YBMcast

Youth baseball has more than ever before.

More training. More tournaments. More showcases. More private instruction. More data. More technology. More year-round opportunities. 

But are we actually developing BETTER baseball players — or have we just made youth baseball more expensive? 

On this episode of The Hitting Zone, Mitch Thomas welcomes former professional pitcher Mike McMullen for a conversation about development, pressure and what today's players actually need. 

Mike was a 13th-round draft pick of the San Francisco Giants in 1993 and spent 10 years in the organization before signing with the Minnesota Twins. But his path to professional baseball looked very different from what many young players experience today. 

Mike describes himself as a late bloomer. 

He only played varsity baseball as a senior in high school. He considered himself a football player first. He went to junior college intending to play football before a baseball coach convinced him to give baseball another shot. 

Then he got on the mound, started throwing 95 MPH and everything changed. 

That experience gives Mitch and Mike plenty to discuss about today's development environment. 

Are tournaments, showcases, private instruction and year-round baseball creating better

PLAYERS? 

How much does velocity still matter? 

Are we allowing players enough time to develop? 

And with the money families are investing in youth sports, are we unintentionally putting even more 
pressure on young athletes to perform? 

The conversation also takes an important turn into the mental side of sports. Mike openly shares his experience with severe anxiety during his professional career and what it was like competing at baseball's highest levels at a time when conversations about mental health weren't happening the way they are today. 

For coaches, sometimes helping an athlete doesn't require another drill. 

Sometimes it starts with asking: 
“Are you okay?”

Because developing a baseball player has to include developing and understanding the person
wearing the uniform. 

This is a conversation about development, expectations, coaching, velocity, mental health and whether everything we're adding to youth baseball is actually producing the result we think it is. 

Step inside The Hitting Zone. 

FOLLOW MIKE McMULLEN 
X: @CoachmikeStl 

FOLLOW MITCH THOMAS / THE HITTING ZONE 
Instagram: @_mtsperformance
X: @TheHittingZoneSTL
TikTok: @thehittingzonestl

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THE HITTING ZONE IS PRESENTED BY KILO GEAR. 
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#TheHittingZone #YBM #YouthBaseball #PlayerDevelopment #BaseballDevelopment #MikeMcMullen

⚾ Stay locked in with Youth Baseball Midwest—your hub for full-spectrum youth baseball insight in the Midwest. Subscribe and hit that dinger (🔔) to never miss a game-state insight.

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Presented by our proud partners:
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🎥 Production Partner:Red Earth Productions: redearthprod.com

Show Me Baseball Talk is back with another special Player Spotlight Edition from the Prep Baseball Missouri Fall Games!

YBM made the trip to Columbia, Missouri, with Kevin Moulder and Prep Baseball for the annual Missouri Fall Games — one of the best opportunities of the year to see players from across the state showcase their abilities.

The morning showcase gives athletes the opportunity to put their tools on display before taking the field for scrimmage action in the afternoon. Every year, players emerge who may not have been on everyone's radar before the event, while younger players get an opportunity to make an early impression on evaluators and their peers.

YBM had the opportunity to catch up with several of those players while they worked through the morning showcase.

For this edition, Kevin Moulder joins Brian to turn the Player Spotlight toward West/Central Missouri. We're breaking down some of the players Kevin saw at the Missouri Fall Games, who caught his attention, and what those performances could mean for their high school programs as we look ahead to the 2027 season.

Who stood out? Which names should you start remembering? And which West/Central Missouri programs could have some interesting pieces heading into the spring?

It's another Fall Games Player Spotlight Edition of Show Me Baseball Talk!

💪 SHOW ME BASEBALL TALK PARTNER — KILO GEAR

Show Me Baseball Talk is proudly partnered with Kilo Gear!

Visit:
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Click the Kilo Gear tab to shop and use promo code YBM10 for 10% OFF your order!

⚾ JOIN THE YBM CLUBHOUSE

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Click the JOIN button on the Youth Baseball Midwest YouTube channel to become a member and support YBM while getting access to early podcast episodes, exclusive content, and exclusive discounts.

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⚾ Stay locked in with Youth Baseball Midwest—your hub for full-spectrum youth baseball insight in the Midwest. Subscribe and hit that dinger (🔔) to never miss a game-state insight.

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🎥 Production Partner:Red Earth Productions: redearthprod.com

When did throwing 90 MPH stop feeling impressive - and start feeling like a requirement?

On this episode of Keep Klimbing, Brett Graves tackles “The 90 MPH Problem” and the growing pressure surrounding velocity throughout baseball.

Velocity matters. Brett isn't arguing otherwise. Throwing harder reduces a hitter's reaction time, makes secondary pitches more difficult to handle, creates opportunities for pitchers, and continues to play an important role in how players are evaluated. 

But somewhere along the way, the radar gun went from being a way to measure velocity to becoming a recruiting tool, a development objective, and for some players, part of how they define themselves.

Brett looks at how we got here — from the introduction of the radar gun and rising MLB velocities to today's showcase, recruiting, training, and social media culture. He also examines how those influences have changed the way pitchers train and the pressure young players can feel to reach benchmarks like 85, 90, or 95 MPH. 

The real problem isn't measuring velocity. 

It's when velocity starts defining the player.

Brett discusses how coaches and athletes can put the radar gun back in its proper place as a development tool while continuing to build the other pieces necessary to actually pitch. 

Because a pitcher throwing 90 with poor command, a pitcher throwing 90 with elite command, a pitcher below 90 with elite pitch shapes, and a pitcher throwing 95 without secondary pitches are four very different players. 

Velocity is an important piece of the puzzle. 

It just isn't the entire picture.

Connect with Brett Graves
Instagram: @brettgraves5
X: @bgraves05

Premier Pitching & Performance
Instagram: @premierpitching
X: @PremierPitching

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⚾ Stay locked in with Youth Baseball Midwest—your hub for full-spectrum youth baseball insight in the Midwest. Subscribe and hit that dinger (🔔) to never miss a game-state insight.

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🎥 Production Partner:Red Earth Productions: redearthprod.com

What separates simply getting your reps in from actually TRAINING with purpose?

On this episode of So-ILL Baseball Talk, host Carl Lange sits down with Josh Griffin, owner of 

Foundry Athletics in Carterville, Illinois, for a conversation about athletic development, baseball, mentorship, and the people who help athletes reach the next level. 

Josh grew up in Southern Illinois, played at Marion High School, continued his baseball career at the college level, and eventually found his way back home to Foundry Athletics—a facility where he once trained as an athlete and now has the opportunity to impact the next generation. 

Carl and Josh talk about the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people, the difference between simply getting reps and truly training, and what young players may not understand about the college baseball experience. 

They also dive into Josh's relationship with former Foundry owner and mentor Jared, the training philosophy Josh inherited, and why teaching proper movement and technique remains a non-negotiable. 

But great coaching isn't simply knowing WHAT to teach. 

It's figuring out HOW to teach the athlete standing in front of you. 

Every player learns differently. Every athlete responds differently. And as Josh explains, coaches have to continue learning, adapting and finding ways to meet athletes where they are. 

For Josh, owning Foundry has also created a bigger purpose: giving the next generation the belief that they can accomplish more than they may currently think is possible. 

Follow Foundry Athletics: 
Website: https://foundryathletics.net
Instagram: @foundryathletics
Facebook: Foundry Athletics

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For the past two decades, the KC Suburban Conference has been a consistent force at the highest levels of Missouri high school baseball.

Year after year, programs from the KC Suburban find their way into the Final Four — sometimes with multiple representatives and across multiple classifications. So what continues to drive that success? 

Coach Dionandre Josenberger joins Brian on Show Me Baseball Talk to dig into the environment surrounding baseball on the west side of the state and why these programs continue to produce. 

The conversation goes beyond simply having talented players. Coach Josenberger discusses the longevity and stability of coaching staffs throughout the area, the development taking place within

Kansas City's youth baseball programs and academies, the quality of facilities available to players, and the level of competition these programs face throughout the season. 

How much does competing against high-level programs week after week impact development? How important is stability within a coaching staff? And how do you create a culture that continues even as players graduate and rosters change? 

We're breaking down the development, competition and culture behind the sustained success of KC Suburban baseball. 


💪 SHOW ME BASEBALL TALK PARTNER — KILO GEAR 
Show Me Baseball Talk is proudly partnered with Kilo Gear! 
Visit:
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Click the Kilo Gear tab to shop and use promo code YBM10 for 10% OFF your order! 

⚾ JOIN THE YBM CLUBHOUSE 

Want even more from Youth Baseball Midwest? Join the YBM Clubhouse right here on YouTube! 

Click the JOIN button on the Youth Baseball Midwest YouTube channel to become a member and support YBM while getting access to early podcast episodes, exclusive content, and exclusive discounts. 

🛒 SHOP YBM
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Subscribe to Youth Baseball Midwest and turn on notifications so you don't miss a new episode of

Show Me Baseball Talk! 
#YouthBaseballMidwest #ShowMeBaseballTalk #MissouriBaseball #KCBaseball #HighSchoolBaseball

⚾ Stay locked in with Youth Baseball Midwest—your hub for full-spectrum youth baseball insight in the Midwest. Subscribe and hit that dinger (🔔) to never miss a game-state insight.

🌐 More YBM:
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What happens when you go from being one of the best players on your high school field to a freshman trying to earn your place in the SEC?

On this episode of Baseball 101, Diamond Dave Wiggins welcomes one of his former players, Nolan Sissom, back to the show. Nolan is a former Fort Zumwalt West standout and current freshman at the University of Missouri, beginning his college baseball career in the SEC.

Dave coached Nolan from eighth grade through his senior year, which gives this conversation a unique perspective as they look at the transition from high school baseball to one of the highest levels of college baseball.

And Nolan quickly learned that SEC baseball is a whole lot more than what you see on television.

They discuss:

• Arriving at Mizzou just weeks after finishing high school baseball
• Why Nolan and the coaching staff prioritized strength and physical development over summer at-bats
• Going from roughly 170 pounds to 185 while adjusting to a college training schedule
• The role nutrition plays in competing at the SEC level
• Training and lifting four days a week while managing baseball and academics
• Competing for opportunities against older players and transfers
• Going from being “the guy” in high school to having to earn everything again
• Why rooting for the players you're competing against can actually make you better
• Learning from older teammates instead of viewing them only as competition
• Adjusting to technology, data, PitchCom and advanced defensive preparation
• How Mizzou individualizes hitting and player development
• Taking ownership of your development and being willing to ask questions

Nolan also provides an important perspective for younger athletes who dream about playing Division I or SEC baseball.

Getting there is only the beginning.

Once you're on campus, everybody was good in high school. Development, physicality, preparation, maturity and the willingness to learn become part of earning your next opportunity.

This is a firsthand look at what life really looks like for a freshman baseball player in the SEC.

📲 FOLLOW DAVE WIGGINS
Instagram: @coachdave1338
X: @CoachDW1338

📲 FOLLOW NOLAN SISSOM
Instagram: @nolansissom
X: @nolan_sissom

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⚾ Stay locked in with Youth Baseball Midwest—your hub for full-spectrum youth baseball insight in the Midwest. Subscribe and hit that dinger (🔔) to never miss a game-state insight.

🌐 More YBM:
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YouTube: Youth Baseball MidwestInstagram: @youthbaseballmidwest
TikTok: @YouthBaseballMidwest
X: @YBM_cast
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🎥 Production Partner:Red Earth Productions: redearthprod.com

Is there another way to navigate high school baseball outside of the traditional club model? 

On this episode of The Hitting Zone, Mitch Thomas welcomes Mark Baden, head coach of STL

Xtreme, for a conversation about independent baseball and the path his team has taken from 15U into its final high school summer. 

Mark’s story started with a team built around multi-sport athletes. That original plan quickly changed, and their first season became a grind that included 34 different guest players just to keep the team on the field. 

But they kept going. 

As the core group developed, the program evolved. Players began seeking them out. The competition increased. College coaches started showing up. And STL Xtreme began building a model focused on putting players in the right environments without automatically following the traditional club path. 

Mitch and Mark get into the realities of making that work: 

⚾ Independent baseball vs. the club model
⚾ Finding the right tournaments and exposure opportunities
⚾ Creating a legitimate recruiting plan
⚾ The cost of high school summer baseball
⚾ Finding facilities and quality training
⚾ Allowing players to develop and fail
⚾ Building relationships with players over multiple seasons
⚾ Preparing athletes for varsity and college baseball
⚾ Why independent teams still need answers for development, strength, training and recruiting

Mark is also clear about one thing: this isn't about saying independent baseball is better than club baseball. 

It’s about recognizing that there may be ANOTHER WAY. 

For the right player, family, coaches and situation, there can be more than one path through high school baseball. 

Step inside The Hitting Zone. 

FOLLOW STL XTREME 
Website: https://www.stlxtremebaseball.com/
Facebook: @stl.xtreme.baseball
X: @XtremeSTLBBall

FOLLOW MITCH THOMAS / THE HITTING ZONE Instagram: @_mtsperformance
X: @TheHittingZoneSTL
TikTok: @thehittingzonestl


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THE HITTING ZONE IS PRESENTED BY KILOGEAR. 

Get ready to make your offseason workouts your best. 
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Click the KiloGear tab and use promo code YBM10 for 10% off! 

YBM Partner: Game 7 Baseball 
#TheHittingZone #YBM #STLXtreme #IndependentBaseball #YouthBaseball #HighSchoolBaseball

⚾ Stay locked in with Youth Baseball Midwest—your hub for full-spectrum youth baseball insight in the Midwest. Subscribe and hit that dinger (🔔) to never miss a game-state insight.

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X: @YBM_cast
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Presented by our proud partners:
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🎥 Production Partner:Red Earth Productions: redearthprod.com

Show Me Baseball Talk is hitting the road for a special edition!

YBM made the trip to Columbia, Missouri, with Kevin Moulder and Prep Baseball for the annual Missouri Fall Games — one of the best opportunities of the year to see players from across the state showcase their abilities.

The morning showcase gives athletes the chance to put their tools on display before taking the field for scrimmage action in the afternoon. Every year, players emerge who may not have been on everyone's radar before the event, while younger players get an opportunity to make an early impression on evaluators and their peers.

YBM had the opportunity to catch up with several of those players throughout the morning showcase.

For this special edition, Kevin Moulder joins Brian to put the spotlight on Southwest Missouri. They break down some of the players who caught Kevin's attention at the Missouri Fall Games and what those performances could mean for their programs as we begin looking ahead to the 2027 high school baseball season.

Who stood out? Who should be on the radar? And which Southwest Missouri programs could have some interesting pieces heading into 2027?

It's a special Fall Games Player Spotlight Edition of Show Me Baseball Talk!

💪 SHOW ME BASEBALL TALK PARTNER — KILO GEAR

Show Me Baseball Talk is proudly partnered with Kilo Gear!

Visit: https://www.youthbaseballmidwest.com/

Click the Kilo Gear tab to shop and use promo code YBM10 for 10% OFF your order!

⚾ JOIN THE YBM CLUBHOUSE

Want even more from Youth Baseball Midwest? Join the YBM Clubhouse right here on YouTube!

Click the JOIN button on the Youth Baseball Midwest YouTube channel to become a member and support YBM while getting access to early podcast episodes, exclusive content, and exclusive discounts.

🛒 SHOP YBM
https://gorgeousware.com/collections/youth-baseball-midwest


Subscribe to Youth Baseball Midwest and turn on notifications so you don't miss a new episode of Show Me Baseball Talk!

#YouthBaseballMidwest #ShowMeBaseballTalk #PrepBaseball #MissouriFallGames #MissouriBaseball

⚾ Stay locked in with Youth Baseball Midwest—your hub for full-spectrum youth baseball insight in the Midwest. Subscribe and hit that dinger (🔔) to never miss a game-state insight.

🌐 More YBM:
Website: youthbaseballmidwest.com
YouTube: Youth Baseball MidwestInstagram: @youthbaseballmidwest
TikTok: @YouthBaseballMidwest
X: @YBM_cast
Facebook: Youth Baseball Midwest


Presented by our proud partners:
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🎥 Production Partner:Red Earth Productions: redearthprod.com

What does a Major League career teach you about actually developing as a pitcher?

This week on Keep Klimbing, Brett Graves sits down with former MLB pitcher and World Series Champion Neal Cotts, who now works with Premier Pitching & Performance in the Chicago area.

Neal's path wasn't built on being the biggest name coming out of high school. He arrived at Illinois State without huge expectations, worked his way into a starting role, and eventually developed into a second-round MLB Draft pick before reaching the Major Leagues. Along the way, mentors and coaches helped him understand not only how to pitch, but how to prepare and navigate each new level of the game.

Brett and Neal dig into:
• Neal's development from high school through Illinois State and professional baseball
• The importance of coaches, mentors, and people who believe in a player
• Learning to develop a better breaking ball and evolve his arsenal
• Adjusting from starting to pitching out of the bullpen
• What Major League hitters taught him about executing quality pitches
• Why stuff alone becomes less effective as the competition gets better
• Looking back at development decisions he would approach differently today
• His experience during the Chicago White Sox's 2005 World Series championship season
• How those experiences now influence the way he works with today's players

One of Neal's biggest adjustments came after reaching professional baseball: learning a better breaking ball, managing the game, developing routines, and eventually adding a cutter and slider as his role evolved.

And once he reached the Major Leagues, another lesson became clear: big-league hitters don't get themselves out very often. Success required more than stuff — it required quality pitches, execution, approach, and the ability to adapt.

Now Neal gets to take those lessons from a career at the highest level and apply them to the next generation of pitchers with Premier Pitching & Performance.

⚾ CONNECT WITH BRETT GRAVES
Instagram: @brettgraves5
X: @bgraves05
#KeepKlimbing #NealCotts #PremierPitching #YBMcast #PitchingDevelopment

⚾ Stay locked in with Youth Baseball Midwest—your hub for full-spectrum youth baseball insight in the Midwest. Subscribe and hit that dinger (🔔) to never miss a game-state insight.

🌐 More YBM:
Website: youthbaseballmidwest.com
YouTube: Youth Baseball MidwestInstagram: @youthbaseballmidwest
TikTok: @YouthBaseballMidwest
X: @YBM_cast
Facebook: Youth Baseball Midwest


Presented by our proud partners:
Game 7 Baseball: game7baseball.com
Prime Sports Midwest: primesportsmw.com


🎥 Production Partner:Red Earth Productions: redearthprod.com

What should we actually be trying to accomplish with an 8U, 9U or 10U baseball player?

Dan Seddon welcomes Brian French back to Youth Baseball Talk as they begin breaking down the different stages of the 8U–14U development window — starting with the youngest players in the game. 

At 8U and 9U, is winning really the goal? Or should success be measured by whether that player learns the game, develops fundamental skills, has fun and is excited to come back next season? 

Dan and Brian discuss machine pitch vs. kid pitch, the importance of catch play, introducing young players to pitching, building confidence and why coaches need PATIENCE if they truly want to develop players. 

They also tackle another major part of youth coaching: relationships. 

How do coaches build trust with young players? How important is communication with parents? And are coaches willing to put their own ego aside and spend the time necessary to actually teach the game? 

Then comes 10U — a transition point where players begin showing how much they enjoy baseball, skill development can become more intentional and families can start determining what the next stage of the game should look like. 

⚾ IN THIS EPISODE:
• What should the goal really be at 8U and 9U?
• Machine pitch vs. kid pitch
• Why catch play matters so much
• Introducing pitching without rushing development
• Why patience matters when coaching young players
• Coaching development vs. simply assembling talented teams
• Building trust between coaches, players and parents
• Communicating with parents about development
• Introducing individual skill work
• Why athletic development still matters
• The transition from 10U toward 11U

Youth Baseball Talk is dedicated to the 8U–14U side of the game — helping coaches, parents and organizations think through development, competition and the decisions that shape a young player's baseball experience. 

⚾ TODAY'S SHOW IS POWERED BY GAME 7 BASEBALL 
Fall ball is here! If your team is looking for some fun and extra reps, check out Game 7 Baseball. 
https://game7baseball.com/
And tell them Youth Baseball Midwest sent you! 

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Subscribe to Youth Baseball Midwest for more Youth Baseball Talk with Dan Seddon. #YouthBaseballTalk #YouthBaseball #TravelBaseball #PlayerDevelopment #YBM #YouthBaseballMidwest 

⚾ Stay locked in with Youth Baseball Midwest—your hub for full-spectrum youth baseball insight in the Midwest. Subscribe and hit that dinger (🔔) to never miss a game-state insight.

🌐 More YBM:
Website: youthbaseballmidwest.com
YouTube: Youth Baseball MidwestInstagram: @youthbaseballmidwest
TikTok: @YouthBaseballMidwest
X: @YBM_cast
Facebook: Youth Baseball Midwest


Presented by our proud partners:
Game 7 Baseball: game7baseball.com
Prime Sports Midwest: primesportsmw.com


🎥 Production Partner:Red Earth Productions: redearthprod.com