great movement

[MNDad]

A girl 4’11” at 13 will likely only grow another inch or so. If “high level” means playing in college, yes, there’s hope. If it means D1 it’s possible, but her chances are slim. There just aren’t many 5’ pitchers. That said, we have a local girl that’s an amazing pitcher listed at 5’ 3". She helped her 16U team to a 3rd place PGF National finish and holds the MN HS all-time HS strikeout record. She’ll also be playing in the Big 10 next season.

FWIW throwing 56 mph at 13 is actually very fast. Getting great movement in multiple directions at 56 would put her among the very best. At her age and size it would be more typical to see a top speed in practice at 56 and game speed in the lower 50’s. Some girls have a good drop ball by this age or sort of a natural curve on their fastballs. Very few 13 yo’s can move the ball up/down or in/out. If she can do as described she has a bright future.

 

[MNDad]

Don't know about specific mathematics. I've heard 1' closer to the plate = 3mph, but I don't know what pitching distance that applies to.

I read an article on this last season. There are MLB pitchers who top out at 88-89mph. Some of them are described as "sneaky fast." They don't hit 90mph, but somehow the ball seems to get on the hitter in a hurry. Video analysis showed that the "sneaky fast" pitchers released from a point closer to the plate.

Some girls on the tall side almost stride out of the circle, so all other things being equal that pitch is probably getting to the hitter quicker.

Part of the “sneaky fast” of a taller softball pitcher is the long arms appear to slowly lumber around and all of a sudden the ball zips off her hand.

An extra foot in stride distance will reduce reaction time by approx .01 second
An extra mph at the same distance will reduce reaction time by approx .007 seconds

The formula is Distance/Speed * 1.47 (ft per second)

 

[Greenmonsters]

"Sneaky fast", whether in softball or baseball, isn't size or height specific. It's simply the perception that a pitcher is throwing harder than expected, which IME happens most commonly with pitchers with a smooth motion and refined mechanics. Pitchers can also be sneaky slow, which usually results from a disparity between arm speed and pitch speed.

 

[buckeyeballer]

Texas a&m #1 listed at 5'4

 

[Greenmonsters]

And don't forget that those height numbers are routinely padded (or measured in heels).

 

[mawilson2]

I hope she has a shot. DD is a freshman pitcher, 14 years old and 5 foot even. She is the starting pitcher for her HS varsity this year. Pitches mid 50s and averaging over 8 Ks per game. Has had 152 strike outs so far this year. Proud Dad!

 

[CJ D]

Thought about this thread today as I was watching little 5'6" Macha pitching against LSU in the regional.

 

[sbfan66]

Zoe Conley from CSUN is listed at 5'2" but we walked by her after they came to WA and she's noticeably shorter than my wife who is 5'3". She got beat up a little bit in the UCLA regional by UCLA but she was the CSUN pitcher of the year and CSUN flirted with the top 25 most of the year. Interestingly, she throws her rise ball harder than Cheridan Hawkins who's 5'10".

 

[RetiredCoach]

One of my fun things to do at college fastpitch games is to compare the players heights given in the programs with their actual heights. I've seen disparities as great as 4 or more inches.

 

[buckeyeballer]

Update on this little pitcher.... This past weekend the coach had our 13u team up in a 16u PGF showcase our team fair OK going 3-2-3 (yes 3 ties)... But the impressive part is that our little 4'11" pitcher had 2 wins 1 tie and 1 save... One of the wins was a 1 hitter to a team that dominated everyone else.... So this kid is definitely making me a believer....