Vandy pitch counts (specifically David Price)

[homer]

In the latest issue of Sporting News there's an article on David Price's pitch counts this season. Apparently his top five are 127, 137, 125, 120, and 128. There are statements from scouts saying how scary that potentially is. There are also statements from Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin saying pitch counts are overrated, you should go by effort and delivery, etc. He goes on to say that since he and pitching coach Derek Johnson have both been at Vandy, not one pitcher has had arm surgery (five years).

 

If you were a GM, would these pitch counts scare you off?

[Pioneers3]

nope...in college pitchers get one week between starts so more rest time...137 pitches over 9 innings equal 15.2222 pitches an inning, that is really good! Now if he was throwing 137 over 5 innings...not so good and yes i would be worried

[DHonks]

I worry, as new studies are showing that college pitchers are often more over-used than High School

[Pioneers3]

Overuse? More like kids don't throw enough and when they dont' train right than when they throw 137 pitches it is a problem...

 

note: when I say throw I don't mean off the mound everyday...I am talking about long toss, short toss and feel days!

[colbyjack]

Pioneers3 brings up a great point about how a pitcher is conditioned when throwing such high pitch counts.

 

But yes, the high pitch counts that David Price has accumulated this year has raised a few eyebrows, and is something we've tossed around (I believe in the college resource thread) before. Most MLB pitchers aren't allowed to go that deep into ballgames, and certainly not as frequently as Price has. Phillip Humber is another guy that was allowed to accumulate really high pitch counts in college, and while you can't blame his arm problems on that, it does make you wonder if those arm problems could have been avoided had he been used more conservatively in college.

[GagneCY03]

I can understand how conditioning players helps prevent injury, but 137 pitches is just too much. Keep in mind that the last 15 pitches put far more stress on the arm than the first 15.

 

I really think college coaches should be more responsible when using their pitchers.

[fewgoodcards]

i think it is wrong to compare major league pitch counts to college pitchers. major league pitchers are throwing on 4 days rest and throwing 100-110 pitches most times out. a college pitcher only goes once a week and gets an extra 2 days rest. you don't think that makes a difference? i bet if you gave major league pitchers a week to get ready they would have no problem throwing 120-130 pitches.