Weird Trackman Reqdings

The Trackman could have needed calibration (no idea if that is a thing or not with TM). I would definitely try to get him with a PR or a Stalker. Is it the same Trackman that had him at 82 and now 73? Does he have an injury or soreness?

Other factors could influence the velo. Mainly, was he amped up for the pen? Is he injured now?

Same Trackman and he had some shoulder discomfort pre season but it’s gone now. I just find it odd the kid that throws gas normally (he plays in our county) was below 80 and another big kid full effort was throwing mid 70s.

none of it makes sense and I really wish they would turn the guns off and just do it at strategic points. If my kid was a funky lefty throwing off speed I get it but having a low 70s fastball with iffy command gets you annihilated around here and he pitched very well against two top seeded county powerhouses. He does have a ton of horizontal run (17-20 inches if that’s even accurate) so maybe that’s it.

dunno. All I know is I hate radar guns/

I bought a Stalker Pro 2 many years ago. It was the best available at the time. My son was always lower in pens than in games, resulting in the pen being bad because he was trying to throw harder. One of his HS teammates who threw 89-92 was topping out at 79 with it one day. Used the tuning fork and it was reading normal. Another kid right after him was throwing high 80's and right where he normally is. I guess my point is some kid's velo varies greatly based on the situation.

My son's long-time pitching coach always says, "the hitters will tell you how hard you're throwing". I finally just put the Stalker in the case and stopped using it. I'd lend it out whenever needed, but stopped using it. I finally gave it to his college coaches. Maybe they'll use it on recruiting showcases or something.

I'd wait until the summer and try to get a velo from PG, PBR, or some other event. Verified in game velo will be important.

If 3 different kids are all reading significantly lower than usual it sounds like there's an issue with the radar gun.

If all three players came back with PR's of  5+ mph's more than I would ignore those numbers just the same.

I realize this doesn't answer your question but most pitchers are 3-5 mph slower in their bullpens than in games.  Adrenaline is an amazing thing.  Also most people throw slower indoors than outdoors, probably harder to block front leg on turf mound vs on quality dirt mound with metal spikes.   See myth #5 in attached link.

https://danblewett.com/pitching-velocity-myths/