Velocity Gains Once in College Program

I think I know what you would like to see on the subject. What changes or increases on guys were from small mechanical refinements, mostly. Sometimes a "lanky" player will show up and get busy in the gym, eat right and put on 30 pounds of muscle, turning into "the man".

Justin Hoyman was such a player. He was mid to high 80's and 150# when he got to Gainesville. He bulked up and added velocity. He is the exception to the rule, though.

More typical changes in performance are tweaking of command, hitting more spots, adding off-speed pitches, understanding how to get through the order 3 or 4 times without getting scored on too badly.

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Originally posted by Dad04:
More typical changes in performance are tweaking of command, hitting more spots, adding off-speed pitches, understanding how to get through the order 3 or 4 times without getting scored on too badly.

I agree with Dad04.
Mine gained 3mph, result of conditioning and filling in. However, the biggest gain (or should I say improvement) was being able to maintain higher velocity throughout the entire game and greater drop in offspeed.

I think 2 or 3 mph is typical. Knowing when to use it and when not to is also valuable and typically learned in the first year or two. Mine added 2.

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More typical changes in performance are tweaking of command, hitting more spots, adding off-speed pitches, understanding how to get through the order 3 or 4 times without getting scored on too badly.

Dad04 paints an accurate picture here. 2 to 3 mph is typical, but adding as much as 5 mph is possible. I've seen it myself. The strength and conditioning curve is steep for a lot of college freshmen, but not as steep as the learning curve for pitchers. The mechanical changes can also be severe.
That said, understand that velo alone will not get it done in college ball. The only measure that truly matters comes when the ump tells the batter to step in. It comes down to putting the ball where you want it, and being able to alter it's arrival time. All this with the lights on and the cameras rolling.

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spizzlepop posted: That said, understand that velo alone will not get it done in college ball. The only measure that truly matters comes when the ump tells the batter to step in. It comes down to putting the ball where you want it, and being able to alter it's arrival time. All this with the lights on and the cameras rolling.

...and the bus or plane is late and the GF is mad and the roomie is a moron and the Quantum Physics final is on Tuesday. It ain't as easy as it looks. and the NCAA wonders why they need 40 kids to get through the season.

I have a lot of thoughts about this which I won't take the time right now to share.

But I think Dad04 hit the nail on the head.

In HS, upper 80s and even 90s lets you get away with a lot of bad pitches. Bad fastballs that a HS hitter is just trying to survive and chases. Bad fastballs, down the middle of the plate, that most HS hitters can't handle. And bad breaking balls, in the dirt, 2 feet in front of the plate that the hitters will also chase because they committed early in their swing to try and handle the fastball.

Most of those advantages for pitchers that go along with speed in HS go away most of the time in college.

Yes, velocity will likely increase some...but its gaining command of 2-3 pitches and in particular pitches #2 and #3 that makes a good college pitcher.

I believe that is the focus of the coaches for most pitchers entering college baseball.

I fully understand the need for command, etc. Just wanted to know what sorts of gains folks have seen in the velo department.

Thanks.