The 3 Measurable Tools — Where Your Son Needs to Be

Every kid who starts in t-ball has a goal of playing in the MLB. Baseball is one of the few sports where every athletic kid has an opportunity to make that a reality because you do not have to be 6'9" or 235 pounds of muscle to have a chance. You have to have tools and you have to work.

There are five tools that make up a baseball player: hitting for average, hitting for power, arm strength, fielding, and speed. Without at least average skills in each of them, the opportunity to play in college becomes more difficult. The more of those tools that sit above average, the higher level he can potentially play.

Two of those tools — hitting for average and fielding — take a trained eye to give you an evaluation. You want someone honest, who has seen a lot of players and has a track record of evaluating college and pro players; not just a parent in the bleachers.

The other three tools you can measure. Exit velocity, arm strength, and a 60 are the numbers a college coach writes down first. Find out where your son stands on these three, write them down, and compare them to the level he actually wants to play — not to the kid who dominated in his 13U league.

Measurable Tool #1 - Bat Speed

The first thing scouts and college coaches look for at the plate is power. That does not have to mean home runs. Gap-to-gap power is legitimate power because every hitter who wants to play college or pro ball has to be able to drive a baseball over an outfielder’s head and keep them honest. Whether he is 5'5" and 150 pounds or 6'5" and 225, that is the same job.

Hitting power is a combination of barrel speed and hitting behind the baseball. You can see the hitter's power in BP when the ball jumps and continues to carry further than you would expect. For example, a line drive that should be caught by the left fielder keeps going and short hops the fence.

The number I trust more than just evaluating BP is exit velocity off a tee with a wood bat because every player has the same variables. Stand with a gun behind the tee, use decent baseballs and a wood bat. That reading tells you where he stands against other hitters.

You do not have to have plus power to be a good hitter, but you have to have at least average. Even the slap hitters — Ichiro in batting practice for example — could hit a baseball a long way when they wanted to.

Measurable Tool #2 - Arm Velocity

Arm strength is the easiest tool to develop and the easiest for a coach to spot. Before every game, and before every inning, position players play catch, which means every throw is a chance to show the arm before a pitch is even thrown.

Coaches look at three things when they are judging that arm.

The first

The first is the radar gun. Have someone hold it behind or next to the guy he is throwing to so you get an honest reading, not a number from a phone app across the parking lot.

The second

The second is the player’s carry on the ball. A shortstop with a real arm does not have the ball start to drop before it gets to first — it stays true, and it can even look like it rises as the first baseman catches it. A catcher’s throw down to second is the same. An outfielder with carry looks like the ball finds a second gear halfway to his target instead of dying.

The third

The third is how much effort the player throws with. Two kids can throw 90 miles an hour and look like completely different players doing it. One makes it look easy. The other looks like he is at a hundred percent. Easy is what coaches want to see because that is the arm that will last and be more accurate.

Measurable Tool #3 - The 60

Speed is usually the first event at a showcase, which is why the fast kids shine right away. That does not mean a kid who cannot run a 6.5 has no usable speed in a baseball game.

I break speed into two parts. Top-end speed is what shows up in a 60-yard dash because the player has time to get his body moving and up to full speed. That is exactly why the 60 can show some kids as being extremely fast when they aren’t necessarily fast on the bases. A guy can be a rocket from 20 to 60 yards and still not help you much in a game.

The first step is the part that actually plays in a game. If the athlete can cross over and be at full speed almost immediately, he can steal and he can defend, which means an average 6.9 to 7.1 with a plus first step is a different player than the 60 suggests on paper.

When you time it, start him like he is stealing a base. Have him crossover, then sprint the full 60 yards. Make sure you start the stopwatch on his first movement. Write down the number you actually got — not the one you hoped for.

The sliding scale

These numbers are not carved in stone. A kid who is well above average in one tool can sit a little lower in another, and that is still a real player if the rest of the skills hold up. Think of the chart as a guideline for where he stands against the position and the level he says he wants.

If he is not where he wants to be yet, do not panic. However, don’t continue to attend showcases until the numbers are where they need to be for the level your son wants to play at. All three of these tools improve if the work gets put in. I have seen a 7.6 60 become a 6.8 in six months, and I have seen arm strength and bat speed jump 10 mph in a matter of months.

If the work does not get put in, I can almost guarantee the jump will not come. Measure your son, put the numbers into the evaluation tool, and then go to the backyard and stack the 20 minutes daily. That is how the tools actually change.