Chaz Lytle - Georgia Baseball Lessons Blog: 3 Measurable Tools
What are the 3 measurable tools?
The three measurable tools are:
• Bat Speed (Hitting for Power)
• Arm Velocity (Arm Strength)
• 60 Time (Speed)
We will discuss each tool and what numbers you should be aiming for to play at different given levels of baseball.
Measurable Tool #1: Bat Speed
The first “Tool” that college coaches and professional scouts look for is “Power” at the plate. Power is not necessarily just home run power, but it can also be gap to gap power.
Every hitter who wants to play at the college or professional level needs to possess the ability to, at a minimum, drive a baseball over the outfielders’ heads in order to keep them honest. Anybody, whether you are 5’5 150 pounds or 6-5 225, needs to be able to do this.
What brings about power? The ability to generate max velocity of the bat head as well as make contact with the baseball in the right sequence where your body allows you to “hit behind” the baseball.
How you can judge power?
The two easiest ways to judge what kind of power someone has are:
• Watching their batting practice session: A guy with great power is going to have baseballs “jump” off of his bat. His balls will also carry much farther than you would expect. Instead of a line drive being caught by the left fielder, it will carry over his head and short-hop the fence.
• Exit velocity of the ball while hitting off of the tee: This is my favorite tool to determine where a player is in relation to other players I have coached. The exit velocity of a baseball hit off a tee is something that EVERY player can do to give himself an idea of where he stands in comparison to different levels of hitters. By standing with the Stalker radar gun behind the tee, you’ll get an accurate reading of the player’s “bat speed.” To get an accurate reading, make sure you are using decent baseballs as well as a WOOD bat.
There are obviously other factors that go into making a great hitter, but bat speed is definitely the most important. You don’t always have to have “Plus” power, but you have to have at least average if you want to be a good hitter. Even the “slap” hitters, like Ichiro, have the ability to hit a baseball a very long way in batting practice.
Here are measurements for different levels of players:
• Average High School: 80 MPH+
• Good High School/Average Non-D1 College: 85 MPH+
• Minimum D1/Good Non-D1: 90 MPH+
• Average D1 starter/Fringe Pro: 95 MPH+
• Good D1/MLB Prospect: 100 MPH+
chaz.lytle@yahoo.com
407-454-1770
Chaz Lytle Accolades
Professional Baseball Player and Professional Coach
2018 Atlanta Braves Professional Baseball Coaching Contract
2016 Milwaukee Brewers Assistant Area Scout, Central Florida Region
2011 Association of Professional Ball Players of America Lifetime Member
2009 Scout School Graduate
2008 Pensacola Pelicans, Atlantic City Surf
2006 - 2007 AA Altoona Curve and St. Paul Saints including team in Japan
2004 - 2005 Lynchburg Hillcats, Voted Fan Favorite
2004 Pittsburgh Pirates Batting Title
2003 Chaz Lytle Baseball began
2003 Hickory Crawdads, OF and MVP
2002 Cape Cod League, Cotuit Kettleers and All Star Team
2002 Williamsport Crosscutters, OF
2002 drafted by Pittsburgh Pirates
2002 NCAA Division 1 All Region Baseball
2002 Southeastern Conference Baseball All-SEC Team
2002 University of Georgia Current All Time Single Season Stolen Base Champ
2002 University of Georgia Season Triples Record and Hits Record
2001 JUCO Division I All-American team for Daytona Beach CC
2001 Daytona Beach CC
2000 South Florida CC
1997 American Legion World Series Winning Pitcher
