Baseball Development AMA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any 30 drop 8 bat recs? For a small 13U kid. I don’t think he can handle a drop 5 this fall.

Going to look at bats tomorrow. Any particular ones you like?

Open minded on budget. Will resell or hand down to younger brother.

Highly recommend this bat for Fall 13u. My son had no problems adjusting to BBCOR. Used drop 5 in spring 13u in games and BBCOR in practice.

https://www.justbats.com/product/easton-alpha-360--8-usssa-baseball-bat--sl20al8/31522/?ads_cmpid=9718327408&ads_adid=101133140802&ads_matchtype=&ads_network=u&ads_creative=427505594856&utm_term=&ads_targetid=pla-840363773411&utm_campaign=&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&ttv=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0bOprPTg8QIVReG1Ch0mVAMyEAQYBCABEgLrNvD_BwE

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any 30 drop 8 bat recs? For a small 13U kid. I don’t think he can handle a drop 5 this fall.

Going to look at bats tomorrow. Any particular ones you like?

Open minded on budget. Will resell or hand down to younger brother.

Highly recommend this bat for Fall 13u. My son had no problems adjusting to BBCOR. Used drop 5 in spring 13u in games and BBCOR in practice.

https://www.justbats.com/product/easton-alpha-360--8-usssa-baseball-bat--sl20al8/31522/?ads_cmpid=9718327408&ads_adid=101133140802&ads_matchtype=&ads_network=u&ads_creative=427505594856&utm_term=&ads_targetid=pla-840363773411&utm_campaign=&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&ttv=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0bOprPTg8QIVReG1Ch0mVAMyEAQYBCABEgLrNvD_BwE

Thank you!!!

[Anonymous]

Which pitching coaches do you recommend?

[Anonymous]

Depends. Where do you live?

[Anonymous]

I have a question if you are still around (or if any other baseball parents want to weigh in)? Providing tons of details because I think they are important...

My son is 13U this year (7th grader, turns 13 in January) and played on a Majors level club team this past fall. He is small and pre-puberty (5’1” 90lbs). He didn’t see a ton of playing time this fall (batted and played the field both about 50% of the time). He played more in league games, and less in tournaments generally. Played RF/LF. Does get IF reps at practice. Roster of 13. Batted about .350 (all singles) but much of that was against easier pitching than the top of the lineup of course. Didn’t play more due to his lack of power at the plate, and (IMO) his size. He is the shortest on the team (though 2 other boys aren’t much taller) and the lightest by at least 30-40lbs. Half of his teammates are 5’7” or taller, and there are a few over 6ft. He is a good fielder and played well in the OF. Is also capable of playing MIF, pitching, catching. (Was primary catcher on this previous club team). Has a strong arm for his size. Gets reps at 2B in practice but has never been asked to catch even in practice or to pitch.

He has been invited back for the spring season. They plan to play tournaments only (which is where he has typically seen less playing time...last tournament he got 6AB in 4 games). We have not asked the coach about playing time expectations etc for Spring and really aren’t sure it is appropriate to even do so. I would expect the playing time to be the same as it was for fall tournaments.

The coaching is excellent and this team is very well regarded. Their goal is to prepare the boys for high school ball.

We expect DS to end up average sized or even a little tall (DH is 6’1”, I’m 5’7”) but he is clearly going to be late to puberty.

Stay with the team for Spring or move to another team (perhaps a AAA team where he will see more playing time)? I think current team will keep DS around for 14U if he keeps working very hard, and I doubt he would make another Majors team at his size. There isn’t a lot of roster turnover between spring and fall in our area so may take some work to find him a good situation.

It is a great team but DS is bummed to not play much, and only limited positions. We have not discussed Spring with him yet. Encourage him to stick with this team and keep trying as he will grow eventually? Or move him to another team? We don’t see many small kids at the Majors level so in many ways he is lucky to even be playing on this team. And he IS seeing playing time, just not as much as he would like. However, I don’t think he has a shot to earn a bigger role anytime soon (certainly not by this Spring). Not sure which way to steer DS.

Thoughts?

Any thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a question if you are still around (or if any other baseball parents want to weigh in)? Providing tons of details because I think they are important...

My son is 13U this year (7th grader, turns 13 in January) and played on a Majors level club team this past fall. He is small and pre-puberty (5’1” 90lbs). He didn’t see a ton of playing time this fall (batted and played the field both about 50% of the time). He played more in league games, and less in tournaments generally. Played RF/LF. Does get IF reps at practice. Roster of 13. Batted about .350 (all singles) but much of that was against easier pitching than the top of the lineup of course. Didn’t play more due to his lack of power at the plate, and (IMO) his size. He is the shortest on the team (though 2 other boys aren’t much taller) and the lightest by at least 30-40lbs. Half of his teammates are 5’7” or taller, and there are a few over 6ft. He is a good fielder and played well in the OF. Is also capable of playing MIF, pitching, catching. (Was primary catcher on this previous club team). Has a strong arm for his size. Gets reps at 2B in practice but has never been asked to catch even in practice or to pitch.

He has been invited back for the spring season. They plan to play tournaments only (which is where he has typically seen less playing time...last tournament he got 6AB in 4 games). We have not asked the coach about playing time expectations etc for Spring and really aren’t sure it is appropriate to even do so. I would expect the playing time to be the same as it was for fall tournaments.

The coaching is excellent and this team is very well regarded. Their goal is to prepare the boys for high school ball.

We expect DS to end up average sized or even a little tall (DH is 6’1”, I’m 5’7”) but he is clearly going to be late to puberty.

Stay with the team for Spring or move to another team (perhaps a AAA team where he will see more playing time)? I think current team will keep DS around for 14U if he keeps working very hard, and I doubt he would make another Majors team at his size. There isn’t a lot of roster turnover between spring and fall in our area so may take some work to find him a good situation.

It is a great team but DS is bummed to not play much, and only limited positions. We have not discussed Spring with him yet. Encourage him to stick with this team and keep trying as he will grow eventually? Or move him to another team? We don’t see many small kids at the Majors level so in many ways he is lucky to even be playing on this team. And he IS seeing playing time, just not as much as he would like. However, I don’t think he has a shot to earn a bigger role anytime soon (certainly not by this Spring). Not sure which way to steer DS.

Thoughts?

Any thoughts?

I’m not OP but here’s my take

This is a tough time. Was your husband a late puberty kid? I ask because puberty growth happens FAST. One year can easily be 4 inches and 20 pounds. When it happens, it really happens. So you never know if 6-12 months from now it’ll be a completely different situation. I wonder if he’s looking at soon for puberty or 16 for puberty.

My gut says to stick with the team if you like the coach and the organization, honestly that is rare. If you are thinking about playing time, you might ask the coach to have a conversation in the off season, and ask if another team in the organization would be better for his development (assuming there is a lower level team?), what goals he should work on, is there something he should focus on to get in the pitching/catching rotation, etc. I think focusing on goals is a good way to hear what the coach is thinking without feeling like you’re complaining about playing time. Hang in there! Some of the best players on my older teen’s team were late bloomers, and they really blossomed once they grew.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a question if you are still around (or if any other baseball parents want to weigh in)? Providing tons of details because I think they are important...

My son is 13U this year (7th grader, turns 13 in January) and played on a Majors level club team this past fall. He is small and pre-puberty (5’1” 90lbs). He didn’t see a ton of playing time this fall (batted and played the field both about 50% of the time). He played more in league games, and less in tournaments generally. Played RF/LF. Does get IF reps at practice. Roster of 13. Batted about .350 (all singles) but much of that was against easier pitching than the top of the lineup of course. Didn’t play more due to his lack of power at the plate, and (IMO) his size. He is the shortest on the team (though 2 other boys aren’t much taller) and the lightest by at least 30-40lbs. Half of his teammates are 5’7” or taller, and there are a few over 6ft. He is a good fielder and played well in the OF. Is also capable of playing MIF, pitching, catching. (Was primary catcher on this previous club team). Has a strong arm for his size. Gets reps at 2B in practice but has never been asked to catch even in practice or to pitch.

He has been invited back for the spring season. They plan to play tournaments only (which is where he has typically seen less playing time...last tournament he got 6AB in 4 games). We have not asked the coach about playing time expectations etc for Spring and really aren’t sure it is appropriate to even do so. I would expect the playing time to be the same as it was for fall tournaments.

The coaching is excellent and this team is very well regarded. Their goal is to prepare the boys for high school ball.

We expect DS to end up average sized or even a little tall (DH is 6’1”, I’m 5’7”) but he is clearly going to be late to puberty.

Stay with the team for Spring or move to another team (perhaps a AAA team where he will see more playing time)? I think current team will keep DS around for 14U if he keeps working very hard, and I doubt he would make another Majors team at his size. There isn’t a lot of roster turnover between spring and fall in our area so may take some work to find him a good situation.

It is a great team but DS is bummed to not play much, and only limited positions. We have not discussed Spring with him yet. Encourage him to stick with this team and keep trying as he will grow eventually? Or move him to another team? We don’t see many small kids at the Majors level so in many ways he is lucky to even be playing on this team. And he IS seeing playing time, just not as much as he would like. However, I don’t think he has a shot to earn a bigger role anytime soon (certainly not by this Spring). Not sure which way to steer DS.

Thoughts?

Any thoughts?

I’m not OP but here’s my take

This is a tough time. Was your husband a late puberty kid? I ask because puberty growth happens FAST. One year can easily be 4 inches and 20 pounds. When it happens, it really happens. So you never know if 6-12 months from now it’ll be a completely different situation. I wonder if he’s looking at soon for puberty or 16 for puberty.

My gut says to stick with the team if you like the coach and the organization, honestly that is rare. If you are thinking about playing time, you might ask the coach to have a conversation in the off season, and ask if another team in the organization would be better for his development (assuming there is a lower level team?), what goals he should work on, is there something he should focus on to get in the pitching/catching rotation, etc. I think focusing on goals is a good way to hear what the coach is thinking without feeling like you’re complaining about playing time. Hang in there! Some of the best players on my older teen’s team were late bloomers, and they really blossomed once they grew.

I agree with this 1000%. There is a big difference between complaining that your little Johnny isn't getting enough playing time and asking for him to play more, and going to the coach and asking what Johnny can do to get on the field more, including even switching teams in the organization, with the goal of improving as a player. 13 is an age where developing baseball players need reps more than anything. Practice is important but so are in-game reps, especially a batter seeing live pitching and a pitcher learning to get outs against real batters. I've seen lots of kids who destroy the ball in BP but can't hit when they face velocity and spin, especially when they don't know what's coming. Similarly, I've seen pitchers who throw fantastic bullpens but can't throw strikes or get batters out once someone steps in the box. Any decent coach will understand the importance of reps and will appreciate/respect you coming to him with this. I would also recommend that Johnny should be involved in the conversation. Especially when it comes to areas of improvement needed, those words are always more effective when coming from someone other than mom or dad.

[Anonymous]

Thought I would revive this since it’s almost baseball season AGAIN….sorry I’ve been away. Happy to answer any questions.

I think since I posted last there’s been some changes in the youth baseball landscape. Hoping everyone is well and your child is enjoying the sport. Remember - that’s the key! Have fun!