Pitching velo

[Vertigo]

In response to this last sentence. No it's not. It's about speed, spin, spots. If you want to see some very long balls, bring a pitcher in that has the first without the others and as soon as you face a decent team at 14U, she'll get hammered. There are countless threads debating which one is more important but to argue it's speed alone is naive. I'll take a kid that can spin it and spot it all day with or without elite speed. Is there a minimum speed threshold for the others to work, sure, but once that is reached the others become more important.

Agreed. Just have to watch the D1 regionals going on right now to demonstrate this. You can watch two pitchers - one from a P5 and one from a lower level mid-major - the radar shows them both throwing similar velocity. However, the P5 pitcher is generating a lot of K’s with swings and misses, the other pitcher, not so much. That is spin and spot.

 

[Vertigo]

Just to add - I will admit that there probably is a velocity threshold at the P5 level to be considered, but it’s the spin/spot that gets those that meet that threshold recruited.

 

[UKCATSFAN76]

Grand Canyon showed last night that you don’t have to throw 65-70 to beat top P5 schools.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RADcatcher]

Grand Canyon showed last night that you don’t have to throw 65-70 to beat top P5 schools.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Smart strategy with control!

 

[efastball]

as soon as you face a decent team at 14U, she'll get hammered.

Speed trumps 14U ball in the long run

 

[LEsoftballdad]

One of the oldest adages in baseball is that pitching is like real estate. It is all about location, location, location. Why would softball be any different? Hint: it's not.

 

[Chilixa]

Speed trumps 14U ball in the long run

Elite pitchers have all speed, spin and control. It is a very small group that are elite at all 3. Pitchers need to work on all 3. But if they have maxed out in one area they should work hard on another. You have to work with the tools you have been given.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tazman]

Speed trumps 14U ball in the long run

They can hit the crap out of speed without the other two at 14U at high levels. If there was a 14U pitcher that threw 65 without spin and spots, I'd expect the over under against my DDs 14u team to be about 8 runs. That 65 girl will get 3 or 4 strikeouts. Put my daughter on the mound for us who throws into the low 60s but can spin it and spot it also and the over under on a comparable team is about 2. We'll win 80% of the time.

 

[PharmerBrown]

They can hit the crap out of speed without the other two at 14U at high levels. If there was a 14U pitcher that threw 65 without spin and spots, I'd expect the over under against my DDs 14u team to be about 8 runs. That 65 girl will get 3 or 4 strikeouts. Put my daughter on the mound for us who throws into the low 60s but can spin it and spot it also and the over under on a comparable team is about 2. We'll win 80% of the time.

I'll take the under against a 14U that throws 65.

 

[_MIA_]

I'll take the under against a 14U that throws 65.

Me too unless he wants to say what team his kid plays for..