More velocity a double-edged sword for young hurlers

From MLB Pipeline

Higher numbers on radar guns draw teams' attention, but injuries are on the rise, too.

 

We've reached an interesting intersection in the evaluation of young pitchers -- a convergence of fascination and fear.

 

The fascination is that we've simply never seen so many hard throwers, and that extends to the prep ranks, where mid-90s heat has become commonplace.

 

"When I first started doing this," said a longtime amateur scout, "you hoped to see a high school kid at 90-91 [mph]. You were pretty excited about that. Now, I want to see the guy throwing 94-96."

 

The fear -- especially in the midst of a season in which we've already seen 17 pitchers on Major League rosters have Tommy John ligament replacement surgery -- is what that heat at an early age could mean at a later date, if not an immediate one.

 

"These kids are trying to throw 90-plus miles per hour," renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews told MLB Network Radio last month. "We found out from our lab that the red line for a Tommy John ligament in high school is -- guess what? -- about 80 to 85 mph. The ones who throw beyond that are going beyond the developmental properties of their normal ligament, and they're getting hurt. The radar gun is a problem."

 

And the radar guns are out in full force this time of year.

You can read the rest of the article here.

http://mlb.mlb.com//news/article/mlb/anthony-castrovince-young-pitchers-velocity-brings-rising-risk-of-injuries?ymd=20140509&content_id=74863322&vkey=news_mlb

Discuss among yourselves.