Tool Talk: Fastball

Andy Ferguson: Another Day, Another Double Play

Throughout my travels, I always try my best to take some time and catch up with each tool. It is always interesting to learn about players from the point of view of the tools themselves. Some have more to say than others, not only about their own particular importance and value, but also about the relationships they have with other tools.

Most recently, I sat down for a chat with Fastball. While there is not really one tool that defines position players, the Fastball tool defines most pitchers...though not always for the right reason. Fastball had a few things to say about that, among other things.

Fastball: First, let me apologize for Hitting. I know you spoke with him previously, and sometimes he can get a little hot under the collar. Oops, Hitting hates it when I use the term “collar” around him.

Andy: Oh, I’m used to it with him. Who knows what Power will have to say though…

Fastball: Don’t worry about him, he’s not so tough. If a pitcher can do a good enough job of establishing me on the inner half, my friends Curveball and Changeup can keep Power on the bench all day long. Heck, Hitting too for that matter.

Andy: I certainly couldn’t disagree with you there. However, you and I both know that young pitchers today are most often concerned with only one of your components.

Fastball: Yep, they all want velocity. Why not movement, or command? One component alone certainly does not make a fastball. Though in reality, the only one with even a chance to stand alone would be command.

Andy: Thank you. I have been trying to get the same point across about Running. A 60-yard dash alone most certainly does not constitute a Running grade. It is simply one component of the eventual grade.

Fastball: Running and I, we both often get judged too quickly – both good and bad. Just because a pitcher throws 78 miles per hour for example, doesn’t mean he has a poor fastball. He may throw me with late movement, or be able to move me around the zone – in, out, up, down, move the hitter off the plate. On the other hand, the pitcher that throws 88 doesn’t necessarily have a great fastball. Sure, the velocity is pretty good, but what if it is straight and he either can’t throw strikes or just throws it down the middle all the time? What about that will get hitters out?

Andy: Let me build on that quickly, using the 20-80 scouting scale to help. First, let’s take our 78 mph fastball. On most scales, 78 mph would grade out at 20. Let’s say that fastball has pretty good movement, we’ll give that 40. The command, in this example, is even better. We’ll make that average by Major League standards, which is 50.

So, we box it out like this:

Fastball Velocity = 20
Fastball Movement = 40
Fastball Command = 50

What was certainly a 20 fastball if you only looked at velocity, could end up at least at 30 (maybe higher for some) when all components are considered.

Just to prove the point, we’ll box out our 88 mph fastball like this:

Fastball Velocity = 45
Fastball Movement = 35
Fastball Command = 30

In this case, what could have been a 45 fastball based on velocity has likely fallen down to around a 35.

People weight components differently of course; there are no hard and fast rules. In our examples, the two pitches ended up only a half grade apart when all components were considered. Remember that if we only looked at velocity, they would have been two and a half grades apart.

Fastball: Well, thanks for stealing my thunder. And also, that wasn’t a quick explanation. But…hopefully at least a few people will read this and it will help them realize that there is more to me than most people think.

Andy: I hope so too. Thanks for your time Fastball, I know you are very busy. After all, you are by far the most important pitch for any pitcher to have.

Fastball: Aw shucks, thanks. Oh, I gotta go. I think I hear the phone ringing in the bullpen.

Andy Ferguson is currently the Senior Director of Baseball Operations with the Baseball Factory.

Ferguson joined the North Carolina State baseball team as a walk-on, and went on to solidify his role on a team that participated in four consecutive NCAA Regionals. He later coached with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and then served as an Associate Scout with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Diego Padres.

Tool Talk: Hitting

Andy Ferguson: Another Day, Another Double Play

Throughout my travels, I always try my best to take some time and catch up with each tool. It is always interesting to learn about players from the point of view of the tools themselves. Some have more to say than others, not only about their own particular importance and value, but also about the relationships they have with other tools.

Recently, I had a chance to chat with the tool Hitting. Hitting’s job is defined by the ability to get base hits, but as people have begun to look at the statistics that support Hitting a little differently, his job description is beginning to change as well. He is particularly outspoken about his fellow tool Power, and how Power can’t truly exist on its own.

Andy: Hitting, good to see you again. It’s been a while hasn’t it? Thanks for spending some time with us today.

Hitting: No problem. You and I didn’t spend much time together while you were playing, that’s for sure, but now that you are scouting you have been spreading my good word. Always a pleasure.

Andy: Thanks for pointing out that I wasn’t a very good hitter…AGAIN. I am sure everyone knows that by now. If you keep it up, I may go and try to make friends with Running – even after all my comments about how the 60-yard dash is overrated.

Hitting: Oh, all right. I’m sorry. My cousin, Five O’clock Hitter, said you and he got along real well. That’s gotta count for something huh?

Andy: Well, he's right. I certainly could hit in batting practice, just not when the game started...but enough about me. I wanted to talk to you today about your relationship with one of your fellow tools, Power.

Hitting: Oh, him. He always gets all the credit. Oh, look! A homerun! Blah, blah, blah. I’m so sick of hearing about him. He’s nothing without me, at least that’s what I’ve been trying to tell everyone for years.

Andy: Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I didn’t realize it was such a sore spot for you, but since it seems to be on your mind, why don’t you tell us about it?

Hitting: Now we’re talking! First of all, just so we all are clear, players use me to get base hits – not just singles, but any kind of base hit. That counts doubles, triples, homeruns, and heck even walks too. Players that can really use me well go to the plate with a good plan, they swing at strikes, and they make a lot of hard contact.

Andy: Yeah, yeah. We know all about that. Matt Schilling has been saying a lot of good things about you in his blog entries.

Hitting: Really? I’ll have to check those out. Running told all us other tools that all he ever heard Matt talk about was 60 yards this, 60 yards that. After all, he did coach at Coastal Carolina you know.

Andy: Of course I know that, and believe me...we have all heard his claims about runners. Back on task please?

Hitting: Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. As I was saying, if a player doesn’t have a good enough grasp on how to use me, he may be able to use my friend Power in batting practice but he sure won’t be able to use him in games consistently. He won’t be able to make good enough contact, especially on good velocity and off speed pitches, to be able to get to Power.

Andy: Can you give us an example? Maybe a Major League player that we would all know?

Hitting: Just use my friend Ryan Howard as an example so far this year. He’s struck out 38 times in 96 at bats, or almost 40% of the time. He only has 17 hits so far this year, of which 5 are home runs – nowhere near the pace he has been on for the last couple of seasons. Bottom line: he just isn’t making enough contact for his power to matter. His start to 2008 reminds me of how a lot of high school players try to come to the plate with only Power, it just doesn’t work. Don’t worry, Ryan Howard will come around. I’m not making fun of him, he and I get along real well. As for young hitters with these kind of numbers, they need to realize that all players must first be hitters and then worry about power.

Andy: Thanks Hitting, that’s good stuff. I know all of us in the scouting community realize this, but it's clear that young players don't understand that yanking and jerking balls out in batting practice just really isn’t all that impressive.

Hitting: Glad to be of service. As I always say, “any day, any hour, hitting is always a lock. If you only have power, you better have fun at five o’clock”. By the way, is that a haiku?

Andy: Uh, no. Not a haiku. Too many lines, too many syllables and it rhymes. Close though... Thanks again for your time.

Hitting: One more thing. You think you could skip the double play for me today? We, uh, don't get along very well.

Andy: No problem. Something tells me I won't get that request from your friends Fastball, Curve, Changeup or Control...

Andy Ferguson is currently the Senior Director of Baseball Operations with the Baseball Factory.

Ferguson joined the North Carolina State baseball team as a walk-on, and went on to solidify his role on a team that participated in four consecutive NCAA Regionals. He later coached with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and then served as an Associate Scout with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Diego Padres.

Performance vs Ability

Andy Ferguson: Another Day, Another Double Play

“Why are all the scouts here to watch ______ (insert that guy on your team’s name here)? I’m hitting .500, and he isn’t even hitting .300. They should be watching me instead.”

Answer? Tools (no, not those over there...)

Having a .500 batting average does not necessarily mean a hitter has exceptional hitting ability. Now, don’t get me wrong, that is pretty darn good…we’d certainly all like to have guys on our team hitting .500.

This is basically the performance versus ability debate. I don’t have any interest in boring you with this, you’ve heard it before I'm sure. Instead, we’ll make it as simple as it really is. Tools are the ability, production is the performance. Ideally we would have both, but that doesn’t happen very often. There, easy as that. Make sense?

Though the ability to produce in games is the ultimate goal, the ability to produce at the high school level alone is not a sure sign that a player can or will produce at the college level (and certainly not at the professional level).

There is simply no way to account for a standard level of competition at the high school level. Since there is no baseline, there is really no way to compare players using most statistics (like batting average and earned run average). Thus, arguments based on these numbers are not even worth having.

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TODAY’S DOUBLE PLAY
Two more baseball pet peeves (I have lots...)

1. When outfielders throw to the wrong base, don’t know where to throw it, or throw over cutoff men.
Come on, let’s be honest here. All you really have to do as an outfielder is listen, and you’ll know where to go with the ball. Sure, it helps to have some feel for the game – that is always ideal – but in most cases, just throw it to the cutoff man. Trust me, he is there for a reason. Oh, and one more thing. On a sac fly (or any other do or die type throw) if you can’t carry it there in the air (most guys can’t, it’s OK), at least give your teammate a long hop to work with.

2. Striking out looking on fastballs away.
Maybe it’s just how I was taught, but I just don’t get how it happens so often. I know there are differing opinions, but I am of the theory that it is best to “look away, react in”…ESPECIALLY WITH TWO STRIKES. In other words, make sure you can handle pitches on the outer half, and simply react and try to fight off pitchers on the inner half.

A two strike approach should also involve choking up on the bat, and widening the stance – both help to shorten and simplify the stroke, making it easier to simply put the ball in play. If a pitcher can run a fastball across the inside corner and freeze me that way, I’ll tip my cap and have a seat – but seriously, think about it, there are just not that many pitchers that pitch inside AT ALL, let alone with two strikes. If I am looking away, it allows me to track the ball longer – since I am trying to hit the ball out of the back of the strike zone. That way, I have time to recognize spin on a breaking ball or at least fight off a pitch I think has a chance to be called a strike.
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But if not stats, then what else do we have to compare players with?

Answer? (Hint: same as last time) Tools.

I know what you’re thinking…“but what about that guy on my team that hits balls over the lights in batting practice? He hasn’t done much of anything in games this season, but scouts and coaches are always coming to see him play. Same with the pitcher on our team that throws 90. He doesn’t throw a lot of strikes, and gives up quite a few runs in each outing. If they can’t help our team win games, why would scouts and coaches want them for theirs?”

Answer: (Seeing a pattern yet? If not you will if you read the next word) Tools.

There simply are not that many guys walking around that can hit balls over the lights. Tools like that are rare, and give players potential to impact games in a big way.

For example, if that light tower power ever ends up in the same package with a good swing and hitting approach, that player has potential to hit a lot of home runs in the Major Leagues.

Back to production (we switched to that term instead of performance earlier) one last time before we wrap up. It is important to note that the ability to play the game is considered particularly important to most college recruiters (compared to professional scouts, who are looking more into the future). They do not have the luxury of letting players learn how to use their tools in the minor leagues before calling them up into action.

So, while we cannot deny production and performance as ideal for any player, ultimately the players with more in the tool box are always going to be scouted more. They may look a little crude now, and maybe they aren’t having all that much success right now, but those big tools give them more potential to play the game longer and against better players in the long run.

Andy Ferguson is currently the Senior Director of Baseball Operations with the Baseball Factory.

Ferguson joined the North Carolina State baseball team as a walk-on, and went on to solidify his role on a team that participated in four consecutive NCAA Regionals. He later coached with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and then served as an Associate Scout with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Diego Padres.