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General | Blog | 2/23/2023

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 27

Ron Wolforth

Velocity Enhancement Is NOT a Scavenger Hunt

In my opinion, too many parents, athletes, and even coaches view velocity enhancement as a type of treasure or scavenger hunt.

“Look… I went online and I found velocity!”

“We went to our local academy, and we found the secrets to velocity!”

“We went to Texas in search of more ‘pop’ on our fastball!”

But in the quiet of our own minds, we KNOW something is amiss about this thought process.

We know deep in the logical, reasonable side of our brain that there is no quick fix, nor an instant solution to consistent, long-term, high-level performance. Elite performance is a very deliberate process. It can’t be hacked, cheated, or duped, no matter what is promised on Facebook, Twitter, or TikTok.

Certainly, good coaching and instruction can accelerate the process, but true skill development takes time. It takes intention and attention.

We KNOW in our heart that any velocity gains we make, the ones we can actually sustain over time, will require arm health and durability. Period. Full stop.

We can’t HOPE arm health happens, or somehow our soft tissue just magically STOPS “barking” when we step on the accelerator.

Arm health and durability, in our opinion, must be coveted. It must become an obsession. We must make it priority number one.

The essential element so often missed (in other words, “the elephant in the room”) that most seem to go to considerable lengths to ignore is that arm health and durability are the prerequisites to long-term success and performance.

The harsh reality that, in my opinion, many baseball coaches, parents, and players keep trying to dance around is that without a healthy and durable arm and body, high-level performance is far more difficult to obtain and literally impossible to sustain.

Yes, I wrote impossible, and I really mean impossible.

If your goal is to have a leading role on your high school or select travel team, a college scholarship, or be drafted by professional baseball, then you must be on the mound at game time, performing well, over a three to six-month period.

As they say in professional baseball, the best “ability” is “availability”. Meaning, of course, that it is profoundly important to be available to your team to perform in a game when your team needs you.

If you are not routinely available to your current team in their moments of need, why would anyone at the next level then covet your services for their organization? They, of course, need the exact same thing… A consistent, durable, reliable performer. Failing the current test does not get you a pass to the next level test.

In fact, it’s just the opposite; failing today’s test will actually often exclude you from getting chances at the next level.

The stories are now so frequent that they have actually become cliché to us here at the Ranch.

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before:

A young man gets a velocity program online or goes to a local academy for a weighted ball velocity program.

He makes some modest gains in velocity. His arm pain flairs towards the middle and/or end of the process. In fairly short order, he slowly gives back his velocity gains and/or is unable to transfer the gains to the mound at game time. However, what does persist is arm pain. So, in truth, even with months of hard work, he is further behind than when he began the process.

Ok, Coach Wolforth, that’s velocity. What about command and/or accuracy?

How does one actually get better at throwing more strikes? Well, by throwing of course. But if your arm is always tender or “cranky”, you simply can’t throw as much.

You don’t get better at command by reading a book or watching a video on Twitter or TikTok… You don’t get better by getting a 400lb squat… Or by simply firing a three-ounce or a seven-ounce ball into a wall… Or even by conforming to some mechanical ideal model espoused by a guru. You make lasting improvements by deep, deliberate, purposeful throwing. (By the way… To make any sustainable improvements in command, arm health and durability will be required. Just saying.)

What about stuff/spin/movement/deception? In other words, breaking balls and change-ups – how do you get better at throwing sharper, nastier stuff?

By throwing. See the trend?

So many young people sit in front of me for their video analysis and I ask them… Every single one of them… “Why are you here?”. They almost all say, “To gain velocity!”. And roughly 65% of the time, I look at their information in front of me and I say, “I see you have arm pain in your anterior shoulder or medial elbow at a four/five out of 10. And you’ve had to shut it down two times over the past 18 months. Is this correct?”

I then say, “If I had a magic wand and I touched the top of your head with it and ‘presto’ your arm and body generate five more miles per hour to your throw… But we changed NOTHING else… Everything else was the same… What do you think are the chances that your arm pain would go up with an added five miles per hour?”

“Would you agree with me that it’s pretty darn high?”

“Let’s say, on the other hand, I used that magic wand to take your pain away… All of it… Your arm felt absolutely amazing… And the pain would never come back. You had zero chance of UCL tear or labrum tear… Would you possibly immediately throw one to two miles per hour harder?”

“I will tell you the answer is almost ALWAYS a resounding yes, you would.”

“So now let me ask you… Where would you like me to use that magic wand? On velocity or on health and durability?”

1) I do not have a magic wand.

2) If you gained five to seven miles per hour over the next six months, but then you had Tommy John or a labrum tear, have we done you any good? Absolutely not.

3) If we really improved your arm health and durability and you gained, let’s say, two miles per hour, aren’t we now in a much better position to actually start a velocity enhancement program and safely add an additional two or three more miles per hour?

You see, we are, in fact, often chasing the wrong rabbit. We should be obsessed with creating a healthy durable arm and finding a movement pattern that has very little or no pain at high intensity.

My 25-year-old son is a AA catcher in the Diamondback organization. He has thrown a baseball 103 miles per hour and 89 miles per hour to second base. From high school through college, and through four years of pro ball, Garrett has been unavailable to play in only three games. Two because of sickness and one because he got hit by a pitch on the leg and it swelled up. He was the only position player in his AA, High A teams that was available every single game last year.

Why? I completely believe that, by making health and durability while moving at full speed your obsession, then you have your best chance at gaining and then sustaining velocity.

As a trainer and as a father, I would NEVER place my son’s remarkable and elite arm at risk for a quick hit of three to four more miles per hour. I would NEVER treat your son any differently than I would my own.

The great news is, there are far better alternatives than one-size-fits-all weighted ball velocity programs.

With the right process, everyone can gain velocity, improve their command, and enhance the effectiveness of their secondary stuff.

That’s the great news!

What I can’t tell you is how quickly or how much you will improve. It has been said that the way we view the problem is often the main problem. My heartfelt call to all of you reading this:

Do not view velocity enhancement as some sort of scavenger hunt.

Instead, give it the careful and hyper-personalized attention it deserves.

Coach Wolforth is the founder of the Texas Baseball Ranch® and has written six books on pitching including the Amazon Best Seller, Pitching with Confidence. Since 2003, The Texas Baseball Ranch® has had over 543 pitchers break the 90mph barrier, 194 have topped 94mph or better, and 129 students have been drafted in the MLB’s June Amateur Draft. Coach Wolforth has consulted with 13 MLB teams, dozens of NCAA programs and has been referred to as “America’s Go-to-Guy on Pitching” and “The Pitching Coaches Pitching Coach”. Coach Wolforth lives in Montgomery, TX with his wife, Jill. They are intimately familiar with youth select, travel baseball and PG events as their son Garrett (now a catcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization) weWolnt through the process. Garrett still holds the PG Underclass All-American Games record for catcher velocity at 89mph which he set in 2014 at the age of 16.

Upcoming Texas Baseball Ranch® Summer Events

• 3-Day Elite Pitcher’s Boot Camps for pitchers ages 12 & up. Our first event will take place over the Memorial Day weekend and follow every other week through the Labor Day Weekend. More details and a free information package can be found at https://www.texasbaseballranch.com/elite-pitchers-bootcamp/

To Learn More About the Texas Baseball Ranch, go to:
www.texasbaseballranch.com

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General | General | 10/8/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 67

Ron Wolforth

Rethinking Baseball Warm-Ups: A Call for Innovation Let’s kick the old warm-up tradition to the curb, shall we? Baseball has a reputation for being a sport rooted deeply in its customs, and while some traditions are worthy of preservation, one that needs a refreshing overhaul is the standard warm-up routine. Picture this: an hour before the game, players jog a lap, gather to stretch in a circle, and then stand around playing catch. Does that really prepare anyone adequately for the mental and physical demands of pitching? In my view, it falls woefully short, and I’ll explain why. The typical warm-up approach - running a lap, static stretching, and simply tossing a ball back and forth - doesn’t even scratch the surface of what’s necessary for optimal performance. This process often leaves pitchers feeling only 75% prepared, and that’s just not good...

Draft | Prospect Scouting Reports | 10/15/2026

Beyond the Board: C/UTL Gavin Kelly

Tyler Henninger

Beyond the Board: SS Dylan Seward As the 2027 draft cycle moves through the fall and into the offseason, we kick off a new series called Beyond The Board. With each installment, we will provide an in-depth scouting report for some of the top players in the class, breaking down their tools, strengths, question marks, and overall projection. This week we are diving in West Virginia’s Gavin Kelly. The Mountaineer backstop posted a .382/.477/.725 slash line with 19 home runs, 44 extra-base hits, and helped lead WVU to Omaha in ‘26. Let’s dive in. Player: Gavin Kelly Position: C/UTL B/T: R/R Height: 6-foot-0 Weight: 175-pounds School: West Virginia Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pen. Physical Description: 6-0/175. Lean, athletic build. Sneaky strength throughout. Frame has room to fill out and get stronger. Slo-mo look at the HR by Gavin Kelly (@WVUBaseball)....

Tournaments | Story | 10/15/2026

Big Offense Propels TBT/FTB to Title

Hannah Jo Groves

Big Offense Wins TBT/FTB Phillies Scout WWBA Freshman Title Runs scoring in every inning led to the TBT/FTB Phillies Scout Team taking home the 2026 PG WWBA Freshman World Championship - winning over Canes National 15U 10-5. It had been a long week in West Palm Beach for the freshmen coming in from around the country to go up against the best of the best. While they had gotten to play on the backfields during the whole tournament, the players who made it to the championship game got to play it in the CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches Stadium. TBT/FTB showed their defensive strength right away - executing quickly to retire each of the first three batters. With the bats in their hands, they also showed speed to deliver - with Luca Briggs batting Trey Vandergriff in for the first run of the game and Kingston George quickly plating Briggs with a double in the next at-bat. In the first at-bat of...

Tournaments | Story | 10/14/2026

Beast of the East Scout Notes

Perfect Game Staff

‘31 Ryan Spann (GA) obliterates this ball for a solo HR 💣. Ball jumps off barrel & shows the juice and & PS impact. 3x @PGSelectFest alum. #BeastOfTheEast @PG_Georgia https://t.co/TgVGPfDRYc — Perfect Game Youth (@PGYouthBB) October 10, 2026 Ryan Spann (2031, Warner Robins, Ga.) took home MVP honors after a standout weekend and finishing as the number one player on the top performers list. The top player from Georgia and number two player in the country led all performers in home runs (2) and tallied 7 RBIs on his way to a .400 average. The overall profile on Spann is super advanced for the age with electric offensive upside and one of if not the prettiest swing in the class. This will be a fun follow for years to come and I am all in. Carlo Rivero (2031, Apopka, Fla.) checks in as the number one overall player in the class and it’s easy to see why at...

Press Release | Press Release | 10/14/2026

Perfect Game Extends Turtlebox Deal

667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923 www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PERFECT GAME EXTENDS PARTNERSHIP WITH TURTLEBOX AS OFFICIAL BLUETOOTH SPEAKER AND AUDIO PROVIDER Sanford, Florida (Wednesday, October 14, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced that Turtlebox has extended its partnership as the Official Bluetooth Speaker and Audio Provider of Perfect Game. The relationship, which began in 2023, expands to include original content, player recognition and a larger presence at Perfect Game's marquee events. At the center of the extension is "Turtlebox Cage Sessions," a new series produced and distributed by Perfect Game across all its social media platforms. The 12 short-form episodes will feature...

Tournaments | Story | 10/13/2026

East Cobb/Padres Explode Late for Jupiter Win

Hannah Jo Groves

East Cobb/SD Padres ST Explode Late for WWBA Worlds Win A hard-fought, crazy ending resulted in the East Cobb/SD Padres scout team coming back and winning the 2026 PG WWBA World Championship over the SBA/Marlins Scout Team 2028. The score was 8-7 after the championship was won with a walk-off balk. After going against some of the most talented, highly-ranked players in the country for the past couple days, it was finally time for the championship game at Roger Dean Complex Stadium in Jupiter, FL. The WWBA World Championship, or, as it’s more commonly and lovingly referred to as, “Jupiter,” has become a favorite for all who have been part of its iconic, golf-cart infested, electric atmosphere. This championship game was sure to entertain. The first two innings were scoreless for both teams as they got settled. Both defenses were making plays - SBA/Marlins executed a...

Tournaments | Story | 10/12/2026

WWBA Freshman Scout Notes: Day 4

Marcus Thomas

WWBA Freshman Scout Notes: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 James Watson (2030, Canton, Ga.) showed the two-way upside to start bracket play for East Cobb Astros 15u. On the mound the right-handed pitcher went three innings and with three strikeouts and spread five hits and two walks for three runs. Watson works from a hybrid windup from the middle-of-the-rubber into a small heel-turn and an around-the-belt leg lift before using drop-and-drive back leg mechanics into a longer, in-line stride down the mound. Showed some feel to get extension down the mound. The hands separate into a moderate arm action before accelerating through from an over-the-top arm angle. The fastball ran up to 86 with arm-side run and life. Paired it with a curveball with 11-5 shape and solid two-plane break. Mixed in a change-up in the upper- 70s with some vertical depth. Competed at the top of the zone well. Athletic...

Tournaments | Story | 10/12/2026

WWBA World Champ. Scout Notes: Day 4

AJ Denny

WWBA World Championship Notes: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 ‘27 Mark Susa (WI) picked up 3 Ks thru 2 inn of work. 4SFB topped at 90 mph early on; 2S lived 85-86 w/ good run & sink down in the zone. Spun a 2600 rpm SLV w/ sharp traits (clip). Got up to 7’1” of extension. 6’4/200lb frame w/ more to come. #IUBase #WWBAWorlds @PG_WiscMinn https://t.co/uXfjVSSSZF — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) October 11, 2026 Mark Susa (2027, Hudson, Wisc.) put together a quality outing on Sunday, striking out three batters over 2.1 innings of work. The 6-foot-4 200-pound left-hander ran his fastball up to 90 mph, pairing it with a two-seamer that lived in the 85-86 mph range with heavy sink and arm-side run. He also showed great feel for spinning and locating his slurvy breaking ball, which read spin up to 2600 rpm. Susa utilizes his length to his advantage, creating...

Tournaments | Story | 10/11/2026

WWBA World Champ. Scout Notes: Day 3

Kyler Peterson

WWBA World Championship Notes: Day 1 | Day 2 ‘28 Alan Zimmerman (FL) racked up 5 Ks w/ just 1 H allowed thru 3 shutout frames. Lived 89-90 T91 w/ lots of life thru the zone & some ASR. Dropped in a 12/6 breaker for Ks (clip). Projectable 6’3” mold. #Uncommitted @PG_Uncommitted #WWBAWorlds @Florida_PG https://t.co/KTDFpGK49y — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) October 10, 2026 Alan Zimmerman (2028, Winter Garden, Fla.) was dominant in his start on Saturday, collecting five strikeouts through three shutout innings while allowing just one hit. The uncommitted 6-foot-3 right-hander showed out in front of a lot of scouts, running his fastball up to 91 mph. The heater plays up with lots of life through the zone and short arm-side run. Zimmerman sat comfortably in the 88-90 mph range, pairing his fastball with a late-acting 12/6 curveball that was landed...

Tournaments | Story | 10/11/2026

WWBA Freshman Scout Notes: Day 3

Jheremy Brown

WWBA Freshman Scout Notes: Day 1 | Day 2 Carson Garzaniti (2029, Jupiter, Fla.) showed the barrel feel all game for West Boynton Cobras. The right-handed hitter starts from a spread stance with his weight shifted forward and in-line feet with a high handset and an even back elbow, utilizes a heel lift weight transfer trigger. Creates some separation in the back shoulder and uncoils the lower half with a short, direct hand path and extension out front from a slightly uphill bat plane. Good bat speed in the swing with some feel to impact. The catcher has shown the barrel accuracy all event with three hits, including a double and triple, to drive in four RBI and has come around to score five runs. Lean, athletic 5-foot-11, 170-pound frame with feel to generate power working ground up from the back leg. Exciting player that has been swinging a hot stick through pool play. ...

Tournaments | Story | 10/10/2026

WWBA World Champ. Scout Notes: Day 2

Perfect Game Staff

WWBA World Championship Notes: Day 1 ‘27 C Joshua Digulio (TX) opened the morning in Cacti Park with a bang. In his first at-bat of the morning, Digulio crushed an 0-2 fastball. The right-handed hitter powered a fly-ball through the Florida morning humidity off the back wall of the left field bullpen for a no-doubt solo shot. Everybody in the stadium knew it was gone as soon as he made contact. The catcher also worked a walk in his only other plate appearance. His home run was the only hit in the game, providing Texas Brigade 2027 a 1-0 win. ‘27 MIF Xavier Martin (IL) woke up the stadium with an electric swing. The right-handed hitter was sitting dead-red on a 2-0 heater, got it, and torched it. Martin scorched a line drive all the way over the left field bullpen, as the ball cleared a near 20-foot wall and bounced onto the concourse. It was a two-run shot for the...

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