LHP High School Expectations

CTdad,

 

Welcome!  Maybe I'm not qualified to answer your question.  None of my kids were a lefty, I'm not much of an expert, but I do qualify as a veteran.

 

The thing is I know the answer to your question... There is no answer that will help you.  Every kid is different and they don't all progress at the same rate or even the same amount.  Even to venture a guess a person would have to know much more about your son and see him pitch.

 

That said a kid your sons's age throwing around 80 as a LHP is very very good. On the average, which doesn't really mean anything to an individual, figure on about 3mph per year increase in velocity for a few years.  But once again, it could be higher or lower than that.

 

Best of luck to him.

My son went into high school as a scrawny little lefty.  Only made V because of his defensive glove.  The coach did however really like him as a pitcher.  He threw strikes, albeit at around the low to mid 70's and could hold a runner on. He was just an inning chewer for non-district games, but that was okay with him.  So this coach only cared that he threw strikes, he knew he would develop and he has done so nicely.

 

So, in a nutshell, if your kid can throw strikes consistently, the speed won't really matter at this point.

CTdad,

 

I am a relative newcomer here too, and my only baseball player is also a 2017. While there are some great documents linked from the home page, I think you'll find that the discussion forum here is more geared to toward the issue of how high school players get to the next level, either college or pro, than it is to the actual playing of high school ball, making the team, etc.

 

Not that there is anything wrong with that. It is what it is and the board is a great resource populated with very smart, very experienced, very generous baseball people. 

 

I'm  not sure exactly how the board could be much more geared toward the playing of HS ball itself.  It's so different from area to area and from school to school. Your son, for example, if he can thrown strikes at that velocity would be #1 JV starter at one school, a Varsity starter and another, and an outfielder at a third. 

 

Good luck to your boy in HS.  Tryouts are first week of Feb here in Norcal.

And how did that change by the end of his senior year?

First off welcome CTdad!!

 

If you want to look at all of the possible velocity progressions that are out there I suggest looking at PG's website.  Pick schools from top 25 to whatever other levels you want.  From their commit list select pitchers and for a lot of them you will see where they were as Frosh until now.  Lots of data points for sure.

 

You will find velocity all over the board, but you can get an idea of "natural" progressions.  Some better and some worse but you can definitely find trends.  You also will get a feel for what a school is looking for in their pitchers if that is a goal.

Welcome. Rather than worry about velocity focus on finding the best pitching development plans. The focus should be on becoming the best pitcher possible rather than a number. Even if everyone here gave you the same number whether or not your son makes the team depends on the baseball coach.

 

You can never tell what a coach is thinking. At my son's high school two questionable pitchers made the freshman team. They both had size. But at the time they were from a throwing standpoint what I call pussers (slow). One is now pitching in college. He developed to throw mid 80s with command. The other didn't make varsity until senior year and bombed out in two appearances. 

Left-hand freshman touching 80?.. he should have a lot of fun pitching in HS. if he can throw strikes I'd say you will have a lot of enjoyment ahead... buy lots of sunflower seeds, get him into gyms in the offseason and get a summer team that he loves to play for.  best wishes, it should be fun to follow his career.

If he is LHP throwing low 80's, high 70's, his velo will be fine.  I agree with RJM that he should work on complete pitching development - mechanics, arm care, game management, mental toughness, etc.

 

Best wishes and enjoy the journey.

How hard does a LHP have to throw around here to make the team (Freshmen/JV in this case at a 1600 kid school)? If he has a vague idea of where the strike zone is, fast enough to get it there.  Literally, sitting 60-62 is enough.

 

I've yet to see a freshman/15u or lower hit 80 in a game, and the fastest LHP I've clocked in two years sub-varsity was a sophomore (16u) at 79.  That's primarily in HS games, I've seen some 15u travel games this fall where I'd subjectively put some guys in the 80s, but didn't have a gun to check.  No LHP there, though, and generally speaking 80 seems to be the dividing line between JV and V.  If you have a freshman LHP who touches 80, he probably won't even need to be able to throw strikes initially to make the team.

Thank you all for your comments. I not concerned about which HS team he will play on this spring. That will be up to the coaches. I was more curious about the progress other hard throwing Freshman LHPs made over the course of their high school career. Because they already had good velocity did the coaches have them work more on control or was velocity still the focus. From freshman to senior year did they pick up another 10 mph, or was the noticeable improvement in game management and mental toughness.

Son is a LHP Junior in HS. his velocity has risen about 3mph per year and sits at 83mph. He works out every day and has been to velocity camp this year. we have made a big investment in lessons.His best pitch will be his curveball which his coach has taken the loop out and is throwing it like a fastball which breaks when it gets to the plate.My adivice would be to concentrate on mechanics and core fitness.

I just checked www.perfectgame.org for a LHP that I know and love to follow.  He is currently at top baseball university.  Here are some of his velocities recorded by PG:

 

summer after freshman year 81-84 mph

summer after sophomore year 84-86, 85-88

summer after junior year 88-91, 91

Oct of senior year 92

 

I would check for others you may know playing in hs/college and check their PG profile for recorded velocities, if that is what you are looking for.

CT, welcome to the site. As you can see, a lot of good stuff here. Based on your sons age, I would have him focus on great mechanics, arm slot, fitness and learn to throw strikes. The velocity wIll come. 

As the father of a freshman LHP at a DI, I can tell you that Jr gained 2-3 mph each year topping out at 85-88 his senior year. Although he is not a flame thrower, he does have great command & great secondary pitches.

Jr just finished fall ball. I can tell that his coach focuses on pitchers throwing strikes. In 19.2innings of work he threw 66% strikes. Coach told him that needs to be 70% or above beginning spring. Velocity gets noticed, but what you learn at the next level is that DI guys can hit 90+fastballs a long way. He said they did not break out the gun until the last weekend of play. 

Now, if my kid was throwing 95 my story might be different. Just kidding! 

Good luck to your son, it sounds like he's on his way.

 

CTdad,

he should focus on the things he can control right now. mechanics it is going to take a lot of time fine tuning these to the point as to which he can repeat them. with good mechanics comes command. the ability to throw a pitch when and where is way more important than how hard you throw. ask jamie moyer.  soon as he has good mechanics, DNA will take over he may  throw 90? 80? who knows. the one thing that i do know is he will pitch if he throws strikes. to much is put on how hard you throw and to little is put on actually pitching.  example former player of mine pitches for the phillies, if kyle sits 89-91 he is pitching, meaning he has sink on his fastball, his change is dirty, and his slider is real good. he goes above 91 (which he can 93-94) everything planes out. no sink, no movement, no depth, and now he is chasing moyers home runs given up by a pitcher record. my point is better to be a pitcher than a thrower. mechanics, mechanics, mechanics! besides he is left handed he docent need to throw hard!

 

good luck to you and your son.

CT - glad you are on here as well.

 

My son is a 2017 LHP, and his coach pitched in AAA, and was All American at UT Austin....although he threw low 90's, his approach with his pitchers, whether they are Freshman or Seniors, is to learn sound repeatable mechanics, learn how to pitch (not just throw), and a very intense core training program in off season.  As  Picked Off mentioned, velo gets noticed, but if they can't spot location, or even throw strikes, that will not go far.  

 

At the HS level, coaches need to win games to keep their job....that will includes kids that can get on base, and kids who can throw strikes.

 

For reference, my son sits at 78-80, and tops out at 82 (Stalker radar).....he is 6'1 / 180 lbs., so he has good size for a Frosh.....  You are lucky your kid is a LHP..I am sure you know they are in demand..... Most have heard the saying, "RHP throwing 85 is called average, while a LHP throwing 85 is called a D1 prospect"....  

 

Good luck....I think the approx. 3MPH per year jump in velo is likely accurate.

My sons school is a highly competitive program but only two lefties in 2017 class. One didn't make team with good stuff & control around 60. Other made it just cracking 70, my guess they're going to put a lot of time into developing this kid. That being said I would ask one question; have you had a reliable radar on your son? Around here lots of speculation of kids throwing high 70's to low 80's, some even claimed mine was mid 80's. When they put the gun on them only had 3 in high 70's with most mid 60's to low 70's. My son is topping out at 80 in fall but only 78 in summer. Without a gun it's only a guess.

Do you know how rare this is?  I guess I'm not eligible to answer as Bum, Jr. only threw 70-72. 

Hi Billy19, he was tested 3 weeks and the average of his three throws was 83. 

That is outstanding. If he doesn't have a good PC would be checking some out. A 2017 throwing 80's is rare; keep him healthy & he should have a great future. Best of luck!

Thank you, he working with a retired major league LHP.

CT I have been watching this tread over the past several days.  I think keewart gave you some good advice.  If you are really curious, go to Perfect Game website and spend some time searching through various pitchers.  Look at the best prospects and go back over their last few years in PG database to get an idea how they progressed.  Your son as a freshman throwing 83 is very good I assure you.  My own son threw 80-82 summer after freshman year, 82-85 summer after sophomore year and was at 85-87 by fall of Junior year (all per PG readings).  This follows pretty closely to some of the other posters that told you that you could expect about a 3mph bump per year.  I know some, like Bum's son, jumped 9mph in one year.  That probably is not the norm, but if you look at my son's numbers, he jumped 6mph from July of last year to October of this year.  I have to agree with Bum, as my son is a 2015 and in the middle of the recruiting process, velocity is the single most important thing that coaches and scouts are looking at.  We hear that from EVERY single coach we have talked to.  I truly think it is untrue to tell someone anything different.  Just this past fall in Jupiter, over 180 kids were throwing 90 or above.  That completely blew my mind!  There are a LOT of very talented baseball players when you look at the entire country.  My son works hard every day to get better.  Lot of band work, medicine ball, weight lifting an yes LONG TOSS.  I don't believe there is only one way to reach a destination, but I also don't believe that you need to re-invent the wheel.  I have tried to read and research as much as possible and take from others experiences to formulate a plan for my son that will get him to his ultimate goal, MLB.  He may make it or he may not, but he is selling out 100% at this point to reach that end.  I would also stress to you the advice others have given.  Do your best to keep him healthy, but unfortunately that does not always work either as I can attest.  My son tore his UCL in August of last year.  Luckily he didn't require surgery and was able to rehab and never really missed any playing time.  As Dr Andrews told us, sometimes it just happens, and unfortunately it most often happens to the kids that throw the hardest.  Best of luck to your son.

My guy is not a pitcher, but a friend of mine who has been around the block with her two pitchers (college & MiLB), told me when a pitcher goes to a showcase (and this would be true of a PG tournament as well), he should throw strikes. But, he should really let go and throw (at least) one as hard as he can. The fastest pitch is the one that will be recorded on his profile.