VALENCIA — There's a lively debate in the Bednar household.

Who can throw a baseball the hardest?

The smart money would be on David, a 2013 Mars graduate and a professional pitcher in the San Diego Padres' organization.

After all, he's coming off a season at Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore where he struck out 96 batters in just 69 1/3 innings pitched.

But the darkhorse is Will, a senior for the Planets whose velocity on his hard, sinking fastball is inching up — just like his national profile.

“It's kind of funny,” said Andy Bednar, David and Will's father and the baseball coach at Mars. “That's an area of contention in this household. So far Will might be it.”

David and Will can both touch 96-97 mph on the radar gun. Whoever wins the velocity debate often comes down to what day it is.

Someone who is never in the conversation is Andy.

“I flip it up there underhanded,” the coach said, laughing. “If my fastball was in traffic, it would have beeping horns behind it.”

While Andy gives the radar gun a rest, David and Will more than make up for it.

David has been working steadily with Will on his pitching skills before heading back to Peoria, Arz., Friday to prepare for his first invitation to a MLB spring training camp with the Padres.

While the tutelage is mostly on the mental side of the game, David does offer up some subtle suggestions about mechanics.

David has seen a leap from his younger brother.

“He's made great strides,” David said. “Obviously his fastball has been there and he's very fluid, but his secondary stuff is really taking off.”

Will lived by the fastball last season, throwing it a majority of the time.

The dominating pitch allowed him to post an ERA of 0.64 and 120 strikeouts in just 66 innings pitched.

During the summer, Will worked extensively on cultivating his secondary pitches, namely his curveball.

He had plenty of high-profile places to do it, including Fenway Park in July during one of the many showcases he attended.

Those events took the Mississippi State recruit from Pennsylvania to California to Alabama and, of course, to Boston.

During that tour, those secondary pitches — namely his hook — began to click.

“I've made a lot of improvement with my curveball,” Will said. “I feel like I started to get a feel for it a lot more.”

There will be no hiding this season for Will, who also throws a biting slider and a changeup.

Recently, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper named Will a national pre-season All-American.

“I think that really shows the amount of work I've put in,” Will said.

Coach Bednar said Will has always been good at separating the attention from the task at hand.

“I'm really proud of the way he's handled the big events he's been in and the attention and expectations,” Andy said. “He seems to handle that stuff well. He has the ability to put things in perspective.”

Will said he is well aware every team he pitches against will be gunning for him after Mars came a whisker away from winning a WPIAL 5A title last season, losing in the final to North Hills in 11 innings.

He relishes that challenge.

“Everyone is going to be hunting for me,” Will said. “It's exciting. I can handle it.

“I'm really excited to get out there and play with my teammates,” he added. “We have a very good team.”

A scary thought this spring for Mars' opponents is Will may be even more difficult to hit this season with the improvement of his secondary pitches.

Will may not be as fastball-heavy on the mound.

“One of the things that will be different this year than in the summer was in the summer he could go out and blow it out for two innings and empty the tank,” Andy said. “As a starter, he'll have to be pretty efficient. When he gets a lot of Ks, you have to be even more efficient. It's very important to go right at guys. I want to see what his secondary stuff can do.”