Baseball question for a softball forum

[625ender]

At 15 change nothing. If he can locate with velocity and movement he'll always have a job. Position specific training and playing will only hurt him at that age. Let him play ball and enjoy the game.

Just remember that 15 is a LONG way from baseball glory. The bottleneck gets tighter by the month

 

[Vertigo]

My questions would be is he better than the other 1B/3B position players at those positions? Is he the #1 go-to in HS for pitching (at varsity, not JV)? If he is better than the other fielders but not the ace on the HS team, keep him playing the field. If he is the true ace in HS at the varsity level, go PO if he’s not a good hitter.

PO’s sit way more in baseball than in softball due to pitch counts. Don’t limit his possibilities if he’s not truly lights out as a HS pitcher on varsity.

 

[Rolling Hard]

There is also a long list of MLB players that pitched in HS and now play RF, 1st or 3rd base and are power hitters. Mark Trumbo comes to mind. Think Trout might have pitched too. Pigeonholing early is a overrated mistake, IMO. Let the kids have fun.

 

[ANNASDAD]

In my post (#4) I just gave one example of a scenario I got to personally watch play out up close, and it worked out for that family.

I say keep working on hitting at the very least, and let him continue to be a position player if you’re not worried about him getting hurt, which of course you can’t predict!

Vertigo is exactly right, a PO in baseball is BORING! And at 15, who’s knows, he maybe hasn’t hit his stride at the plate yet? Anna was a barely above average, mediocre hitter at best until right at 15/16, I found the right hitting instructor and her numbers and confidence went through the roof!

Don’t give up on hitting yet!

 

[Shiloh]

Thanks for the input. Very helpful.

He's 14, about to enter high school.

After I posted he received an invite to scrimmage this morning with some varsity and JV players. Coaches wanted an early look I guess. Gave up two hits, got 2 Ks vs 10 batters. Did decent in the field, good arm across the diamond

We don't have a sense about where he'll rank as a corner on the frosh team. I will ask.

Hitting is a work in progress. Struck out 3x against JV pitching. Swing's too long. Lots to work on.

But the real issue is the travel ball. Club offers are almost all PO now, with maybe some field time.
From what I'm reading here, seems like if he takes up with a lower-level club team that allows him to compete for a position and hitting slot, he may not see the best hitters, but that's OK, there's still time (clubs are telling us otherwise, saying he'll be left behind if he doesn't start facing top hitting soon).

 

[Vertigo]

So not even in HS yet? I’d be very careful about going PO at this point if he hasn’t even played HS ball yet. Is he hitting low to mid-80s with his pitching with decent curve and CU? If not, might not see much time at varsity level (if in a good conference).

Sorry, my idea of a stud pitcher is a frosh who is starting varsity as one of the top pitchers, if PO. Baseball is so different than SB though.

Travel BB is also extremely different than travel SB. You don’t typically see boys playing up. They typically stay within their age group, so very difficult to gauge if a player is a true stud if they are only playing against kids their own age or an age group older, at most.

 

[Shiloh]

I wanted to be very careful not to get into the deets because it's not really relevant to what I'm asking but since it's come up: he is a stud. 80mph+ and curve and change. Effortless. Looks like he could throw all day long.

His HS is one of the top in the state and the country. If you're a varsity starter at his HS, you're a P5 D1 scholly and a low round prospect. They've produced a dozen major leaguers. Household names. Football powerhouse too.

Varsity coach called us before we accepted admission (it's a private school). Said he will play frosh ball the first year, no matter what. School rules. Maybe can workout with JV, but they don't want freshman on JV.

Sophomore year is different - they expect him to skip JV and move straight to varsity.

 

[Powerof9]

Keep him hitting. Find a hitting coach. Sometimes things just click later than others. I have seen one swing thought, one different way of thinking that takes the kid to the next level. Get him an eye exam before every season or twice a year.

 

[Chris8]

Keep hitting.

He's too young to specialize as PO. Things change

Our DS was P/1B not a "stud" but very solid.

a couple observations from his playing days.

One PO at rival school was a stud and went PO. He went to P5 school...never saw the field...ever.

One of DS's travel teammates was the starting catcher at his HS. There was another catcher (C2) who was a year younger and was his back up and caught rarely.

Both ended up at the same P5 school and won a national championship together. DS travel teammate ended up at 1B and this other guy, C2, had grown into a true stud and was a 1 round MLB pick.

At 14yo...both these young men were very SOLID....but you could not have predicted one would be a 1 round pick at that time.

Play for the love of the game.

Good luck.

 

[Vertigo]

I asked for the details because we see many well-meaning dads (and moms) who come on here thinking their kid is the next Jennie Finch (in SB) but then we find out more details and it’s far from reality.

That’s awesome that he’s that good at 14. Will be amazing to see what he does when he has fully physically developed.

Still would be careful slotting him to PO this early as things can change in the blink of an eye. Injuries happen, they stop developing, they become bored, etc.

Good luck with his journey, sounds like he’ll do great things!