cross checker significance

Dadcoach,

 

A single crosschecker showing up can mean a lot or it can mean nothing. There are regional crosscheckers who go to see or "crosscheck" a player the area scout is interested in and there are national crosscheckers which are fewer in number and are higher on the totem pole. Late in my son's junior year a regional crosschecker told me and my wife that our son would not be returning to his school for his senior year. Then the team doesn't draft him after all. So at this point just take it with a grain of salt. Every team has 700 or 800 guys on their draft board.

Thanks 3 Bagger. The National Cross Checker and the Area Scout are both listed on the MLB Team Website they represent so I figured it was legit after we spoke and I looked them up.

I don't get why scouts tell people this, because it makes them and the organization they work for and the whole process in general look bad.

Good luck to your son.

 

 

To simplify the process somewhat... Not exactly the way it always works... The area scout  turns in a player report, grades, and a draft round range.  If that range is early rounds a Crosschecker often gets called in.  

 

Scouting and specifically drafting players is basically a matter of comparisons.  The Crosschecker has seen the top potential draft picks in several areas, so he basically compares the player from one area to a player in another area.

 

It is highly unusual that a Crosschecker show up at a high school game to see a junior.  At this time of the year they are concentrating on this years draft class.  My guess is the Crosschecker happened to be in the area to see someone else and the area scout got him to attend a game to see a very talented junior.  Other than that type of reason in his schedule, Crosscheckers spend nearly all their time on the current draft class. This time of year they are in and out, basically traveling all the time. 

 

By the time the draft takes place the National Crosschecker and/or Regional Crosschecker will have seen hundreds of potential early round candidates.  He will have seen most every player selected in the first 5 rounds or more, plus several others.

PG... I sent you a dialog request...

Dadcoach, congratulations on your son's success.

 

As others said, take it with a grain of salt though enjoy it.

In our experience,

some teams do not share as much as others,

the area scout for one team has shared quite a bit on what the crosscheckers said and the reports filed.

Has mentioned potential Rookie Ball teams.

 

Your son must be very good for them to come see him, wish him continued success.

 

fyi: we were told also that when the Bureau sends requests for new / more information someone/a team asked for it.

 

It is exciting for our son to even be considered, and of course we are happy to see years of hard work, 6 am runs, gym after 3 hour practice when others go for pizza, etc showing some return for him.

Though we only take it as attention, and have not set expectations he will be selected at all.

Some scouts said they keep a short 3-10 hot HS player list to follow & follow maybe 20-25 others in their area.

Were told other scouts file 200+ reports to have activity, which seems hard to be in-depth.

 

Note:, we researched 2014's, All-State players etc got some attention, and were never drafted, some were even cut by the big-time schools they went to this fall as freshmen

Others were told you'll be drafted in X round, and were not drafted at all. 

 

Recommend Coach May's post on the 'enjoy the ride' thread,

locals have no idea,

seeing is believing, the last few years have been eye-opening:

there are a lot of great players nationally your son is competing against.

Thanks for all the replies. PG Staff was right on the money. After my original post I spoke with the Area Scout who works for the Cross Checker. He had seen 4 players earlier in the day who were all draft prospect Seniors. He had the evening open and came to see my son. As fate would have it my son dominated on the mound and at the plate. The CC cared little about the game result but loved particular things that are considered "projectable". All they would share was he scored high and what he has is considered a lot more rare than I would have known. Then he got on a plane and flew out to go see others. Fortunately our recruiting activity is going way up now. With our recruiting website and according to the scout I am talking to more D1s watching- one since my son was 14! I am glad I can bounce this stuff off others here at HSBBW as I have no one I can really ask who knows the process. I have also been contacted by an agent also and I guess that will be a whole other post. All with a grain of salt I suppose since this probably means little at this point.

DC: Tell us more about him!  We are all interested.  Be objective but feel free to boast a little, too.  Congrats.

Bucs Fan- not sure what you mean but the thing I am most proud of is his work ethic. As a kid growing up he was never chosen for all stars. He cried sometimes when he was left out.I refused to select him myself in little league because he was not the best player at that time, even though other dad coaches would never do that with theirs if they earned it or not. But he made it his goal to be a HS baseball player and as one of the post indicated "worked hard at cages after the game while others were having pizza". While some Dads must suggest to their sons work harder, my son begged to get in extra work and every extra hour I had was used to help him do that. I never played myself so I read a lot of books and studied the game. I'm from STL so it's in our blood.
None of those All Stars from little league get to play now. But mine does and he has earned it. He has pro scouts looking at the callouses on his hands. They like his huge legs from all the weight training. His bat speed is already above MLB average so balls go very far off his bat. He throws hard- at Velo they really like to see for 16.
I'm very proud of him. Baseball is for a while, but work ethic lasts a lifetime. I can honestly say I do not know of another player in our area who has worked harder than him. And I will boast a little about that.

Excellent.  Love to hear stories like that.  My son is also a 2016 P (committed to a high academic D-1) and has surpassed many a "LL super star" as well (mainly b/c of work ethic as well).  Would be interested to hear more about his measurables as well (only if you care to share...not a big deal) - size, velo progression, etc.  I guess what prompted me to ask is that it sounds like he is a stud but yet the college coaches are late to the party.  Not used to seeing that in our region where the elite players are heavily recruited very early. Congrats, either way, and all the best!!

Love it!  I also was most proud to hear a scout comment on my 2016 son at the Sr Fall Classic "has the work ethic and attitude part down which is half the battle" even more than the positive feedback regarding his pitching and potential.

Best of luck to you/your son. Work ethic is not genetic and it will take him far in life. Cool story....enjoy the ride, whichever path he takes...pro or college!

Thanks guys- appreciate all the feedback. Since this post began in 2 days so much has happened my head is spinning. He had another great outing driving in 3 more runs and is  leading his area in RBI's by a huge margin. He had a 400 foot home run into the trees that required umpire conference before they awarded it. A prominent scout who works on mock drafts who was there tweeted about it today and then I got contacted by an agent who will see me before the 2015 draft gets much busier. The area scout invited him to Area Code Tryouts. They want him for their fall scout team also. His travel coach now wants him out in Jupiter after school ends. I'm not no sure this is all just grain of salt stuff anymore. The best part is my son has no idea all of this is happening. Right now he needs to focus on high school season so we will see how things go from here.

Dadcoach, 

 

We would like to know who your son is.  It is kind of our business to know who the best players are.  

 

I understand why you might not want to identify him on a message board, but maybe you could send me a private message.  If you would rather not for some reason, I understand.  It sounds like we will see him at some point.

Can mlb team pay for air fair and hotel to see a high school kid do pre-draft work out?

Not judging, just asking, how does he not know any of this is happening....you haven't told him?  Is that typical?