How Fast is fast enough?

Question
QUESTION: My son is a junior in high school. He is a left handed pitcher. He has good control of his pitches, and throws a fast ball 82-84mph, change up, and curve ball. My question is this: How fast should his fast ball be at this stage? He is 6' 2" although he has a muscular build he is very slim.

ANSWER: Jim-
I get this question a lot when talking about young pitchers. Scouts like to see kids throw 90 mph, it makes their job easy to project how hard the kid may throw in the future. There are factors that can get a kid noticed even if he's throwing 82-84 mph. Being lefthanded is one of them.  
Scouts are looking for things they can't teach. Body type (Size and build) and athleticism. If he's a junior then he's still young and probably hasn't grown into his body yet. He should aim for a college program where he can mature and have a consistent workout program in place. Then by the time he's 21, and everything's gone well, he should be at or above 90 mph.
My suggestion is for him to master a change-up while he's waiting for the velocity to come around.
-Jon

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: What college baseball programes would you considered the best in the U.S.?

Answer
Every year the top schools seem to be from the warmest parts of the country and biggest conferences. Schools in California, Texas and Florida are always very tough as well as schools in the SEC and the Pac-10.
The weather theory holds true for a lot of Junior Colleges as well. California, Texas and Florida.

-Jon