What speed is good

No. 4

interesting... my son was always told that his elbow should travel somewhat above the plane of his shoulders when pitching, as this would lesson stress on the elbow, This was told to him by not only reputable pitching instructors but an orthopedic surgeon as well. We talked to the Doc after he had some elbow pain and the conclusion was that this was more of a result of his throws from shortstop (where he played every game that he wasn't pitching during high school) which often required a quick release type throw... below the shoulder...
Obviously, you wouldn't want to take it to an extreme, but each pitcher will have an "arm slot" that is more comfortable, and effective, that will be somewhat unique to him.
As for my son, when he adjusted his throws from short, getting the elbow a little above the plane of his shoulders, the pain went away and he actually threw harder across the infield.

 

Diesel1 I couldn't agree with your more! While everyone gets caught up with someones velocity, I always ask the question ............... does his fastball move? I have witnessed guys that could throw 90+ and their fastball was as straight as a string. Good hitters of all ages will take a ball without movement downtown on you. Location, location, location! Just look at Cliff Lee of the Phillies, while he tops out at around 93, he locates his pitches extremely well. Not everyone (most can't) throw in the 90's. Tom Glavine comes to mind as well Diesel!

 

No wonder my son Paul only got a couple of D1 offers. He threw like a 14 yr old.

 

When the arm is shoulder height, the body works more efficiently to bring it to release point and you are simply phyically stronger in that position. If the feet are moving the arm will get there quickly and the body will carry the arm to a good release point. The results should be straighter throw and more velocity.

Having been a pitching coach for some time, the above velo table is dead on for the good/above avg pitchers at their ages. The phenoms at those ages are higher up to 5 mph.

We have been putting together a study on velo for infielders across the diamond and will be doing more this fall. So far the avg high school player has been around 66-70mph on the underclassmen. We will be collecting data on the showcase kids this fall.

 

My sons fastball seldom has any movement. Generaly straight as an arrow. He also throws a 2 seam which is about 7mph slower and tails about 7 inches. The problem is we can't get a coach to call it. Most boys he has played with don't have a 2 seam.

 

The feature article about Tim Lincecum in Sports Illustrated last year prominently commented about the elbow above the shoulder being the number one red flag scouts look at as an indicator of future injury and lost $$$ invested in a pitcher. They used Mark Prior as the poster boy for this observation as he has a pronounced high-flying elbow in his delivery and he has been broken down for almost five years now.

 

When ECU's Coach Godwin was at Louisburg, he stated that his pitchers rarely threw a 4 seam, mostly threw the 2 He didn't mind sacrificing velocity for movement.

 

There's part of a bigger problem ... coaches calling pitches, for the most part, is very unproductive for pitcher development at this level.

 

...thank you!!!!

 

and...

it ain't teaching the catchers much about calling a game.