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Read an article in Baseball America about how important summer league play can be for advancing in the baseball world, which is interesting as I am hearing from other team officials they are experiencing something we hadn't seen before-significant numbers of players having an "issue" delaying their arrival to their summer teams- "tying up loose ends", "some elective surgery", "gotta do family things for a few days"...and that was just this week.    We all realize that these guys have had a long season but the nature of the beast is that the summer leagues pick up almost immediately after the college season so there just isn't much of a break, if any.  The Valley League plays a 44 game schedule and tries to finish by August 1 so players get some time at home before school, but that means we need to start around June 1.  We have one player that got knocked out of the JUCO World Series, is riding a 26 hour nonstop bus trip home, then jumping in his already packed car, and coming directly to us.  That's above and beyond the call of duty. And we lost 3 arms yesterday, Report Day, 2 to injury, one to elective surgery..and man does it hurt when your 97 mph guy calls and says "Hey, my new coaches at (SEC School) want me to shut down so my blister problem can heal."    Ouch for him and us!           Anyone looking for a summer spot should followup with their desired  teams right about now as injuries, grades, and girl friends...and tying up loose ends...are opening spots. 

 

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I hear you Hokie - I'll bet that's tough when you're trying to assemble a team.  I'm sure you plan on some attrition, but losing three pitchers this early is hard on a roster.  It sounds like your league has a pretty good schedule.  The one my son played in last year was 56 games plus all stars plus playoffs.  Add an exhibition game in there plus they won the championship and it doesn't allow for much downtime.  This summer's league assignment should be much more manageable. 

Sounds like there is a lot of churning in summer ball. I talked to a dad the other day and asked if his son was looking forward to seeing his son play for a team he had signed with a while back. Dad said, oh, looks like he's going to be going somewhere else.  We find out tomorrow.  I said is it kosher to back out? He  shrugged and said, you go where  coach tells you to go.

Last edited by JCG

It is almost a certainty that from your very first completed roster, in about mid-October, you will be at least 25-35% different by season's end, or more. It not the team with the best talent sometimes that wins, it's the team that replaces what they lose the best. It happens, just a reality of summer ball.   

Resurrecting this thread to give a huge "Thank You" to HokieOne for mentioning the roster needs of Summer teams and for specifically helping my son with the Valley League. 

My oldest is a RHP/DH/sometimes SS who resumed college and baseball this Spring 2017.  He had no Summer team placement since he was a working stiff last Fall and not in college at all.  Based on Hokie's previous threads on Summer leagues, my son reached out to a number of Northwoods and Coastal Plains teams and had a lot of interest, initially as a fill in and subsequently for full time spots.  Didn't know anything about the Valley League but that's where he's ended up and he's loving it!  Great people, beautiful part of the country, outstanding baseball.  He's having an incredible time! 

For pitchers I also think this is an evolution of sorts.  College coaches are beginning to realize that guys should only throw so many innings (not to mention the benefits of training)  and as the season unfolds it is difficult for them to know, with the exception of their redshirts, where guys are going to be at the beginning of June.  

They had a number at the beginning of Spring for my son where if he hit that amount he would not throw this summer.  Slow start to season, then a month of heavier workload, and then a slow finish so at any given time the summer ball potential was very different.  Now he is going to report to a team in a few weeks and throw about 20 innings or so.

Not helpful to Hokieone and folks running these teams but I'm not sure it is going to change either.

 

BackstopDad32 posted:

For pitchers I also think this is an evolution of sorts.  College coaches are beginning to realize that guys should only throw so many innings (not to mention the benefits of training)  and as the season unfolds it is difficult for them to know, with the exception of their redshirts, where guys are going to be at the beginning of June.  

They had a number at the beginning of Spring for my son where if he hit that amount he would not throw this summer.  Slow start to season, then a month of heavier workload, and then a slow finish so at any given time the summer ball potential was very different.  Now he is going to report to a team in a few weeks and throw about 20 innings or so.

Not helpful to Hokieone and folks running these teams but I'm not sure it is going to change either.

 

At the Cape, if you started, you are used in relief, if you relieved, you started. Not sure how other leagues do it.

Summer teams have to report back to the teams regarding work load. Many pitchers don't scrimmage in fall depending on summer innings pitched.  It's a long summer, if you go to playoffs, it's even longer.

It's best if the pitcher plays in a summer league that the college coach is familiar with.

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