Top and fastest varsity pitchers now?

Alleman senior Andrew Doyle ... tops at 93. headin to Oklahoma next year.

Steve Nebraska, pitches 108!

Seth Blair, Rock Falls HS, ranked #3 in class of 2007 in PBR threw 92 at PG Pitchers and Catchers Showcase in Iowa.

Robert Stock is up there, mid 90s i think.

What I have got guys at with a stalker gun.
Bryant George - DuQuoin 92
Matt Weeks - West Frankfort 91
Tyler Choate - Carmi 88
Daniel Etienne - Eldorado 89
Spencer Patton - South Central 88
Keegan Dennis - Carmi 89

SI,

Very impressive pitching numbers coming from the Southern end of the state. Maybe you're feeding them that delicious cherry cobbler from Mary Lou's in Carbondale.

bballdad,

In what dream does your player throw 108? I hope this is just a joke. Beenthere, help me here.

Haha everytime we face southern teams everybody always says "They're cornfed that's why they're so huge!"

that Nebraska kid must have a great future ahead of him....

Just a general question. For those pitchers that pitch in the mid to upper 80's or low 90's(like those posted by SIBullets), are they almost guaranteed to be able to pitch at the college level somewhere if they have somewhat good control and of course the grades to get in?

you can pitch on some college level if your throw 80 and throw enough strikes.

Its,

Had a great response ready to post, but sadly, the cyber gremlins got it before I could send it.

"dad" is likely kidding around with us. No one throws 108, except in heaven.

quote:

Originally posted by Hopperhop:
Just a general question. For those pitchers that pitch in the mid to upper 80's or low 90's(like those posted by SIBullets), are they almost guaranteed to be able to pitch at the college level somewhere if they have somewhat good control and of course the grades to get in?

All of them have scholarships or offers right now.

Ha Steve Nebraska is from a movie, to end the confusion.

Believe Sports Illustrated had one that threw higher than 108 a few years back....his name was Sid fynch or something like that, may have been Sid Finch. Could have also been Syd Finch. Does anyone else remember?

The SI article was a april fools joke. I remember it because it said in the article that he taught a one of the junior highs in Oak Park.

Loved his boot and the glasses as well. The Mets could have been tough with a young Doc Gooden, Sid Fernandez, Ron Darling, Bobby Ojeda, and a middle aged traveler, Sid Finch.

There was a pitcher who could throw the ball ridiculously hard, but he had no control. Can't remember his name.....true story.

Steve Dalkowski

Bullets....that's the guy.

The Steve Dalkowski story is unbelievable and ultimately very sad. Do a yahoo or google search on him and you will find some very interesting information.

Heres a link to an article about Steve Dalkowski.


Sporting News

Fastballdad,

We have guys at the local colleges who throw only about 80 and throw lots of strikes, and they do get to pitch -- they pitch batting practice every day!

I realize it's cold up there for a whole lot of college baseball season, but surely you're kidding about guys throwing 80 in college. You can't pitch on a HS JV team around here unless you at least come close to 80. Most HS varsity teams have 3-4 guys in the mid-80's. And at the low end of that scale, you'd better have some decent off-speed stuff and a good idea of what you're doing plus good command if you want to succeed.

In our district, I doubt we'll see a HS varsity pitcher all year who tops out lower than 82.

Midlo Dad,

My son was actively recruited by various Colleges and Universities in the fine state of Virgina. He is a freshman pitcher and is only now throwing mid 80s plus. Is there another piece of information that you are leaving out of the post about your statement regarding your high school pitchers? Maybe the Daddies use those "special guns" when timing those V-boys.

Of couse I mean Virginia.

Sreve Nebraska was the name of the player in Albert Brooks' film "The Scout". If you haven't seen it, rent it. It was not great, but a funny baseball movie. Maybe they got the name from Steve Dalkowski.

Western Big 6 :
Andrew Doyle Alleman 94 (Oklahoma)
Kirk Clark Moline 90 (WIU)
Mitch Slead Rock Island 86 (undecided)

Midlo Dad.....I said that kids who throw 80 can pitch on some level of College Baseball. Low level D-3 and low level JC have plenty of 80 MPH pitchers. May not be big time but it's still College Baseball. And guess what? They will never sniff Pro Baseball, but either will 99% of ALL other College Baseball Players.

The average major league fastball is 88-89 mph on a jugs gun. Not all MLB pitchers throw like bobby jenks. Similarly, i think everyone overestimates the speed of college pitching. Even when you're watching the college world series, the best of the best college teams, i wouldn't describe it as expected or common to see the pitchers throwing over 90. No reason an 80-82 mph fastball can't get people out consistently, especially with good movement, control, and supplemental pitches. The way I look at it (and I may be wrong)... at the college level, hitters can catch up to an 80 mph fastball, and they can still catch up to an 84 mph fastball... so i'd rather be a finess pitcher throwing low 80's than a "power" pitcher throwing 84-85. Comments?

The college World Series is a great example of watching finess pitchers dominate hitters. I have always been amazed at the lower than expected speeds recorded by some of the DI studs. Although, they might be jugging out in less that expected speeds,they do choose their moments and have the ability to let a few loose for desired effect.

Those who follow the best team in baseball, the World Series Champion Chicago White Sox, know that to see speeds of 78 to 84 on the pitch speed clock is not unusual. Bottom line is that
colleges and pro scouts like speed. Best wishes for continued success of those listed in the earlier posts. Throwing 90+ is indeed special
and gives you a leg up on the competition.

Midlo, I know a kid from the NW suburbs who has topped out at 87 but throws 83-85 consisently and is playing on scholarship in the Valley...

I will say that my mindset (my flaw?) is that I think in terms of right-handers. All bets are off with lefties. Maybe some of those with lower speed ratings that you mention are southpaws? That would explain the colleges' interest.

I can tell you we have guys on our HS varsity who throw in the 80-83 range who will barely sniff the mound this year. And every team we see will have guys that throw that hard or harder.

I would clarify that there is obviously a difference between someone's peak speed and their typical speed. And I agree there are lots of MLB pitchers who COULD throw in the 90's, but who learn to use all their pitches and hit spots so well that they can go 88-89 with consistent success -- pacing themselves for the long season. Not many high schoolers have that kind of savvy, but I agree that many top college pitchers do.

Pretty hard to tell in advance which pitchers will get to that point and which won't -- which is why you hear so much emphasis on RADAR gun readings. It's the one thing you can quantify. Trying to tell which 80 mph kid will rise to the top is a case of the proverbial needle-in-haystack search, there are so many to look at. If you're going to have to teach a kid the art of pitching, may as well start with someone with the 90+ arm.

The fact is, not many high school pitchers are savvy enough to get today's high school hitters out with an 80 mph fastball. I suppose you can find a future Greg Maddux here and there, but most of the kids I see throwing that speed get lit up with some regularity. (At least, the righties.)

Midlo...never said an 80 MPH fastball would get you to the top. Just said contrary to what you said that you can pitch in College on some level at that speed. I'll stand by that.

The fact is, aside from the top level HS Teams and conferences, plenty of 80 MPH Pitchers are getting "today's high school hitters" out.
I've read that the average HS pitcher throws under 80 MPH.

Once again, the issue is how the speed plays into the pitcher a total package. If speed is your greatest asset (aka you don't have amazing offspeed stuff, control, or movement) and you throw low 80's... that could be a problem. If you throw low 80's but live on control, movement, and other pitches... that is a completely different story - righty or lefty. Not to mention, how well is the pitcher hiding the ball... does he cause hitters to have trouble picking up the ball, thereby lowering the amount of time the hitter has to react, and thus the effective "speed" of the pitch? There's a lot of factors to take into account, and I think each kid is an individual case. It's not worth it to generalize as the above posts certainly have... all you do is handcuff your ability to view exceptions to the "rule".

Change ups, change ups, change ups. That's the most important pitch in high school baseball. If you have decent command and a change up you wil be successful. I throw 80-82 but I have had some success because of my change up. Speed is not only overrated (anyone can catch up to a hard fastball eventually) but it is also exaggerated. Many who say they throw 85 mean that as their peak speed. That person throws consistently from 81-83. I might be playing college ball at a school in Virginia and if everyone over there is throwing as hard as Mildo Dad says I may be in trouble...

Ktown, you have a PM

KTown

Nicely said: I'm sure you are putting a big smile on most if not all of the coach's that are on this message board!

Good Luck during the upcoming season !

I have to omit that I was sneaking around practice yesterday. Lets hear how many parents at least drove by the old ballbark yesterday or today while practice was going on!

Southside, I am guilty too. I drove by on the way home from work. There were so many players, I couldn't tell if my boy was there or not. I kept on going. Good luck to all the Illinois guys trying out and stay safe from injury.

KTown,
You are correct. The change up is the easiest pitch to control and one of the easiest pitches to learn. "Use it or lose it". Many coaches are afraid to call for this pitch because more often than not, it is thrown at the knees and ends up in the dirt, giving the catcher problems. This is seem in youth travel.

I have talked to pitchers in the minors and most of them stressed the importance of learning this pitch.

I've got at least, AT LEAST, 4 guys that can throw 78.