Took my son at 15 after Freshman year. May seem early to many, but I highly recommend that timing if you can swing it and he is physically where he needs to be. Best thing we ever did and opened many doors. He is a 2016, and it is early, but even he says "it all started at the PG showcase".
When he says "it started at the PG showcase" what did he mean? Did it alter his perceptions? Change work habits? Increase confidence? Very interested to hear how it impacted him.
The short answer, and if you asked him, is in terms of exposure. It was truly exponential in that not only did he fair well against kids 1 and 2 years older, get a decent write up and top prospect selection (all of which is on the PG website for viewing), but it would lead to his being recruited aggressively by a couple of very high travel teams (they like to say "player development programs") that then do sooo much more in terms of getting their players exposure to college coaches. He joined a new team and is still with them.
It also significantly increased his confidence and was a true, 3rd party validation that he would have a shot to play college baseball. It was also a validation for our entire family that the work he was putting in and sacrifices we all were making (not really sacrifices because he and I love the game, but the time commitment) were worthwhile. And, yes, he absolutely was motivated to work even harder afterward.
A funny story: I was worried that I may be taking him too early. He is a big RHP. I seriously considered canceling about a week prior, as I had no idea where his velo was (didn't want him to be concerned or thinking about it, etc.). So, took him to local field for a bullpen the Sunday before with my brand new radar gun. I was then even more concerned, as he was topping out..oh, about 6 MPH lower than were he would eventually top out at the showcase. Turns out I was not aware of the impact of angles on the radar gun. We probably had the gun at about a 20-25 degree angle vs. directly behind the ball. The number he hit at the showcase was not off the charts by any means, but to me it was. The angle of the radar gun really, really does matter (for those who are not aware).
The big thing, looking back, is that he was very relaxed as we had convinced him that he had absolutely nothing to lose.