re: Should college pitchers be pitching in the fall?

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college coaches grind them for everything and anything they can get.

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But are they getting less out of them in the spring due to unnecessary pitching in the fall?

Would any of LSU’s 47 currently injured pitchers be healthy right now if they’d simply not thrown in the fall? Maybe not, I’m just spitballing here.

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Then they get to college campus in Aug and begin fall baseball in Sept, ending in early Nov. They get, what, 7 weeks of rest before they're throwing again in early Jan to be ready for opening day (mid-Feb).

A 6-week break between summer and fall ball, and a 7-week break between fall and spring doesn't seem like enough, especially for an 18 year-old kid who's still developing physically. I believe most MLB pitchers take 3 months off from throwing as soon as their seasons end.

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most college pitchers are shut down these days during the summer. LSU, for instance, only had 3 pitchers throw last summer, and only 1 of them threw more than like 10 innings over the course of the summer. A summer league in Florida actually had to cancel their season last year because they didn't have enough pitchers to fill out the rosters. Bottom line, it's become more and more of a common practice for college pitchers to be shut down for the summer until fall ball starts (many not even pitching in the fall either). And if they do pitch, they don't pitch much.

The culprit is travel ball and showcases when these guys are still young and developing physically. That and such an emphasis being placed on throwing hard. Year round baseball starting at 11-12 years old is a recipe for disaster.

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As an example, Landon Marceaux pitched for Team USA 18U team this past summer. Those guys probably get another 30-40 innings during the summer.

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Marceaux actually only pitched 7.1 innings for team USA U18 last summer. No one on that team pitched more than 12 innings. Zack Hess for the college national team only threw 9 innings as well. Those US national teams aren't where these kids are overused.

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8 of the 20 pitchers on the roster didn't throw in the fall. Among them, Cole Henry.

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That’s interesting, I didn’t know that.

That leads to 2 more questions: why didn’t those 8 pitch but the other 12 did? I’m guessing it had to do with summer workloads.

Also, did the 8 who didn’t pitch in the fall stay healthier this spring than the 12 who did? Obviously the sample size is too small to draw any conclusions, but it would be interesting if, say, the SEC schools got together and compiled this information for a few years to see what works and what doesn’t. They may be doing this already, who knows.

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I’m guessing it had to do with summer workloads.

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LSU only sent Beck, Vietmeier, and Hess to summer leagues. Of those three, only Beck didn't pitch in the fall.

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NCAA baseball coaches only care about the W's. It's why you see guys grueling thru 140 pitches in 95 degree weather.

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NCAA coaches get hired and fired by wins not getting people ready for MiLB

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And frick MLB, just like NFL, they get free minor league system to develop kids.

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Kids choice to play in college or go if drafted. Also a kid can leave to go to JUCO like Alex Fernandez did after his Freshman year, not pitch and still be drafted.

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It's always buyers beware on College Pitchers, especially ones who are into their 3rd or 4th year in ncaa of pitching.

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Not really, but depends on what side of fence you are on. I mean I can give you 5 guys who pitched in college that are HoF and had long careers and 5 guys who went to MiLB and hurt their arms. And I can do it the other way also. Your arm only has so many throws in it and nobody knows that number.


As for OP yes they should throw in the fall.

But then again I think long toss and BP sessions are vital as well.

Mazzone really had the right idea and it showed as his pitchers really never had arm issues.

Throw more at less exertion. Find your most fluid mechanics and practice it.

I do know Andrews is less pitches less stress.


I think the biggest issues into arm troubles is initially caused in Travel Ball and Little League. Coaches not knowing what they are doing are damaging elbows and shoulders. Teaching pitches incorrectly. It is my belief that no kid should throw anything but a Fastball until age 14. You can teach 2 and 4 to them and pressure points for movement. It does not matter what is thrown, if thrown right, you will get people out.