Scouts/Sliders to lefties

Question
Hey man
I'm a Junior in high school and I throw a fastball in the mid 80's about 84-86 mph and I have a pretty nasty slider due to my three quarters delivery and it travels at about 78 mph. I have two questions for you. First of all, I've had trouble pitching sliders or 12-6 curves to lefties. I always drill the hitter in the foot or shin and I cant seem to find a good groove for that situation. Any suggestions? Also I am going to pitch at a Junior Showcase in the spring. It gives an opportunity for Juniors in high school to perform in front of Division I/II/III and Professional scouts. I was wondering about some essential things that scouts will be looking for and I'm also wondering if it is necessary to work at improving my velocity for my fastball right now. Do scouts really look at the fact of whether you can throw 95 mph or you cant?

Answer
Joe-
Throwing sliders in on lefties can be a tough pitch to learn but is essential at the higher levels. The first thing I would do is adjust my aim on the pitch. I like to aim for the catcher's right foot when throwing a slider. The other thing is to play around with the grip. If you're hitting batters with the pitch, you need to adjust the grip so that the break is less and the speed is increased. My slider grip is about half way between my fastball and a true 12-6 curveball. A slider is a feel pitch and you'll need to throw a lot of them so that you can feel how different grips affect the pitch.
As for the Showcases, Scouts are there to look for talent. Of course they like the guys who throw 95 mph, but that's to say that they can't see talent that hasn't fully matured. Get yourself in good shape and try and plan your throwing so that you'll be at your best. Other than that, go have fun and compete. You'd be surprised how much that impresses people in the game.

Jon