Our first time asking the question.

We asked for both young and older arms and we offered a number of suggested pitch counts. WebBall readers submitted a range of opinions, but here are the average...

Age	Pitches Per Game	Pitches per Week
Young pitchers (under 13)	51 per game (50-60 range)	106 for the week (90-120 range)
More mature arms	63 per game (60-70 range)	145 per week (120-150 range)

The implication here is that any pitcher should be able to pitch in two starts and one relief appearance in a week! Yes, that seems a lot, as much as a MLB star has to do only once or twice a year during the post-season.


One of the more interesting observations (from an unnamed reader) was this, related to 18-year-old, high school varsity calibre arms...

Muscles get stronger with more use, followed by proper rest, stretching, long toss, light mound work and simulated games. With no increase in number of pitches, there is no increase in arm strength or velocity.

This suggests keeping the pitch count lower in the pre-season and building through the Spring and Summer as arms get stronger. Here's an added thought, credited to John Neimi, another coach in WebBall's home turf...

Match game pitch count to air temperature. Cool spring nights: 35-45, hot summer days: 80-85.