Va. Pitchers' MPH in Jupiter

Bear in mind these are peak velocities on fastballs. More typical or "cruising" speeds will run lower.

You do see kids who are sometimes worn out at the end of fall and overdue for their off-season shut down, so folks can say they had an off day or whatever. But this is at least some objective indication of where kids really throw.

It also shows how few of the very high MPH guys are really out there -- though I do think this varies year to year, and I know a few years back we had a run of 90+ guys in the Richmond area alone.

Regardless of velocity, most of the pitchers on this list are very good pitchers and will succeed at the next level. Having seen most of these guys or coached a couple of them, all of them have good things ahead of them in the next couple of years.

Pretty interesting post when you consider there are a number of pitchers listed, throwing in the mid 80's, headed to Division 1 schools in the fall of 2010.

It helps to illustrate that you don't have to throw 90+ to get to the next level....

However, watching my son compete this fall in his first year of college baseball, with similiar velocity as some of those mentioned (86-88), it was quite obvious that the coaches heavily emphasized location, location, location.

If you can get out's, you'll stay on the bump.....

I've seen a number of these guy's throw as well and agree they'll be fine at the next level and are still quite young with great potential....

Agree FD, my son started college this year and he throws mid 80's, but has good location and control. That is why the coach is thinking of putting him in the starting rotation in the Spring. Control and location is where it is at!!!

Actually my main point in posting was to point out how few guys there are this year who really do throw very hard. It seems to be a down year in that regard.

But to respond to your thought, an awful lot of D-1 college baseball is indeed played in that 86-88 range.

That being said, you can mislead yourself in both directions here.

On the one hand, clearly teams will prefer guys who can run it up there harder. They are in shorter supply and thus they have the better bargaining power. With higher MPH, you have a bigger margin for error as a pitcher when it comes to your off-speed stuff and your consistency with locating. Still it is true that a lot of the innings are played with lesser MPH and for those pitchers, out of necessity the focus has to be on location and mixing effective secondary pitches.

On the other hand, understand too that guys who sit 86-88 are often guys who can peak at 92. When a kid peaks at 86, he's likely sitting 81-83. If you're throwing at that speed, you'd better have a Jamie Moyer change up and Greg Maddux location, because metal bats will turn your fastball around at a lot higher speed.

The above list was PEAK velocities, not where pitchers throw their typical fastballs. Subtract 2-4 mph to find the typical range.

What each of these players hopes is that they have not yet reached their respective ceilings. Whether they have or haven't is part of the art of scouting and no one has a crystal ball to predict everyone perfectly.

Basically a junior who can cruise above 80 has a shot. If he cruises above 85 he's going to have choices. If he can top 90 now and then he'll be able to drive a hard bargain and aim for a top conference. For a senior, if you don't sit 85 or higher, you'd better fit in the "crafty lefty" category or have some other asset that makes you stand out, because otherwise it's hard for scouts to tell all those stocky RHP's out there apart.

Also understand that there are a lot of college scholarship pitchers who almost never actually pitch for their college teams. They never develop as hoped and they struggle to get out of innings. So just getting a scholarship is not having your ship come in, by any measure. Some of these guys will see their %'s cut year to year, even eliminated, and some of them may be cut or pressured to transfer or even move to the club or JV team.

There is never a time when you can afford to stop striving to get better.

I might have more than a passing interest to learn what kind of velocity (and overall pitchability) a hitter might face in a conference like the ACC?

quote:

Actually my main point in posting was to point out how few guys there are this year who really do throw very hard. It seems to be a down year in that regard.

I would tend to agree, but would you happen to have this same information for the 2008 and 2009 classes at the same Jupiter event? It would be interesting to see the comparison.

Sometimes, I wonder if I even understand the definition of a hard thrower. Throwing 90's (even low 90's) in High School fit my definition as a hard thrower... But recently, I saw a post from PG Staff that they consider 94-95 and better as "hard throwing", not low 90's....

The following are a few 2009 Virginia Pitchers with peak velocities the summer after their junior year as rising seniors. I watched most of these pitchers during that time frame and feel comfortable these peak velocities are accurate. Some of the numbers are supported by Perfect Game and I have been told that several have reached velocities an excess of these numbers.

However, I can not attest to their velocities in Jupiter of their senior season as a comparative to the 2010's that you have mentioned.

Blake Hauser - 93

Mike Kent - 91

Ethan Carter - 90

Tyler Webb (LHP) - 90 (**)

Jacob Mayers - 90

Kyle Haynes - 90

Brock Wilson - 89

Cameron Giannini(sp?) - 89

Ryan Moriarity(sp) - 89

I'm sure there are plenty more in the 87-88 range and maybe there were more in the 90's?... can't say I have them all....

It seems to me, the class of 2009 was pretty solid and I know the class of 2008 was at least equally as good....

I'm sure you can elaborate more on the class of 2008 Virginia pitchers.

Are the classes of 2008 and 2009 "out of the norm"(?) or are they "the normal standard"?

** This is a Perfect Game reported number. This young man was recovering/rehabbing from TJ during this time frame and pitched in the 86-88 range when I saw him.

quote:

There is never a time when you can afford to stop striving to get better.

Man that is the gospel truth!!

quote:

But recently, I saw a post from PG Staff that they consider 94-95 and better as "hard throwing", not low 90's....

If I said that, it was a stupid statement on my part. 90 is outstanding velocity for a high school pitcher.

Only when seperating the very top of the draftable pitchers would there be an area to consider low 90s guys something other than power or high velocity pitchers. So regarding the draft, guys that top out at 90-91 are considered average velocity. Guys that throw 94-95 are considered plus velocity.

In most every case, high school pitchers drafted in the first couple rounds will top out in the mid 90 range. Especially if they are right handed. There are never very many of these types who I would consider high velocity guys, even in a good year.

It doesn't mean they are better, but it does mean they throw harder and they are likely to go higher in the draft. I suppose that is still confusing.

These velocities are the peak velocities that these pitchers reached at THIS PARTICULAR EVENT. I really don't think that these MPH are necessarily representative of the PEAK velocity that these pitchers have reached this summer/fall. My son for example typically throws a couple of MPH faster than he peaked at at this event. Whether it was a long season, an off game, or whatever, he just didn't throw as hard that day. Not really too worried about it as he got outs, had great control, and pitched a heck of a game. To me, I think it's more important that these guys know HOW to pitch, so when they don't have their fastest stuff, they can still get the job done.

quote:

So regarding the draft

There you have it, in the post I mentioned PG Staff was referring to "hard throwers" as qualified by early round draft picks...

As for 2009, I think FD's observations show that 2010 is down relative to 2009. Also, I think the numbers for Hauser and Carter are low. I saw Hauser at 93-94 in Legion play and I think Carter got higher than 90 in the Aflac game if nowhere else. And, add Scoggin top to your 2009 grad 90+ list the summer before his senior year.

Not that it's a trend or anything, but there were more than a few 90+ guys across the state in each of the 2008 and 2007 classes.

Just off the top of my head, without even checking back, I can think of these guys who were consistently touching 90 or higher in those VA classes:

2007 -- Ramirez, Wilson, Tierney, Hahn, Wright

2008 -- Marrs, Shaban, O'Brien, Buran, Erickson, McCann, Long, O'Conner, Roberts, not to mention Hultzen and Hoes (lived in MD, played in VA)

I know there were others I just cannot come up with right at the moment.

Maybe there are other 2010's who weren't at Jupiter this year, but usually you do see them there if they exist.

You can add Morey (Cape Henry/UVA) and Levitt (Cape Henery/ Pitt CC ) to 2007

Sorry and no disrespect to anyone BUT this How hard does he throw is what is ruining baseball.

Guys, the name of the game is to allow the batter's to get themselves out. Pitcher's responsibility is to change speeds and keep the hitters off-balance.

For the love of GOD will someone cast a spell on this darn radar guns already!

Coach - I agree to some degree, but there has to be some baseline measurement for the sake of comparision. Why choose the end of the long season to do that baseline...makes no sense and send the wrong signals to the kids. My biggest issue is when it is the only measurement. Most importantly my son (listed above) totally agrees with you Coach. His attitude is who cares how hard I'm throwing if I'm throwing a no hit, shutout game (which he did in Jupiter) and it is over in 5 innings. His current pitching coach and future college pitching coach is telling him in order of importance: location, movement, velocity. That advise is all over this website, and it is good advise. I've seen too many flame throwers throw a rope that gets crushed, or walk players. Velocity is not everything, but it is "top 3".

Coach,

You bring up some very good points. But if, how hard they throw, is ruining baseball... We will need to get all those scouts and college recruiters to quit buying those radar guns that check how hard someone can throw.

Changing speeds and keeping hitters off balance becomes important to most all pitchers. But until they start drafting those soft throwing guys ahead of the hard throwers, the radar gun, showing how hard they throw, will be around and people who make decisions will be talking about those kids who throw the hardest.

Truth is, it's the combination of what you mentioned and other things along with velocity that is most important. I think the difference in opinion is based on importance. The importance of winning the game today or the importance of the individual player's future. Both are important, but not always the same thing.

Will the pitchers who allow hitters to get themselves out in high school, still get hitters out in college or professional baseball? When the hitters get better will the same thing work? Maybe, maybe not! We can't really grade "keeping hitters off balance" or "the ability to allow hitters to get themself out" We can't compare that to the Major League level or even top college level. However, we do know what average MLB velocity is and can grade a pitcher and his other abilities based on that knowledge.

Now, when a pitcher shows decent enough velocity, we can glue in on the other areas that are so very important. It's just a different way of looking at things. Right or wrong, it's just the way things are. The few exemptions to the rule, are not enough to change things.

Besides we own about 100 radar guns and they might be worthless if a spell was cast on them.

fenway,

In some ways I could make a good argument that velocity is not only in the top 3, but it is a proven #1 with everything else being a distant second. This would not be based on winning or what really is most important, it would be based on the Major League draft every year.

We all know that it is possible for mid, even low 80s pitchers to be successful at nearly ant level. However, I would challenge anyone to give me a name of a low to mid 80s high school pitcher (no matter how good he might be) who has been drafted in any early round.

For sure Major League organizations want the very best pitchers and spend millions trying to get them. In nearly every case, this search ends up with the high velocity guys being selected first. We simply have to follow the draft to find this out.

We all know that velocity by itself is not enough. However, it is still far above things like location and movement when it comes to the draft. Great location won't make someone an early pick, great movement won't make someone an early pick. Great velocity will get a pitcher drafted and only then will things like other pitches, location and movement dictate just how high the pitcher is drafted. I've seen kids who have trouble throwing strikes go in the first few rounds.

Colleges would look at this a bit differently, but not as much as one might think. Google Jason Neighborgall or Colt Griffin.

Both those pitchers would have been very successful if they excelled at location. They didn't! But they were drafted long before those who became much more successful. Sometimes those high velocity guys are Zach Greinke or Justin Verlander. Sometimes they become Jason Neighborgall or Colt Griffin. The only thing they all share is the ability to light up a radar gun. Then the other things separate them.

A college coach told me at the Arizona Fall Classic “ we are looking for kids who can get outs, if it was just velocity we would line them up and pick the ones that throw the hardest”

MLB scouts more of less do this because they figure once they get a guy who can throw consistently in the 90’s they can teach them to “pitch” I may be mistaken, but now days I think most kids throwing in the 90’s probably can pitch reasonably well anyway. The higher the level of the college program the harder you have to throw. So there are lots of places for kids in college throwing mid 80’s, you just need to find the place. It is just part of the process.

So we go full circle back to the radar guns, at least for draftable kids, and ones going to high level D1’s. PG I think your 100 guns are safe for now.

The fact of the matter is the higher the velocity and the better the "stuff", then in general the larger margin of error for the pitcher. This can mean several things. For one, the pitcher can generally get away with worse control/command because the better stuff can hide some of those flaws.

It also often means that a pitcher will get more opportunities to fail. This is true because teams and scouts can dream about what the pitcher could become if he ever puts it all together. Look at Daniel Cabrera, former Oriole pitcher. As an O's fan, I suffered through about five years of his act, always thinking this could be the year or the start that he turns it around. He even started off really well one season (2007 maybe), but it became clearer and clearer that he wasn't going to cut it.

But the point is he got five years worth of MLB opportunities (plus his minor league experience/opportunities) because he could threw easy cheese (97+ with little effort) with a devastating slider.

Ask a parent that has a son that pitches. If you could grant your son one of the following with a wish

Outstanding velocity with average command
Outstanding command with average velocity

Which one do you think they would take?

So the bottom line is people already know that velo is #1. Your not even going to get a chance to pitch if you dont have a certain amount of velo regardless of command. The people that downplay velo do so for certain reasons. No need to go there.

Of course command is very important. But the fact is there are guys out there that have both. Guys that can command but dont throw hard do not own a lock on the ability to command. But if it was all about command why would you need to recruit pitchers? Just go with your posistion players who can throw strikes.

I hear the same arguments when people talk about speed. The 60 is over rated when their kid does not run well. If a kid does run well the 60 time is very important to these parents and should overcome his ability to not hit for power. Etc etc etc.

For goodness sake Velo is the first thing a pitcher must show in order to get a chance to pitch. At least a certain amount of it. In order to continue to get the chance to pitch he must show he can get people out. And just because a kid throws hard does not mean he doesnt have the same ability to command his stuff a kid that doesnt throw hard does. So whats the issue with velo?

if jamie moyer showed up to a pro tryout today they would watch him throw a few pitches and send him home...no doubt about it

quote:

Originally posted by Billy Chapel:
if jamie moyer showed up to a pro tryout today they would watch him throw a few pitches and send him home...no doubt about it

Same thing goes for Greg Maddux -- there's a guy who at his best threw mid-80's, but is headed for the HOF one day. We've known plenty of guys -- HS, college and pros -- that could throw mid-90's or better. Only the ones who could do that WITH control made any difference or had a shot at the next level, whatever that was. On the other hand, we've also known guys -- again, HS, college and pros -- who throw high 80's to low 90's, with great location and good off-speed or breaking stuff, who end up tearing up their level and moving on to the next one quickly.

So it's a combination of velo and pitch command; one without the other won't get you anywhere. But sadly, everyone here is right -- the radar guns are the first cut these days, and if you throw mid-80's in HS, they won't even watch you even if you throw no-hitters...I've seen that happen twice in the last two years...

quote:

there's a guy who at his best threw mid-80's

Sorry, no.

Some here have said that Maddux was recruited out of HS as a 94 mph guy. I sometimes doubt that but some very reliable sources, including PG, say it is so. He also had the benefit of having an older brother who was already on his way to, if not already in, MLB.

In his Cy Young years, he ran 90-91 with hard movement and of course impeccable control.

Mid-80's was near the end of his career. Low 80's was at the very the end of his career.

FYI,
Here are the the top velocities by grad year of VA high school pitchers who played at 2009 WWBA 15u, 16u, 17u, 18u east cobb this past july. Some pitched in multiple events, best result posted. Comparing the results posted for October tournament, velocities did not change much at all.

2010
name mph high school overall rank by velocity in class
Austin Chrismon 91 Menchville 40
Austin Young 90 Atlee 80
Jake Joyce 90 Carlisle
Tyler Costello 89 Paul VI 116
Cody Cox 88 Grassfield 175
Rian Ellis 88 Great Bridge
Nate Hoffa 88 Manassa Park
Kyle Crockett 88 Poquoson
Trent Cundiff 88 Northside
Connor Kaufmann 87 L. C. Bird 280
Christian MacDonald87 Greenbrier Christian
Anthony Stokes 87 Great Bridge
Owen Beightol 87 Deep Run
Taylor Lambke 87 Stone Bridge
John-Austin Shepard86 Battlefield 407
Danny Mooney 86 Cosby
Justin Bhatti 86 Hylton
Ryan Ashooh 86 Centreville
Matt Houston 85 Spotsylvania 553
Denis Buckley 85 McLean
Sean Fitzgerald 85 McLean
Cory Ramsey 85 Matoaca
Andy Runion 85 Prince George
Bill Cullen 84 Thomas Dale
Nicholas Santalucia84 Clover Hill Math/Science Center
Ryan McBroom 84 Courtland
Danny Grauer 84 Hickory
Adam Blankinship 83 Mills Godwin
Kyle Henshaw 83 New Kent
Kyle McKay 82 Cosby
Jeffrey Di Fulgo 82 Kellam
B J Collins 82 Spotsylvania
Jason Turner 82 Tunstall
Cameron Tubbs 82 Massaponax
Zach Smith 82 Princess Anne
Blake Sipe 82 Ft. Defiance
Tim Ferry 81 McLean
Walker Turner 81 Broadway
Taylor Topping 81 Tallwood
Danny Thorpe 81 Westfield
Dylan Taylor 81 Woodbridge
Robbie Hart 81 Langley
Austin Freer 81 Robinson SS
Quinn Kolberg 81 St. Anne's Belfield
Charles O'Neill 81 Mountain View
Tyler Roth 81 George Mason
Jordan Ghannam 80 McLean
Ben Sisk 80 Cosby
Austin Hale 80 Brentsville
Jonathan Munn 80 Lee Davis
Kevin Miller 79 Massaponnax
Dalton Renick 79 Deep Run
Shaw Stanford 79 Patrick Henry
Ryan Weatherholtz 78 Osbourn Park

2011

Jake Cave 90 Hampton Christian 23
Nick Thompson 88 Western Branch 52
David Spinosa 88 St. Anne's Belfield
Nick Christopher 88 Dinwiddie
Joe McGillicuddy 87 WT Woodson 93
Shawn Morimando 86 Ocean Lakes 140
Kenny Towns 86 Lake Braddock
Greg Tomchick 86 Princess Anne
Patrick Corbett 86 Tabb
Ryan Cook 85 First Colonial 197
Matt Lees 85 Mills E Godwin
John McGillicuddy 85 WT Woodson
Jeremy Sandifer 85 Landstown
Jason Inghram 85 Grassfield
Michael Curry 85 Landstown
Carson Stephens 85 Mills Godwin
Wes McGuire 84 Deep Run 260
Patrick Corbett 84 Tabb
Nate Steele 84 Riverbend
RW Payne 84 Spotsylvania
Mark Williams 84 Gonzaga
Brandon Delk 84 Warwick
Ryan Cook 84 First Colonial
Robbie Kidd 84 Paul VI
Brett Mays 84 Woodside
Tyler Long 84 Halifax County
Clay Keranen 84 Courtland
Andrew Flaherty 83 Greenbrier Christianamy 365
Scott Hurrell 83 Landstown
Jared Knoll 83 Flint Hill Prep
Ryan Douglas 82 Brentsville
Joseph Vanderplas 82 Fairfax
Borden Porter 82 Woodberry Forest School
Tyler Frazier 82 south county
Justin Turner 82 Menchville
Robert Hood 81 Langley
Kevin Griffey 81 Smithfield
Brian Collins 81 Patrick Henry
Stephen Weidman 81 T.C. Williams
Brian Robbett 81 Paul VI
Cody Queen 81 Greenbriar Christian
Tyler Wislocki 80 WT Woodson
Nicky Morabito 80 Bishop O'Connell
Matt Matthews 80 Greenbrier Christian Academy
Jeff Maxwell 80 Brookville
Raymond Harron 80 William Byrd
Travis Zinn 79 Goochland
Aaron Myers 79 Denbigh
Drew Distanislao 78 St. Christopher's
Trevor Snook 78 West Springfield
Michael Simko 78 Paul VI Catholic
David Austin 78 Patrick Henry
Nick Parnell 78 James River

2012
Dylan Nelson 86 Patrick County 22
James Bedi 85 Oscar Smith 40
Stephen Brooks 84 Deep Run 61
Dylan Raymond 84 Giles County
Timothy Kelly 84 York
Nathan Kirby 84 James River
Joseph Warren 83 St. Stephen's St. Agnes School 109
Joe Lane 83 Deep Run
Craig Lopez 83 Mountain View
Nathaniel Traugh 83 Riverbend
Brian Beard 83 Hickory
Sean Kennedy 82 North Stafford 146
Daniel Bridgeman 82 Dinwiddie
Stephen Godfrey 82 Douglas Freeman
Josh Moore 82 Menchville
Jeff Lascola 82 Osbourn Park
Shane Johnsonbaugh82 Western Branch
Patrick Phillips 81 Steward School 208
Tyler Thomas 81 Woodbridge
Jake Kliewer 81 Jefferson Forest
Justin Petock 81 Woodbridge
Sean O'Connor 81 Potomac
Micah Gorman 81 Tucker
Geoffrey Cieslewitz80 North Stafford 272
Connor Henderson 80 Bethel
Matthew Reed 80 Loudoun Valley
Dillon Hall 80 Patrick County
Tyler Fisher 80 Northside
Brandon Stein 80 Deep Run
Billy Eckert 79 Forest Park 345
Michael Boyle 78 Deep Run 400
Tyler Frazier 78 Pulaski County
Jacob Schwier 78 Forest Park
Kyle Moore 78 Nansemond River

2013
Luke Scherzer 83 Powhatan 6
Jack Roberts 80 James River 23

You beat me to it Midlo. Maddux was low 90's out of hs. He touched 93-94.

Maddux in his prime pitched 88-91 with outstanding movement and command.

Terp51,

Thanks for putting that together!

Question: What are the numbers to the right for some, but not all players listed?

I think it's the velocity rank for their graduating class. Players that threw the same velocity are the same rank as the first listed for that velocity. I hope that makes sense.

Maybe I missed it, but I haven't seen anyone mention size along with all of the other attributes. Velocity is the "college degree" for pitchers. It doesn't mean that if one does not have a college degree that one will not get a good job, it simply means that it is easier to get one's foot in the door. If one were to see Harvard or Yale (97 mph) on a resume, that stands out. That person could be a deadbeat, but imagine the upside! Some kids just have to work harder to get that "shot". When I was signed for a bag of peanuts and a smack on the rear, I was told to go down to Florida and throw "as hard as I can" the first chance I got. "Son, you can show 'em you can pitch later."

Terp 51 -

How about the 2007, 2008 & 2009 classes?

Would be nice to see this same layout for those classes as well...

I knew 2010 class had a lot of Pitchers in Mid 80's and above but I did not know the 2011 Class has a lot of guys In VA. throwing Mid 80's and above must be a lot of talented pitchers in 2011 class also.

Guns, arms, and numbers are funny things. I have seen guns on Tyler Costello that register over 90. I have never seen a gun on Lambke hit even 85. I held a gun that was mph for mph with the guns of six college coaches and one pro scout on Chris Somverville and he hit 88. Ryan Weatherholtz was clocked at 83 as a sophomore. . .

Sometimes, we forget the ultimate goal, record outs and win the game. While I appreciate the ability to throw hard, it is not the end all that fans, parents, coaches and scouts make it out to be. Let's not forget about mound demeanor, location, changing speeds, fielding ability, holding runners, etc.

El Gato - I'm with you. You stated much better the point I was trying to get across earlier in this thread.....results count more than velocity. I think the point others are making is that velocity gets you noticed for recruiting purposes. In order to play (college or pro) you have to be noticed first, and the quickest way to get noticed is velocity. I get it. I think one area that gets overlooked alot is the number of pitches a pitcher has command of. One pitcher may have an A+ fastball but a C- curve ball as a opposed to another pitcher who has B fastball, B knuckleball, B slider, B change. Then it becomes a tougher pick.

quote:

One pitcher may have an A+ fastball but a C- curve ball as a opposed to another pitcher who has B fastball, B knuckleball, B slider, B change. Then it becomes a tougher pick.

If your coaching it might be a tougher pick. If your a scout it becomes an easy pick. It will be the A+ fastball every time.

I fully understand the ultimate goal... But to record outs at the highest levels... you have to be out there on the mound.

rhobbs,

Evidently you haven't seen all the guns that have recorded velocity on these guys. We can only list what the gun reads, not what someone else might have seen. We have absolutely no reason to give anything other than accurate readings. And I believe you have seen what you said. They don't throw exactly the same every time out.

quote:

Chris Somverville and he hit 88.

Chris was on my team at Jupiter. I think he hit 81 only a few times and was generally 78-80. He did not appear to me even to be aiming to present himself as a power pitcher. He pitched with a completely different style. I suspect someone committed a typo when they put down "88" for him.

Let me put a different prospective on this issue. The whole point of the pitcher is to throw off the batters timing. I’ve been reading this thread for some time and I think that every one is missing what the Fast Ball (90+) equates to - THE BATTERS TIMING. Which is the key goal of getting batters out. Let me explain; the time that a 90+ fb arrives to the catcher - about a blink and a half or so, to that of the lower 80mph ball which is a little longer. All the difference in the world. We all must agree to this. The slower the ball the more time the batter has to adjust to that pitch. Let’s face it. A strike is a strike weather it is 93 or 83. If the pitcher throws an 83 fast ball two balls on the outside corner, would the batter swing??? Now, have that pitcher throw a 93 same place will he swing?? I observe more time than not, that the batter will swing. Why, he must commit early. Which means more strike out’s for the fast ball pitcher. The longer the batter has to see the ball the higher percentage of the batter hitting the ball. That means, the 90+ pitcher get’s the ride to college or pro’s much quicker than the guy throwing mid to lower 80’s. How many times have you heard from the college coaches or even pro scout’s that a guy throwing 90+ all over the place, we will take him then we will teach control?????? I heard this all the time when my son was in the process of going to college two years ago. Now don't turn my words around, a lower fast ball guy still has a chance. What do you guys think??

What typo? First of all we have Chris listed as Chris Somerville. He was 78-81 with a 61 mph CB and what appeared to be a 73 mph slider. We did not get him at 88 mph, he topped out at 81. This is not to say anything bad about him as a pitcher. Just not a high velocity guy at this tournament.

He threw twice in the tournament. We have not seen him other than at this one event. So we have no further velocity readings or info on him. If "rhobbs" says he, a pro scout and six college coaches all got 88, then I suppose they did... but we didn't! There was no typo on our end!

how many low to mid 80's pitchers do you see D1 programs jumping after. It all starts with velocity and works from there. Throw 90 and see how many D1 guys are after you, throw 82 get lots of ground ball outs and everyone will say he is a pitcher, I don't understand why no D1 programs are interested. Bottom line is if you can get people out throw 82, hit spots change speeds you will play in college, just not in a D1 program. Throw 90 and be ready for lots of offers. No need to debate it, it is that way. You can talk with all of the college coaches and they will tell you the same thing and more to the point check there roster and you will see the players they call "pitchers" with tight breaking pitches great control but not over powering stuff are throwing 88. It is just the same as basketball, you can't teach height and in baseball they love the heat. They will bend quite a bit if the kid is throwing 94 and a little irratic.For the most part the reason the kid who is throwing 82 and getting people out is a pitcher because his skills as a position player do not give him a opportunity to play college baseball.

PGSTAFF,

As usual, your report on Chris Somerville is accurate. I will add that he is a good kid and a hard worker.

I agree with Midlo as to a typo or something on the mph that RHobbs stated on Chris.