Would you rather have speed or great movement on the mound?

In high school I would rather have speed. In travel ball and college you had better have both. In high school you can take a girl that can throw 60+ and has a changeup and she will win most of her games But you take a girl that can only throw 48 to 50 with movement and she will get hit hard. Saw had a girl like that in our conference a few years ago. She was in high 40s but had good movement but it was so slow the other teams would hit the ball and put pressure on the defense to make every play and we all know how that can be in highschool. But a girl throwing hard will strike out 2/3s of the batters she faces thus the defense has to make only a few plays. Either way with both control is very important

 

TB or HS makes no difference. The upper level of either better have both. The lower levels of either can get away with speed only. There are quite a few schools out there where the level of play is as high as top TB.

Movement is a function of speed and spin. Pitchers who's fastball is less than about 58 cannot move the ball on breaking pitches nearly as effectively.

 

It really all depends on how much speed and how much movement. If you only throw the ball 55 mph and your movement is flat (meaning in or out) you will get hit and hit hard at the travel ball and college levels. If you have a 70 mph fastball you can get by with not having much movement if you can locate the ball where you want to. I believe you need both speed and movement to be an elite pitcher. I prefer movement that is either up or down myself.

 

Question(s) for the Knowledgeable?

Great thread.....
On TBR, there's always people talking about stud pitchers...here's my question: (assume Jr. year in high school as an age target)

What truly constitutes a stud pitcher?
REALISTICALLY, and that's an important word, how fast is fast enough? And how much movement are you talking about on the breaking balls to be truly effective? (Please discuss up and down as well as side to side.)

When a pitcher mysteriously shows up on the doorstep of the high-end TB organizations and/or the premier high school programs, what are the generic "minimum requirements" that the coaches are looking for? I would assume 48MPH with a change-up just isn't going to get it done.....

(Mound presence and attitude are left for a different discussion on a different day........this is intended to be a pure physics debate!)
Any takers?

 

Great pitchers have mastered 3 disciplines

IMO...

These three areas must be mastered to be a great pitcher...

1. Power... which covers speed and velocity
2. Control... consistency with regard to location and movement
3. Deception.. effective changing of speed and movement in 2 planes..

 

Thanks.....any logistics to accompany your 3 categories?

 

In the past I would have said there is no way to compensate for flat out speed. Hitters have improved to the point that speed in itself will only get shots to the fence. Pitching is multidimensional and much can be taught. (Thanks CFBall for how much you have accomplished with our little group.) A little speed with precise placement can go along way. A little speed with movement can go along way. Speed with deception......You get the picture. Speed cannot stand alone against quality hitting. However, speed does give a pitcher a greater margin of error. In my mind precise control, movement, and deception can all work to be an equalizer. (But if you miss and it ain't got HEAT, you gonna get burnt!!)

ERMS

 

4th Area

Excellent comments WndMillR

4. MENTAL aspect of the game. If you have a mental stud on that mound, many, many times teams are defeated by that and the suffocating surroundings

 

Also a 6'-2" pitcher is intimidating also-----:newsmile10:---------




GURU

 

Ditto: just making an additional comment.The harder you throw, the more spin you get. The more spin you get, the more movement comes with it. Throwing it hard also brings the intimidation factor in. Mental attitude also plays big.