Are You Better Than a Professional Baseball Player?

[Wes]

Honestly pitching speed is not a huge deal in HS baseball. I mean sure if you have a guy who throws 90's or high 80's in hs you will win pretty much all of those games. But control is what really comes in to play. If you can control your fastball and you are able to control your off speed pitches well you dont need to be throwing high 80's and you can pitch high 70's and low 80's. Some of the best pitchers on my HS team threw mid 80's but had great breaking stuff and posted ERA's like .75 or .23. There was a guy who posted a .15 ERA when I was a freshman he threw low 80's but he could put the ball where ever he wanted to. If you can put the ball on the corners most high school hitters cannot touch those pitches. My senior year I caught for a kid who had a 4 seam fastball, 2 seam, curve, slider, changeup, and a knuckle. He maybe gave up 2 runs in all the games he pitched, a stud pitcher, but size didn't project him as a college pitcher. He plays at Oklahoma State now but doesn't really pitch for them, but was their leading hitter this year.

Agreed. My junior year our ace threw about 78 but went undefeated and only allowed 2 runs all year. The guy only walked two guys in something like 80 innings and knew how to throw a changeup.

 

[predatorkj]

Honestly pitching speed is not a huge deal in HS baseball. I mean sure if you have a guy who throws 90's or high 80's in hs you will win pretty much all of those games. But control is what really comes in to play. If you can control your fastball and you are able to control your off speed pitches well you dont need to be throwing high 80's and you can pitch high 70's and low 80's. Some of the best pitchers on my HS team threw mid 80's but had great breaking stuff and posted ERA's like .75 or .23. There was a guy who posted a .15 ERA when I was a freshman he threw low 80's but he could put the ball where ever he wanted to. If you can put the ball on the corners most high school hitters cannot touch those pitches. My senior year I caught for a kid who had a 4 seam fastball, 2 seam, curve, slider, changeup, and a knuckle. He maybe gave up 2 runs in all the games he pitched, a stud pitcher, but size didn't project him as a college pitcher. He plays at Oklahoma State now but doesn't really pitch for them, but was their leading hitter this year.

I'll give you that. Josh Beckett was killing the comptition in high school until he got to the play offs and started facing better and better teams. Guys who could handle his speed. So fast doesn't mean unhittibale. Control gets you a lot closer to that though.

 

[predatorkj]

Ok? I don't see how what you're saying has anything to do with what I wrote.

I completely agree that the "hotbeds" are the best competition (Cali, Florida, Texas). That's just common knowledge and indicative of the ability to play all year long. Hell, the draft and showcases clearly indicate and support that notion.

We operate in the northeast, where baseball is not exactly the same level as those "hotbeds. BUT, we still have our stud players playing at serious college levels (Moran, Panik, etc) and some players that completely overmatch the HS competition they play against (Fernelys, Nelson Rodriguez, Antonio, Jerez, etc).

All I was pointing out is that..... thinking you know what pitch velocity is by eyeball isn't as easy as it seems. Plus, just because you throw hard, doesn't make you a good pitcher or going to get batters out. That's all.

Okay. Just sounded like you didn't believe it's possible.