parents hold back their kids, and we trout of it but I think he will be ok. The extra year of growth would of helped, but he was just too bright.
you're doing the right thing. If he has already played a year of HS ball, there is absolutely no reason to play 14U. That would not help his development at all.
Moving him up to 15u is the right thing to do. Once a kid is competent on the 60/90 field he should play up to his level ability rather than with his age. Often talented sophs in high school have to play with seniors.
Dont worry about velocity while your son is going through his major growth spurt. Keep an eye on his mechanics. Some kids grow so fast it throws off their physical capabilities. After the growth spurt may be a good time to look into pitching coaches.
When my son was in 8th grade he turned fourteen in May. He was 5'4" when school ball started. He was 5'11" when fall ball ended. My son never played in his age group starting with 7th grade. He played with his grade when he could have played another year of LL and 13u. After that he played up two years.
"I hope he has a scholarship opportunity, he is very smart, #4 in class of 300. "
That will get him much more scholarship money than baseball will. I'm not knocking his baseball ability at all but the grades will bring in more money. OR, if he continues to improve he'll be able to parlay his baseball talents and academic talents and be admitted to Vandy or Standford or an Ivy.
