5/22 Gameday Thread: Take me out to the Trey Ball game!

Nice efficient first for Ball. Be nice if he kept up what he's been doing.

Ball now with 38 pitches, 30 for strikes...in 4 innings. Only 2 K but no walks. Something's clicking for him.

I that already clear?

Well, historically pitchers' velocity peaks at age 21-22, and stays relatively steady through 25-26. After that there's usually a small (1 mph) decline, with a slow downward trend until the early 30s, after which there's usually another, more significant drop.

So, I should've said "The odds are highly against him ever sitting 92-94..." There are guys who improve their velocity in their mid-20s (Chicago's Quintana is a great example; Cliff Lee did very slightly in his late 20s too), but it's not the norm.

Wouldn't that data be only for the selected group of pitchers in the majors?

I haven't seen any of his starts, but I thought someone mentioned in a gameday thread recently that he was sitting 93-96 this season. I'm not sure if that was a weird stadium gun or if his velocity is actually up, but it would certainly be a good sign, if true.

I put the link up somewhere in another thread but can't find it now. Think it was Speier in 108 stitches saying 89-93 on the FB in his last start. True, he might tick up mid-summer. And some guys who struggle with control/command gain a little velo when they stop having to "guide" the ball (Lee was like that). But it'd be unusual for Ball to sit 2 mph faster. I certainly hope he does; his change showed flashes of being plus, and his curve is fringy to average with a chance to get better. As a cold-weather guy he may have some more development to do physically/motor-skills-wise, too. I guess I'd say I hope his stuff ticks up, but I don't expect it to. If he can stay efficient like he's been this year, he certainly could become a weak-contact #3-type starter. Obviously, there's always a chance at more, but there's nothing about him right now beyond his draft position that says "TOR." Caveat: I would absolutely LOVE for him to prove me wrong.

Was this supposed to be today's post? Couldn't find the blurb on Ball when I clicked.

Beginning a positional change?

Ahhh...not sure why it did that, tried to link out of my email. Here's what he said: (May 17th 108 stitches)
"In High A Salem, lefthander Trey Ball continued his excellent start to the 2016 season, logging a career-high seven innings in which he scattered five hits without yielding a walk or a run against a lineup comprised entirely of righties. On a night when his fastball was 89-93 mph, Ball punched out six, a mark that tied the third highest game total of his career.

Ball started to incorporate a slider/cutter into his fastball/curveball/changeup mix last year, and early in 2016, that pitch has been a weapon for him, permitting him (in conjunction with a changeup that got six swings and misses on Monday) to tie up righties (.194 average against) and lefties (.083). The 21-year-old, a 2013 first-rounder, is now 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA, 15 strikeouts, and nine walks in 23 innings."