What is the average speed a high school pitcher throws?
Fo the most part, an average varsity high school fastball is between 75-85 mph, even though a lot of good Varsity pitchers will be finding out that they can pitch in the higher 80s and low 90 range.
Average freshman pitcher (14 to 15 year old) cruising speed would be about 70 mph. Average cruising speed for a good high school pitching prospect at 14 to 15 years old would be about 75 mph.
13 and 14 Year Olds
A typical fastball from this age group is anywhere from 55 mph (on the low side) to 75 mph. A pitcher throwing 75 mph is well above average for this age, and their fastball is at a high school caliber. An average changeup for this age is somewhere around the 50-60 mph mark.
How fast does a Little League pitcher throw? The average fastball is between 50-60 mph for a pitcher in the Majors division of Little League (11-13 yo). Pitchers in the Little League World Series throw fastballs 60-70+ mph.
Age | Average Velocity¹ | Your Goal² |
---|---|---|
8 | 39 MPH | 40 MPH |
9 | 44 MPH | 45 MPH |
10 | 47 MPH | 50 MPH |
11 | 52 MPH | 55 MPH |
65-75 mph is the range the majority of 15 year olds throw… with 75-80 mph being the higher end.
- Maintain Mobility As You Get Stronger.
- Utilize Lateral Power Exercises.
- Train On One Leg.
- Improve Hip And Shoulder Separation.
- Train Your Rotator Cuff In A 90/90 Position.
The flaming fastball, equivalent to roughly 153 km/h (95 mph) on a big-league field, created a buzz across media outlets, including Yahoo Japan, the nation's biggest media portal.
The distance in all divisions of baseball for 13-year-olds, is up to 90 feet, with a local league option to shorten the distance to 75 feet for Junior League Baseball and 70 feet for Intermediate (50/70) Baseball Division for regular season play.
How fast should a junior be pitching?
On average, for junior college players, the standard pitch velocity is consistently 80 miles per hour. When recruiting players for junior colleges, coaches typically look for pitchers who have an ERA below 4.00.
- Ages 13-16 – 95 pitches per day.
- Ages 11-12 – 85 pitches per day.
- Ages 9-10 – 75 pitches per day.
- Ages 7-8 – 50 pitches per day.

Age | Daily Max (Pitches in Game) | 2 Days Rest |
---|---|---|
9-10 | 75 | 36-50 |
11-12 | 85 | 36-50 |
However, it is scientifically proven that softball is harder than baseball. The speed of pitches, the reaction time for hitters and fielders, and the distance of the field indicates that softball is indeed harder than baseball.
Once they start getting the hang of it, softball players who are 10 years and younger can have an average throwing speed of 38 to 44 miles per hour. They can move up to 42 to 46 mph at 11 to 12 years old. The average throwing speed of 13- and 14 year-olds ranges from 46 to 50 mph.
A large meta-analysis of Thomas and French (1985) recognizes gender differences in throwing accuracy, and the velocity already at the age of three. Boys exceed girls in throwing velocity from 4 to 7 years of age and throwing distance at 2 to 4 years of age.
Many toddlers will attempt their first throw between 12 and 18 months and can typically throw a ball at least 3 feet in the air by age 2. Children may alternate hands when learning to throw and will usually start to use a dominate hand between the ages of 3 and 5.
Pitchers are the same as always. Maybe a few outliers have muscled up and started throwing much harder, but that's the case nearly every year.
The fastest of them tops out at 105 MPH. WIRED examines why the 110 MPH fastball is almost impossible.
The moment a baseball leaves a pitcher's hand, it starts to slow down because of drag. According to University of Illinois physicist Dr. Alan Nathan, a pitch that leaves a pitcher's hand at 100 mph will (at sea level) slow down by 9 to 10% by the time it crosses the plate some 55-58 feet later.
How much force is a 90 mph fastball?
For a 90 mph pitch (40.2 m/s), the ball's energy needs to be 117.4 joules.
As you can see in table 1, the data show no evidence of a statistically significant correlation, for starting pitchers, between height (in inches) and any of the customary measures of pitching effectiveness.
For a batter, there's another way to understand the conservation of momentum: The faster the pitch and the faster the swing, the farther the ball will fly. A faster pitch is harder to hit than a slower one, but a batter who can do it may score a home run.
Professional pitchers predominantly use the subscapularis and latissimus dorsi for acceleration, whereas amateurs use more of the rotator cuff muscles with an active pectoralis minor and a relatively quiescent latissimus dorsi.
Tossing the ball strengthens the muscles throughout your hips and core in addition to building total-body power, Gaddour says.
Jhoan Duran is first in MLB history to throw 100 mph off-speed pitch - Sports Illustrated Minnesota Sports, News, Analysis, and More.
1. Throw every day. Professional pitchers on both the minor and major league levels throw every single day for at least 10 quality minutes.
"Eighty-three," said Anthony Pluta, Canadian Women's Team pitching coach, reading out loud the velocity of Padgham's fastball for everyone to hear. That's 83 miles per hour (which would be 134 km/h).
Pitching Mound 46/50 foot
Set a "fixed" pitching rubber at 50 feet from the point of home plate.
In general, a child can start throwing a fastball at age 8, a change-up at 10, and a curveball at 14. All other pitches should not be introduced until high school age.
How many pitches should a 15 year old throw in a game?
15-16 year olds:
The daily maximum for pitches in a game is 95. If your youth pitches 1-30 pitches within a game, they can pitch the next day without a day off. If your youth throws 31-45 pitches in a game then they will require a one day rest break.
Does throwing a sinker hurt your arm? No. The sinker has a similar arm slot and grip as the two-seam fastball. The sinker generally safe.
No studies found increased force or torque about the elbow or shoulder. Three epidemiologic studies showed no significant association between pitching a curveball and upper extremity pain or injury.
The slider is stressful on the arm, but not necessarily more so than other pitches. The ASMI has proven through research that the fastball is the most stressful pitch in baseball, but for lots of reasons youth pitchers should still hold off on throwing breaking balls too early.
Age | Daily Max (Pitches in Game) | 4 Days Rest |
---|---|---|
15-16 | 95 | 76+ |
17-18 | 105 | 81+ |
Age | Average Pitching Speeds | High-end Averages |
---|---|---|
14 | 46 – 54 MPH | 55 – 58 MPH |
15 | 49 – 54 MPH | 55 – 60 MPH |
16 | 51 – 55 MPH | 56 – 62 MPH |
17 | 52 – 56 MPH | 57 – 65 MPH |
Pitchers who are 13-16 should throw a maximum of 95 pitches; 13- and 14-year-olds need four days rest when they reach 66 pitches, and 15- and 16-year-olds need four days rest when they reach 76.
Nolan Ryan: 108.1 MPH
The Ryan Express was really bringing the heat that night in 1974, throwing the fastest pitch ever recorded in a Major League Baseball game.
The Guinness World Book of Records says the fastest pitch ever thrown by a female player was 69 m.p.h. (111 km/h).
The majority of pitchers were between 54 to 58 MPH, and many more were slightly out of that range a little higher or lower. Three times I recorded a pitcher consistently able to achieve 65 MPH and in all three instances those players were above 5' 6" tall. I also recorded several players below 50 MPH.
How far should a 7 year old hit a baseball?
At 50 feet for 7-8-year olds, 60 feet for 9-10-year olds, and 60′ or 70′ for 11-12-year-olds depending on the league, this is a much shorter distance than the 90 foot distance that is standard for high school and up.
Since the time the ball takes to hit the ground increases the higher up you are, the horizontal distance covered when it hits the ground is larger. So it goes farther.
The average velocity for these DI pitchers is above 63 miles per hour, and some like Rachel Garcia (UCLA) are consistently clocking in at close to 70 miles per hour.
Division 1
Height: Taller the better. Pitch velocity: 60+ MPH. Command of at least 4 pitches: fastball, change-up and 2 other pitches. Mechanics: They look for mechanics they can work with + upside they see in the pitcher (or a unique pitcher that creates diversity on their staff)
However, it is scientifically proven that softball is harder than baseball. The speed of pitches, the reaction time for hitters and fielders, and the distance of the field indicates that softball is indeed harder than baseball.
4-seam fastball
This pitch is the hardest of the fastballs, it rotates backwards keeping the ball straight with not much movement.
If a player pitches 66 or more pitches in a day, four (4) calendar days of rest must be observed. If a player pitches 51-65 pitches in a day, three (3) calendar days of rest must be observed. If a player pitches 36-50 pitches in a day, two (2) calendar days of rest must be observed.
Age | Daily Max (Pitches in Game) | 4 Days Rest |
---|---|---|
13-14 | 95 | 66+ |