MLB.com must be getting desperate,
and/or stupid. Yesterday, they ran a
story, “He’s 19 years old...and he has a 105-mph fastball.” The story concerns 6’8” Luke Little, a
prospect in the upcoming draft who not too long ago reached the 105-mark in a
bullpen session and has reached 102 mph in games (probably junior college).
Here’s the headscratcher—MLB.com
ranks Little as the 167th best prospect, which would put him in the
fifth round if I’ve done the math right.
Why tout a fifth round prospect?
Because he throws hard, that’s why.
Never mind the message this sends,
which to me is that you’ve got to start throwing hard, the sooner the better,
if you want to reach 105 mph by your nineteenth birthday. All this stuff we read about the importance
of developing adolescent arms slowly and carefully goes right out the window as
soon as you click on the video and see the readout. Wow, 105.
I wonder if I can do that?
And I wonder if Little will be
one of the lucky ones to get drafted this year; there’s only five rounds. I also wonder if MLB.com will do a follow up
on whether Little has learned to control that fastball. I also wonder if they’ll do a story in case
he ever needs Tommy John surgery.
No comments:
Post a Comment