BB: General New England Discussion

[frank uible]

Of the 300+ pitchers in MLB at any given time how many are New England DIIIers with top velocity in the 80s? My uninformed and unsophisticated guess is zero.  My further guess is that at least 85% of major league pitchers have at least 90 top velocity, and the remainder are "freaks" with unusual qualities, whose backgrounds do not include New England DIII baseball, New England not being a hot bed of college baseball at any level. Any New England DIIIers with top velocity less than 90, who might sign pro contracts, will end up merely filling out rosters in short season Class A and most probably no better.

[MSG77]

Of the 300+ pitchers in MLB at any given time how many are New England DIIIers with top velocity in the 80s? My uninformed and unsophisticated guess is zero.  My further guess is that at least 85% of major league pitchers have at least 90 top velocity, and the remainder are "freaks" with unusual qualities, whose backgrounds do not include New England DIII baseball, New England not being a hot bed of college baseball at any level. Any New England DIIIers with top velocity less than 90, who might sign pro contracts, will end up merely filling out rosters in short season Class A and most probably no better.

I don't think I would argue with you.  The Northeast in general is not a hotbed for baseball in general.  I would argue that they may get farther than short season A, but not many players make the majors period without being freaks.  Its the best of the best in the world.  The fact that the south is much more conducive to playing baseball year round no doubts helps in development.  If your question is "Are there any surefire major leaguers in DIII in the Northeast this year?" My answer would be no. But seeing as you obviously are on these boards quite a bit, I would ask you - "How many surefire major leagers come out of DII every year?  Do you follow DIII baseball to look for potential major leagers?"  Because if you do, you must be dissapointed on a regular basis.  There aren't that many players out there in DIII with major league ability.  If they do have the ability, they probably lack major league consistency, which is really the key to baseball.  If you can consistently throw 3 pitches at different speeds for strikes, you sould be given the opportunity to do so until it is proven that you are "batting practice".  Keith Foulke threw a mid 80s fastball and a low 70s changeup for strikes.  Its not the velocity, its the command and change of speed.  Is he an exception, for sure, but they do exist.  You don't have to throw 90s to get people out, but it does help.

I'm just wondering what your point was, because maybe I am missing it.

[TheGNAC]

Frank, not sure I get what point you're trying to make, either.

So what, since the majority of guys in D-III Northeast aren't MLB prospects, should we not talk about them being professional prospects? I don't think anybody here is saying Shawn Gilblair or Tim Kiely are going to be MLBers. The question was, who in the Northeast are on team's draft radars... guess what, ask any scout or crosschecker in the Northeast, and they'll know who all of those kids are.

Sure, they probably won't advance beyond low-level minor leagues, but who cares?

And as the saying goes, "velocity gets you signed, pitchability gets you to the Major Leagues." Jamie Moyer wouldn't get a speeding ticket with his fastball, and the guy's a potential Hall of Famer.

[frank uible]

My objective was to learn more about college baseball - about which I don't know a great deal but have certain impressions.

[MSG77]

My objective was to learn more about college baseball - about which I don't know a great deal but have certain impressions.

Fair enough.  Couldn't really get the "tone" of your posts from just reading.  Seeing as you have a ton of posts, it came off as trolling from another region.  If your previous posts have been about basketball and football then that would explain it.

The simple answer is "No".  I would not say there are any definite major leagers in DIII in NE this year.  I would also say there are rarely ever any definite major leagers in DI in NE this year or any year.  The same would be true for DII schools all over the country.  Most major leagers are either signed as free agents (from Latin America or the Far East), drafted out of high school, or played DI baseball in conferences that have many scholarships for baseball.  There are always exceptions, but the majority would likely be from one of  those 3 backrounds.  The northeast is not known for producing major leagers out of its college ranks.

But in terms of DII baseball, NE, NY and NJ have produed a large number of DII National Champions. 

[frank uible]

What DII colleges are the baseball powerhouses at that level?

[JOUL]

Frank, clearly not a fan of New England baseball

On another note, who has the pitching to win the NESCAC tourny?

[Col. Partridge]

But in terms of DII baseball, NE, NY and NJ have produed a large number of DII National Champions. 

I'm not sure if you meant DIII, I don't see any schools from those states on the list of past DII champions:

http://www.ncaasports.com/baseball/mens/history/divii

[Ralph Turner]

But in terms of DII baseball, NE, NY and NJ have produed a large number of DII National Champions. 

I'm not sure if you meant DIII, I don't see any schools from those states on the list of past DII champions:

http://www.ncaasports.com/baseball/mens/history/divii

I see, New Haven as runner-up twice, Ithaca once and Mansfield PA once.

Thanks for the link!  +1

[363dp]

Franklin Pierce has a very good DII program, playing in the World Series the past couple years. Seven players from last years teams played pro ball last summer.  That is excellent for a DI school.

[MSG77]

But in terms of DII baseball, NE, NY and NJ have produed a large number of DII National Champions. 

I'm not sure if you meant DIII, I don't see any schools from those states on the list of past DII champions:

http://www.ncaasports.com/baseball/mens/history/divii

Oops!  Yeah, I meant DIII.  Should have just used 3 rather than III.  I actually did it III(  ) times in that post.  Nowhere in there did I mean to refer to D2.

Check the time - I guess thats what I get for being on obscure message boards at 2 AM 

[frank uible]

Thanks for the info, guys and, if any, dolls. Actually I meant DII. JOUL, I enjoy baseball at all levels but am not a fanatic in a conventional sense. In recent years I have seen about 5-15 New England DIII games per year (this year 4 so far with prospects of seeing about 4-12 more mostly depending on my attendance at regional NCAA playoffs).

[frank uible]

"Having been signed to an NFL contract" might be more accurate than "to play in the NFL" at this juncture.

[Pat Coleman]

Teams that sign a kid who doesn't throw in the 90s may also see something that makes them think he can improve his velocity with better coaching, weight training, mechanics, etc.

[slick]

Besides Jonah Bayliss from Trinty, now a reliever with the Pirates, who is in MLB that came from a D3 NE college?