Why your Draft Stock is Plummeting
The Road to the 90 MPH Club: Insights from the 2024 MLB Draft
Welcome back to the ProSource Dugout! Today, we're diving into some fascinating statistics from the 2024 MLB Draft, exploring the average fastball velocity and the ages of the top players drafted. Whether you're an aspiring pro or just a fan of the game, understanding the current landscape is critical if you want to improve your performance and reach your goals.
The Age and Velocity Breakdown
Our team, led by Nick and myself, dug into the data, focusing on the average age of players drafted and their respective fastball velocities. Based on research from MLB.com and Prospects Live, here’s what we found:
Average age of position players: 21.3 years old (college draftees)
Average age of high school position players: 18 years old
College pitchers’ average age: 21.8 years old
High school pitchers’ average age: 18.5 years old
What’s most surprising? Pitchers are slightly older than position players. Initially, we thought younger pitchers would dominate due to the physical toll pitching takes, but it turns out that the older pitchers, who are throwing harder than ever, make up a significant portion of the draft.
Speaking of hard-throwers, let’s talk about velocity.
Average Fastball Velocity in the 2024 Draft
One of the most eye-opening statistics is the average fastball velocity for pitchers drafted in 2024: 94.3 mph. Yes, you read that right. In today’s game, if you’re not consistently throwing 94 or harder, you’re already at a disadvantage.
In fact, we also checked the MLB average fastball velocity for 2024, which came in at 93.7 mph. So, draft-eligible pitchers are expected to out-throw even the pros. It’s no longer enough to hit 95 mph once—if you’re not maintaining that speed throughout a game, you won’t stand out.
The Importance of Maximizing Your Time
One theme that came up frequently was time—how much of it you have to reach that crucial 90+ mph range. We see young pitchers struggle when they rely on just one thing—often a fastball—to get through high school and college. As Nick and I discussed, many high school players get by throwing heat past batters, but once they reach college, hitters are no longer fazed. College competition sees fastballs regularly and adjusts quickly, so pitchers who can’t mix in effective off-speed pitches fall behind.
If you’re sitting in the 80s or even low 90s, you might think you have time to improve. But as I learned in my own journey—time isn’t always on your side. After college, I was already 22, and my velocity hadn’t developed to the level I needed. At 24, I was still stuck in the mid-80s, forcing me to hang up my cleats. This experience inspired me to help others avoid the same fate.
Enter the 90 MPH Blueprint
That’s why we developed the 90 MPH Blueprint—a step-by-step program designed to help pitchers break through their velocity plateaus and get to where they need to be before time runs out. It’s what Nick and I used in our own training. While I’ve officially “expired” from pro baseball, Nick continues to push his velocity, and in just a few weeks, he went from topping out at 79 mph to 91 mph.
Even I, after just a short period of training again, jumped from 86 to 92 mph. We’re both now chasing the 95 mph mark, and through this program, we’re documenting everything we do, so you can follow along and learn from our process.
Key Takeaways
Track Everything: One of the most important things we do is track every bullpen session—velo, pitch count, trends—it’s all laid out. If you don’t track your progress, you won’t know what’s working and what’s not.
Don’t Be a Program Hopper: Stick to one plan. Jumping from program to program will only slow you down and waste time—something you can’t afford when trying to gain velocity.
Be Honest with Yourself: Look at where you are now, compare it to where you need to be, and then develop a plan. If you’re throwing 82 mph, don’t delude yourself into thinking you can hit 90 without putting in the work.
If you’re serious about boosting your fastball velocity, check out our 90 MPH Blueprint. You can find us on Instagram, shoot us a DM with the word “Blueprint,” and we’ll send you more information.
Time waits for no one. Don’t expire before reaching your potential.
