What’s better??

[Pauld785]

I was looking for some feed back
About a conversation recently.
For a 13yo pitcher would coaches
Prefer a pitcher who can really bring the heat/hit her spots say average.Or a P with ok speed but has a really good /borderline exceptional changup
Being able to hit her spots fairly consistent ,lots of movement. 1 spot open elite/gold 14u
Travel ball level
Which pitcher?
Not considering the rest of the rotation. Just personal preference

 

[MadBandit22]

I was looking for some feed back
About a conversation recently.
For a 13yo pitcher would coaches
Prefer a pitcher who can really bring the heat/hit her spots say average.Or a P with ok speed but has a really good /borderline exceptional changup
Being able to hit her spots fairly consistent ,lots of movement. 1 spot open elite/gold 14u
Travel ball level
Which pitcher?
Not considering the rest of the rotation. Just personal preference

At 14U the faster the better. If she has change-up and good movement pitches all the better.
But I think I see what your getting at. Is speed the almighty indicator above all else. At young ages yes along with good mechanics. If going pitcher with speed can hit her spots she will do well.
If she only has straight fastball she will get hit 2nd, 3rd time through the line-up. Helps to have off-speed pitch with other movement pitches to compliment fastball and keep hitters off-balance.
Having said that I would want to see both pitchers pitch to hitters to see if they know how to pitch. Some girls are just throwers and have no idea how to set-up a hitter and make them uncomfortable.
As the saying goes speed kills. I would take the girl with the better speed.

 

[Pauld785]

Let me add this....the pitcher not as fast has excellent mound presence a knack
For getting out of sticky situations. The pitcher who is faster is also taller and seems to bring more of an intimidating
Presence. Thanks madbandit22 your reply was great

 

[Dabears17]

How fast is 'fast' and how much movement does the faster pitcher have? Does she just have a fastball, or does she have a drop and a decent curve or change-up? In my experience, good hitters can adjust to raw speed the 2nd or 3rd time they see it in a game.

How fast is 'ok speed'? What kind of pitches and speed do the existing pitchers on the team have?

My personal preference (going on you not wanting to consider rest of rotation), would be to go with the 'ok' speed and great movement. Pitching is the art of disrupting timing.

I've heard Mike White and Mike Candrea at coaching conferences say you can pitch in college if you can hit spots with both your fastball/drop and change-up.

 

[Pauld785]

So the girl who pitches faster is between 56-59 ( that’s what I’m told) her changeup tends to be up in the zone her go to pitch is the fastball with little movement
The pitcher not as fast is still 52-54 changeup is 39/40 her I’ve seen on radar.
Heavy spin/moves but if she doesn’t sneak that fastball by it gets hit hard. But her changeup is awesome she uses it on full counts. Both girls have a whip at 1.50

It’s sounds like the second pitcher I’m being biased towards but I don’t. Niether
Is myDD

 

[Dabears17]

I subtract 3mph from what people tell me a pitcher is pitching until I clock her with a pocket radar myself. How tall is the faster pitcher? In 12's and 1st year 14's I've seen two pitchers throwing identical speeds where the one who is taller/looks more intimidating gets more outs.

You might win against first year 14u teams with the taller/faster pitcher, but personally I would take a 52-54mph pitcher with an excellent change-up any day for 14u and beyond.

 

[Pauld785]

Thanks dabears
I’m guessing on height but fairly tall 5’8 maybe a tad taller the other 5’4 or so
I like your reply on disruptive pitching
Great point.

 

[efastball]

How can you have an 'exceptional changeup' if you don't have gas? Especially for gold/elite.

Gas wins.

 

[DNeeld]

All this is just my opinion, both as a coach and a a father whose DD is NOT a fireballer.

1. Neither girl would be considered "fast" at the 14U gold level.

2. Fast or slow....if there is no placement and hitting the correct spot 90% of the time it is called batting practice at the 14U gold level.

3. Define "exceptional" change up. A nice speed drop doesn't mean a thing if it can't be deceptive AND placed on command.

4. If I have a choice between a pitcher who hits spots 90% of the time and one who hits spots 85% of the time but throws 5MPH faster, I'm going with the faster girl.

5. If I have a girl who throws in the low 50s with 5-6 inches of movement and a girl who throws in the high 50s with 2-3 inches of movement, I'm going with the girl who throws in the high 50s.

 

[grcsftbll]

If you have a good defense, I think a slower pitcher (not SLOW but slower) who is better at hitting her spots is a better asset. I have a video of a game we played where the coach called pitches specifically to get fieldable hits to short stop. I actually made a video of it because my DD was playing short and I think she fielded about 80% of the hits that game. This pitcher is so good at hitting her spots. She's probably about average speed for our age group but is a very effective pitcher.

Meanwhile a fast, flat pitcher, if they get her timed, that's all there is. I wouldn't think a pitcher without any movement would make it long in 14U gold though.