Osterman at 55 mph?

[sluggers]

Suppose Osterman's top speed was 55 mph, not 60. Would she be a successful D1 pitcher?

My vote is "No". She has a great rise and great control, but at 55 MPH, hitters would be able to adjust to her junk pitches and hit her--hard.

 

[Mark H]

Cyfairslam would be the final authority on that but my recollection is she was between 55 and 60 when she arrived at Texas. I think Kristen Schmidt was a mile or two slower but I stand to be corrected on both those. Having said that, I wouldn't use those two as the standard. One has otherworldly spin and the second had otherworldly location. Probably still does if she still pitches. Haven't heard anything about KS in years.

 

[calgofo]

I'm not so sure on that one Ray. When Cat was being recruited i think her top speed was between 59-61 and she was successful then. IIRC, (and if I'm not remembering the correct pitcher, I'm sure Mark H will) Britni Sneed was succesful and she was right around 55.


EDIT: Mark posted before I typed in, but I'll go with his recollection.

 

[cyfairslam]

When Cat was recruited she was throwing about 58- 60 mph tops. If you asked her to throw as fast as she could she could hit her current speed at will and would top out at about 66.

Britni Sneed was pitching around 60 I think during her time with LSU and the National Team.

Obviously, Cat would not be as effective at 55, but she could still do well and would probably need to throw more changes I would guess.
With that said, if 55 was the max speed any pitcher could throw, I don't think there would be any other pitcher in her class and very few in the class just below it. That is my biased opinion.

 

[Mark H]

No question Cat has added significant muscle mass since high school. No wonder she throws harder.

 

[rowdy]

I think way too much emphasis is put on speed. Cat Osterman played on a pretty mediocre UT team and still got all the awards in her career. If she had thrown 55 and still have the command of her pitches like she does she would still have been dominant. Against lessor competitiion speed will get you wins. Once you start playing the top teams you can't throw it past them no matter how fast it is.