Winter Camps and Showcases

Welcome to the board!

College coaches will look at several things when looking at pitchers in winter: 1) velo (if a pitcher has it in winter, he has it mid-season, 2) command and control (likewise), 3) arm action/delivery (that would be the same in winter as in mid-season), 4) intangibles (e.g., body language, etc.), and 5) misc stuff that that coach may focus on.

The coach does understand that a pitcher may be coming off a layoff and may not be in spring season shape. So if he's a really good judge of pitching talent, he will really study the arm action and delivery. If the coach likes the delivery, he will put the pitcher on his watch list and see him during the spring season.

Just as Goosegg suggests, college coaches appreciate the fact that the pitchers they're seeing are in the midst of their off season. However, just as they do during mid-season evaluations, they're still looking carefully at the relative difference among the pitchers they're evaluating. In other words, there will be some standouts there who, because of their mechanics and skills, will not have fallen off as much as others.

This very topic came up recently in a conversation with my son, a college assistant coach. He'd just returned from having worked as an instructor at a weekend clinic in the Midwest.

As he described a pitcher who'd impressed him, he was quick to acknowledge that he was making a January evaluation. However, even though this pitcher may not have been at mid-season form, he still exhibited above-average command and velocity when compared to his peers (for the very underlying factors that Goosegg describes).

I think the main thing of concern to off season pitchers is that they risk extending themselves beyond what their off season physical condition allows; causing a pre-season injury. If your son attends, try to make sure that he's in adequate shape.

Best of luck to him!