I agree that velocity doesn't mean everything and that location and movement are also important. But let Kentucky or Cumberland gun a kid throwing 90 versus a kid throwing 75 and guess which kid they will take 99 times out of 100. 85 versus 90 might be different but velocity is important to all coaches to a point. Not many closers throw below 90 in the majors. Wonder Why??? If a kid is of good size and throws 90 Kentucky will take a chance on him but not likely to do the same with a smaller kid throwing 75. Just the way it is. Maddux is one in a million and there is only one of him. Look at the majority of the strikeout leaders, era leaders or whatever else you want and you'll see more 90's than not. Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Bob Gibson, Pedro Martinez, Rivera (SPELLING???), John Smoltz and the list goes on and on and on and on.

When you talk about comparing 75 to 90 , yeah I will agree. I wasn't meaning to go to the extreme of 75. I was meaning that pitcher that might throw in the low to mid 80's. I guess I should have went a little further in detail.

 

Although I did see Kenny Rogers throwing in that low to mid 80's range yesterday against the A's and he was fabulous.

What will Williamsburg and Corbin look like for the 2007? Did they loose any of their pitching?

Smith from South Laurel would have to be No. 1

 

These guys should be in the top 10:

John Smith - Harlan

Mikey Hensley - Cawood

Drew Chamberlain - Cumberland

 

 

All 3 being good Pitchers, I believe Mikey is the best in Harlan Co.

I would agree that Mikey has the best stuff, but I think Chamberlain knows how to pitch. Hes not very overpowering but he seems to find a way to win, or keep you in a ball game when the hitting isnt there.

As you well know STRIKE, the notion that D1 is a higher grade of baseball than DII, DIII, or NAIA is sometimes nothing more than a falsehood. There are a lot of DII,DIII, and NAIA schools than can put it all over a lot of DI schools. Last year in Kentucky Cumberland, Union, and Campbellsville all might have fell right in line behind the University of Kentucky as far as the best college teams in the state regardless of class. In many years Cumberland,Tennessee (NAIA) is thought to be the best team in the state of Tennessee, often surpassing UT and Vandy.

 

Central Missouri State(DII), two years ago had 5 pitchers drafted in the top 10 rounds.

 

Three years ago University of the Cumberlands(NAIA) beat Morehead State and then two years ago had the University of Kentucky (with Dombrowski as the starter) down 10-4 going into the bottom of the 9th, before falling apart in the bottom of the 9th and losing on a walkoff HR .

 

Last year perennial DIII power Marietta College had two pitchers drafted, one in the 7th round.

 

College baseball is much much different than football and basketball when determining caliber superiority because of the limited amount of scholarships that DI schools have to offer. Kids should be aware that the words DI is very offen not a determining factor in the quality of talent compared to some of the other divisions and should not be so hung up on the DI label when they are searching for a place to play. They should look for the best fits academically first and then see if that particular school is a good fit athleticly. I just think there are two many good players that get themselves in bad situations because of a false perception of what DI actually is..

 

As far as high schoolers being able to hit the 90 mark, I could count on two or three fingers of the kids that I have gunned over the last 10 years that have been able to hit 90, so you are very correct in your statement. They are as rare as hen's teeth.

 

 

Where do I begin on this statement? First of all, not a chance that Campbellsville, Union, or Cumberland were better than Eastern, Western, Murray State, or Louisville. No opinion to it. These teams just have better baseball players. While the smaller schools you mentioned might have a gem or two in the pen that could hold these bigger schools for a few innings, they would probably lose 8 out of 10 times.

 

Cumberland University has never been considered better than Tennessee. Not ever. Even on a down year for UT, they would still be better. I would even argue that Austin Peay, Walter State CC, Memphis, and even Belmont are usually better than Cumberland Univ.

 

I think that when comparing talent between divisions of play, if you are considering going to the next level, division 1 or JUCO are the major options. Despite what many people may think, there is a talent gap there and professional scouts acknowledge it by drafting more from these two divisions than any of the other divisions.

 

 

 

With regards to the best pitchers in the 13th region this year:

-Smith (SL)

-Hoskins (Middlesboro)

-Pittman (Middlesboro)

-Nelson (Bell County)

-Chamberlein (Cumberland)

Where do I begin on this statement? First of all, not a chance that Campbellsville, Union, or Cumberland were better than Eastern, Western, Murray State, or Louisville. No opinion to it. These teams just have better baseball players. While the smaller schools you mentioned might have a gem or two in the pen that could hold these bigger schools for a few innings, they would probably lose 8 out of 10 times.

 

Cumberland University has never been considered better than Tennessee. Not ever. Even on a down year for UT, they would still be better. I would even argue that Austin Peay, Walter State CC, Memphis, and even Belmont are usually better than Cumberland Univ.

 

I think that when comparing talent between divisions of play, if you are considering going to the next level, division 1 or JUCO are the major options. Despite what many people may think, there is a talent gap there and professional scouts acknowledge it by drafting more from these two divisions than any of the other divisions.

 

 

 

With regards to the best pitchers in the 13th region this year:

-Smith (SL)

-Hoskins (Middlesboro)

-Pittman (Middlesboro)

-Nelson (Bell County)

-Chamberlein (Cumberland)

But I can tell you where I can begin with your statement:

 

 

 

B.A.L.O.N.E.Y

But I can tell you where I can begin with your statement:

 

 

 

B.A.L.O.N.E.Y

 

Do you mean balogna?

Do you mean balogna?

Nope, I live and come from the hills just like you do.

Nope, I live and come from the hills just like you do.

Usually when one of these smaller schools play a bigger D1 team and are even in the game it is because they have their ace or number 2 going against maybe a #6 or #7 guy. NAIA schools can't compete with D1 schools in a series if the D1 team throws their best guys. This is just silly to even argue.

Usually when one of these smaller schools play a bigger D1 team and are even in the game it is because they have their ace or number 2 going against maybe a #6 or #7 guy. NAIA schools can't compete with D1 schools in a series if the D1 team throws their best guys. This is just silly to even argue.

I dont think that I said anything about a series or a season conference schedule at all.

 

OK then it's silly......... Fact is Dombroski was UK 's ace last year and Cumberland wore him and a couple other UK studs out taking a 10-4 lead into the bottom of the 9th before they fell apart. They also did beat Morehead the year before, using a third baseman that had never pitched before against one of Morehead's weekend starters. Now guess what, neither team will schedule Cumberlands. The good NAIA staffs are usually full of what some of you guys are calling D1 caliber talent, D1 transfers and D1 recruited pitchers. Cumberlands last year for instance has Adam Walker from Clemson, Jon Silverman from Ohio State, and Adam Blanton that was recruited and offered by UK. So there are three D1's that come off the top of my head. Just this year alone they have 7 pitchers on staff, hitting 90+ and picked up freshman Brandon Williams that is a lot better pitcher than some that I have seen that have signed D1 scholarships. I kind of doubt that there are a few local D1's than can boast that.

 

Yeah , please tell the St Louis Cardinals they cant compete in a series against all that awesome Tiger pitching also.... LOL

 

Listen, I am not saying anything remotely that a lot of the smaller area schools are SEC caliber. That would be silly and stupid for me to even insinuate that, but you can bet that some of them could day in and day out wear some of the OVC schools out, and the farther you get into the deep south the better they are. D1 covers a wide spectrum. You have your Florida, LSU's, Clemsons, etc on one end, and then you have some the local OVC schools and some of the northern D1 schools that cover the other end of the spectrum.

 

Come on whitey, we are all proud of Witten getting the chance to go to Coastal Carolina it's a great school and a great program , but please dont now become this D1 elitest snob, because I saw a lot of NAIA, DII, and a couple of DIII pitchers at Marietta College that threw just as hard(some a little harder) and had much better command, and ball movement and I will point out composure.

 

There is no point in this subject becoming an arguement because I think a couple of you guys are taking me all wrong on what I am trying to say here. The whole point of me even saying anything was that just because a kid chooses to go to a school that is not D1 does not always mean that it is not a good school and has quality baseball. Some of you guys are trying to make some of these players and schools seem inferior however. I just dont totally agree with that part.

.

I will still say that I feel that last year Union College had the second best team in the state of Kentucky and that Cumberland Tennessee had one of the best collections of talent that I saw all year regardless of the division they competed in. I do think and agree that depth at D1 is probably much, much better in most cases though.

 

Now you all can get back to discussing pitchers in the 13th region and I will respectfully bow out of this thread's misdirection.

I'll leave this subject as well by saying that any kid that gets the opportunity to play for and get an education from a quality place such as Cumberland is very fortunate and I'm sure very talented.

I'll leave this subject as well by saying that any kid that gets the opportunity to play for and get an education from a quality place such as Cumberland is very fortunate and I'm sure very talented.

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