Will your son get drafted at THAT speed?`

quote:

Originally posted by Bum:
Just thought I'd share a great link with those of you who did not know it existed. You can look up the 2006 draft by round and view video of the pitchers and their radar speeds.. great stuff. Here's the link:

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/events/draft/y2006/tracker/search.jsp

It's a great way to check to see if your son stacks up.

When looking at this, please keep in mind that velocity is only one of the things a scout looks at. Yes, it will get you looked at but, assuming a guy throws hard enough (88-90 MPH), he must also have good movement on his fastball and sharp break on his curveball. You can also see that in these videos.

Velocity is not enough.

True, very true. Velocity -- movement -- deception -- location. But without velocity, you're not getting on the bus.

Velocity isn't necessary to be a successful pitcher. But it is normally necessary to get the opportunity to show that one can be a successful pitcher.

I was reading some BA articles today and came across this one:

Area Code Games Participants Fail To Impress
By Alan Matthews
August 25, 2005

On the third day of the Area Code Games, two veteran scouts sat in the stands at Long Beach State sweating over their notes and sipping bottled water under the brims of their hats. Another lean pitcher trotted out to the mound.

"Who's this kid?" one scout inquired.

"Number 43," the other responded.

They reached for their radar guns as the righthander wrapped up the final of eight warm-up pitches.

86 . . . 85 . . . 85 . . . 84 . . .

And with that, they slid their guns back underneath their seats behind home plate and stared back out at the field, without another word exchanged.

As the summer wound down on the national showcase circuit, it became increasingly clear that the high school class of 2006 hasn't yet revealed much premium talent

quote:

Originally posted by Texan:
Velocity isn't necessary to be a successful pitcher. But it is normally necessary to get the opportunity to show that one can be a successful pitcher.

Yes, but I would argue that once you cross the 88-90 MPH threshold your time is better spent working on your movement and control (e.g. developing plus pitches) than on getting a few extra MPH.

A 90 MPH fastball with great, late bore or sink will often be rated higher than a 94 MPH fastball that comes in on a rail.

The 94 mph thrower will get more attention than the 90 mph thrower. No matter what everyone says. Listen to the scouts reactions at the field and you will know this.

Now as to which will be the more successful pitcher, that is entirely another question. It is so obvious it goes without saying that the 94 mph straight fb thrower is going to get rocked.

But the hard throwers will get many chances to fail.