clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Your Kid is a Lefty? Teach Him to Pitch!

I've heard it said about baseball pitchers trying to make it to the major leagues... if you're a right-hander you better have several pitches, good control, etc. If your a left-hander, you just need to be breathing.

The fact is, lefties are in demand. Take the MSU pitchers that were drafted this week: Chris Stratton (Giants), Nick Routt (Reds) and Kendall Graveman (Marlins). Chris Stratton is a RHP, but he is dominant...hence the 1st round pick. But Nick Routt was far from dominant, and he battled injuries. Still, he was selected 20 rounds ahead of Graveman. And preseason All-American RHP, Caleb Reed, wasn't even drafted.

Here's a look at what Routt, Graveman and Reed did during their MSU careers...

Nick Routt, LHP

Freshman (2009) 5-3, 4.15 ERA 4 CG, led team in ERA
Sophomore (2010) 1-1, 6.52 ERA Season-ending arm injury
Junior (2011) 3-3, 3.86 ERA 13 starts
Senior (2012) 3-5, 3.80 ERA .330 opponents batting avg.

Kendall Graveman, RHP

Freshman (2010) 2-4, 6.66 ERA That is an unfortunate ERA
Sophomore (2011) 5-0, 3.65 ERA 32 walks: 21 strikeouts
Junior (2012) 4-4, 2.81 ERA 16 starts, 89.1 IP

Caleb Reed, RHP

Freshman (2009) 1-2, 9.17 ERA .373 opponents batting avg.
Sophomore (2010) 1-7, 6.99 ERA 2nd on the team in IP (67)
Junior (2011) 1-2, 1.55 ERA 12 saves
Senior (2012) 1-5, 2.47 ERA 9 saves, 31 appearances

Clearly, Graveman's numbers are better than Routt's. Caleb Reed's are too. But Routt is a lefty. If a LHP is a "junk-baller" like Graveman and Reed than that's fine...in fact, it's great...whatever so long as he can get it over the plate. But from a righty, the scouts are looking for the guys with electric fastballs and hard-biting sliders.

So, if your child was born a lefty, teach 'em 1st base another time....head for the mound.