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Andrew Wilhite - ambidextrous pitcher, Stillman Valley

Andrew Wilhite
Hometown: Byron, Illinois

Stillman Valley HS (Class of 2018)

Positions: SS, RHP, LHP
Bats: Left
Throws: Both

Velocity: up to 84 mph RHP, mid 70s LHP

Gloves: 2 different styles of Rawlings gloves



Stillman Valley's Andrew Wilhite a rare ambidextrous ace
By Jay Taft, 16 April 2016

Stillman Valley sophomore Andrew Wilhite has been pitching with both arms for about six years. He was equally effective from both sides last year on the Cardinals varsity.

“It’s kind of like having two pitchers in one, and just finding one good pitcher is hard to do these days,” his father and Stillman Valley’s head coach Scott Wilhite said. “And to have a guy that can change it around on a team, in the middle of the game, well that’s just one of those nice little options to have.”

Throwing with both arms
Andrew threw against a wall with both arms “almost every morning for years” before he gained the confidence to take the mound with both. He first pitched with both arms in the same season two years ago in the local Roy Gayle League. He was sporadic, but he quickly started to believe in himself.

Pitching strategy
He has switched arms during a game only twice, and those came in Roy Gayle competition. It’s tricky because he has to keep both arms loose if he is going to use them both — not an easy feat during the course of a ballgame.


(From what I read in the article, he is an ambidextrous pitcher, but not really a switch pitcher. A switch pitcher can easily switch throwing sides in a game when needed and they balance the number of pitches between arms. Whilhite pitches a lot more right-handed than left-handed.)
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Porsche Exchange Player of the Week: Stillman Valley's Andrew Wilhite


Freshman Andrew Wilhite from Stillman Valley had an unlikely stat line from last week: he won four games between Satuday, April 4 and Saturday, April 11. What makes it even more amazing is that he won two games with his right hand, and two games with his left hand. He also won two of the games as a starting pitcher (both right-handed), and two in relief (both left-handed).

All total Wilhite went 4-0 on the week, throwing 17.2 innings, allowing 10 hits, one earned run, with a 27:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Watch that weekly pitch count!
17.2 innings of pitching in one week is too much throwing for a high school pitcher. If he averaged 15 pitches per inning then he threw around 260 pitches in one week.  

Most states set a limit of 14 innings per week. See Pitch Limits for High School Pitchers



Andrew Wilhite - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA


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