As pointed out in more than one article elsewhere on WebBall, raw numbers by themselves don't mean much. Professional scouts will tell you they are looking for something called "projectability". Experienced coaches will tell you they set their line-ups on factors other than batting average - insight, instinct, experience. And pro players themselves will tell you that a change-up at 73 mph might be a tougher pitch to handle than a fastball at 94 mph. Notch the numbers down and it's not so different in youth league baseball. 

So what is the real value in numbers?
As a personal scorecard and also a reality check.

A hitter may (rightly or wrongly) judge if he's having a good week by the number of hits he gets (true at any age). And a pitcher who has plateau'd - who can't seem to get more velocity on his fastball - knows he either needs help, or needs another game plan.

The amateur coach doing a line-up who needs to decided between two guys for the number 5 spot, or, more likely, may need support to justify his choice to concerned parents - he has a definite need for numbers.

When we at WebBall recommend measuring devices (radar guns or timers), we usually make a point that such information is beneficial in training. A series of swings, a sequence of pitches - the numbers can be a measure of training progress, of whether you're heading in the right direction.