Pitching question for those who know.

Don't know about LH knuckle ball pitchers, we don't see many RH knuckle ball pitchers either. But we have seen many LH pitchers who throw 90+. Including some who are eligible for this years draft. Purke, Matzek, and some others.

Well, as far as hard-throwing lefties, I can't speak to any physical reason for their rarity, or maybe I should say your perception that they are rare, as I can't vouch to that either. But according to one website I checked, right handed people make up an estimated 90 to 93 percent of the population. So lefties are only 10 percent or less. In another thread discussing the rarity of high school pitcher who throw 90+ mph I believe it was stated that in any given year, there are maybe 250 high school pitchers in the country who are 90+ throwers. Based purely on the odds of the general population, only 25 or less of those would be lefties. I don't know how that stacks up with actual numbers tracked by Perfect Game, for example.

And speaking of PG...I didn't see his post before I posted.

The hard-throwing lefties are out there, I'm guessing 50-60 in the country, but if you are looking at LHP's who work 90+ those are rare, and in high school so rare they are like the fabled unicorn. It really depends upon the concentration of baseball talent in a particular area. One thing for sure, any LHP working 90+ will be drafted, almost regardless of command.

How old is your LHP son, and what are his top-out and crusing speeds? As for college scouts, D1 is 85-87, depending upon the level, and JC and D3 is perhaps 78-83, also depending upon the level.

BTW, don't even think about being a knuckler as a LHP. That might be cute, fun, and get h.s. hitters out, but it is the wrong way to go. Very few knucklers also develop the most important pitch they need to get to the top levels of baseball.. a fastball.

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has anyone ever seen a left handed knuckle ball pitcher? Now that would be something

that would be fun to watch. how about a lefty knuckleballer that could throw 90, even better.

I promise I was just kidding about my son turning into a left handed knuckle ball pitcher. Again, my son just turned 14 years old and he didn't want to play basketball this year for his 8th grade school team. So instead I had him take a steady diet of agility training, professional hitting lessons and pitching lessons to get ready for his first high school try out this upcoming week and hopefully be one of the very few 8th graders to make his future high school team. They usually only take one of two players at his future high school. Anyway, last summer he was clocked at 72 mph per hour at times with his fast ball. After his lessons the other day, and I might add very much improved mechanics, he effortlessly was clocked topping out around 75mph to 77 mph. He also continues to grow like a weed. Thank God for 5 dollar foot longs at Subway.

rain delay - Sounds like your son is ahead of the curve in his development. He should make a great addition to any team he ends up on. Don't get too hung up on velocity though. If he continues with his training and works hard on his accuracy and consistency, his velocity should continue to increase as well. Just keep in mind that everybody has a physical limit to the speed their arm can generate. Not everyone can throw 90mph regardless of mechanics, training or size.

Funny story about the rarity of left handed pitchers. My son is a lefty. The entire time he was growing up I kept telling him to keep working on his pitching because it would make him a valuable asset to his team, there are just not very many LHP's. He bought it and I really believed it. Then he made it to high school and guess what? His high school team had 9 LHP's and 1 RHP! Not sure he trusts my advice anymore.

I See lots of LHPs and we have had teams with 5-6 at a time. There are not many 90 guys but there are some. My son's teammate who i's in the Pirates organization was hitting 92.

If you can pitch and get guys outcoaches and scouts could care less what arm you throw with

TR,

Think I know what you mean, but there is no question that if there are two equal pitchers, coaches and scouts will care very much if they are R or L.

Also there are college coaches and professional scouts who look way beyond high school pitchers who can get high school hitters out. There have been many very successful high school pitchers who didn't get a sniff at the higher levels of college baseball and successful high school pitchers who get zero interest from professional scouts.

Not saying you're wrong by stating the most important thing involving the pitchers a particular coach might have on his present team. That coach would want the guy that wins for him right now. If he had two lefties, one who threw 78 mph but could get hitters out and fill the strike zone vrs one that had trouble throwing enough strikes to win games, but could throw low 90s. Which one would professional scouts care the most about?

Left handed pitchers will always be in high demand. That is until there are an equal number of LHP and RHP.

Reading this post, I got to thinking about the left-handers who'll be pitching on my 18s Connie Mack team this summer, and it looks like we'll have four good lefties. One sits 87-89, and gets to 90-91 often enough to know that he'll have this ability as he ages. He's a 2010 kid, 17 years old and goes 6'1" and 190, curveball is 2nd pitch, change 3rd. He's the kind of pitcher who tends to work deeper counts, but still maintains nearly a strikeout per inning average. 3.75 GPA

Another sits 85-87, touches 88 now and then, and his #2 pitch is a strong curveball and then just a decent change. He's a 2010 and 16 years old, and goes 6'2" and 170. He's more of a power type pitcher, very aggresive in his approach but still has an excellent strike outs to walks ratio. 3.5 GPA

The third guy is, to my mind, perhaps the most interesting and with the highest ceiling. His fastball sits 83-84, with an occasional 85 thrown in, but his #1 pitch is a very advanced changeup that compares well with collegiate pitchers. He maintains good arm speed with it, same arm angle and the ball comes out of his hand very well on this pitch. #3 is a curveball, but it is well behind his first two pitches. He has HUGE hands and his HS coach is teaching him to throw a splitter, but I am discouraging him from this, as I've told him it is far more important to master the three pitches he throws than to add yet another pitch whick will really serve to hinder his development of the other pitches. Here's why I (and a lot of college coaches) consider him to have the highest ceiling. He's a 2010, 16 years old, 6'4" and 160, hasn't begun to shave yet, and most importantly, has excellent movement with his fastball and changeup (he'll tell you that he can't throw the ball straight even when he tries) with the ability to consistently locate all of his pitches. 3.2 GPA

The fourth guy is a 2009, 17 years old, 5'10 and 150 with a 78-80 fastball as well as change and curve. He lives by locating and changing speeds, in other words he knows how to pitch, but lacks velocity and he isn't going to pass anyone's 'look test'. He's a cross country runner, with that type of body and while very capable of getting hitters out, just doesn't get people excited when they compare him to the other guys that are all big, have more velocity and greater projection. 3.6 GPA

I'll make another post later that'll talk about the college prospects for each of these pitchers,three of whom are only juniors. All four are being recruited by colleges, and while I don't want to name specific schools, I'll post what conferences are represented. I hope that this will give people a little bit of perspective about the types of left handers that get recruited and by what levels. As you can see, all these young men have strong academics, some better than others, but all good enough to pitch in college.

Where do some of you see guys like these going?

Interesting post Dan. Looks like your team will be a lot of fun this summer. Let me take a wild stab at the conferences. Pac 10, WCC, Big West, WAC, and not necessarily in that order.
# 1 will likely sign early at a high profile school, Pac 10 or Big West, and be drafted high enough to make his decision on whether to turn pro a weighty one. #2 sounds a lot like my son when he was a HS Jr, and as you know he went to a mid-major D1. The difference may be where he's playing now. It sounds like he may already be getting a lot more interest than my son ever did. Just a guess, but for kicks I'll say he'll have to choose between Oregon State and Santa Clara.
I hope #3 realizes the potential that you see in him, but without a big jump in velo before next year he could get stuck at a mid-major D1 based on his upside. I don't know if a big time school would sign him early without a big time fastball, but I certainly could be wrong. If he does realize that jump in velo then he's going to be sitting on some serious offers come November. #4 sounds like a good D2 or D3 kid that will frustrate a lot of hitters and win a lot of games for you this summer.
Just guessin.

There are fewer lefties than righties; therefore, there will be fewer lefties than righties who throw 90+. The pool of LHPs is smaller than the pool of RHPs; therefore, an LHP can get further with lower numbers than an RHP can. That doesn't mean that any given RHP will throw harder than any given LHP though.

Last spring there were two 90+-throwing LHP HS seniors in the DC area; boy did they get attention.

LHPMom 2012

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therefore, an LHP can get further with lower numbers than an RHP can

A lefty has three additional years to prove himself from the time his death certificate is filed. Just ask Terry Mulholland and Jesse Orosco.

Spizzle, you came pretty close with your guesses, so that might serve as a guideline for some others about what to expect for their sons, if they compare where they are, to where these guys currently stand.

Here's what is likely with each of these players. #1 will receive offers this coming summer, and we expect him to have multiple offers from Pac-10 and Big West schools, as those are the ones with the interest in him at this time. If he continues to progress and stays healthy, he'll be a likely draft prospect, and that'll be an interesting dilemma to consider. #2 has already recieved an offer from a Big West school, and has plenty of interest from other Big West and Pac-10 schools. At this time, I think he and his parents a bit surprised at how much interest he's generated in the last five months, and they expect him to commit to a much better university (in the overall sense, not baseball sense) than he expected to have an opportunity at last summer. He could end up at a WAC school, though I believe that is a long shot, but the WCC is unlikely, IMO. Outside shot as a draft prospect, but a second day guy if drafted at all. #3 has a school that wants to make a substantial offer right now, if he's ready to come on campus to talk. They see him as an immediate impact pitcher who'll pitch meaningful innings as a freshman. Also has interest from other schools in the WCC, Pac-10, Big West but the academics make a few interested schools unlikely. I expect him (my personal opinion) to be a very early commit, before July 1 in all liklihood. Unlikely to be drafted out of high school. #4 is pretty much just what you guessed. He's a good pitcher who gives our best hitters fits, and gives us quality innings in the summer. But, due to his size and lack of velo, will likely land with a D3 or NAIA school, possibly one of our D2s. He could be successful at a higher level program than he'll likely ever have a chance to play for.

I hope this snapshot of a few pitchers give some other people a bit better idea of what type of players end up at different types of programs.