By Brandon Hall
North Carolina Director of Scouting

Last week we took an in depth look at position players and their ability to showcase their tools.  As a pitching guy, spending 18 years as a college pitching coach, trust me, we are not going to leave pitchers behind in the discussion.  When looking at pitchers and their ability to be seen, there are a couple of different settings they must control.  The good thing for pitchers, they will be seen as the ball is in their hand. 

Grading Pitchers

Most pro scouts will use a 20 - 80 scale to grade players out with a grade of 50 equating to a major league average grade.  For high school players, scouts will be working to put future grades on players as well.  The future grade is a projection of where the player may be.

The easiest pitch to grade will be the fastball.  In 2016, the major league average fastball was just under 92 mph.  For a pitcher to receive a 50 grade on their fastball, they would need to show an ability to sit around 92, not just touch it.