Reply to "Headfirst vs Showball"

Chico Escuela posted:

Great thread—thanks to all. 

My son is a PO.  I take it the consensus here is school camps matter less for pitchers?  (So long as you have verified velo readings from a showcase or three and some video to send...)

And while I am at it, a couple of other questions:  Do high academic D3s pay attention to players during the summer after their sophomore years, or do they generally wait?  And any advice on what velo a pitcher needs to get interest from a U.Chicago/MIT/other school known much more for academic rather than athletic prowess?  (I went to U.Chicago.  While I was there, a Chicago Tribune columnist wrote that the school was known as a place where the male students had smaller biceps than their girlfriends’.)

1. Yes, consensus is with PO's for the individual camps matter less.  UNLESS, it is a highly sought after college by your son.
2. Emailing video and verified velo's in spring of HS Junior year suffices.  The high academic D3's are hoping to snag players hoping for an Ivy spot, they are accustomed to being patient.  They know the game, they won't waste time to early in the process. 
3. The high academic D3's hope to see you in June of incoming Senior summer, then they can follow you during the club summer tourney months.  We saw JHopkins, few NESCACs at WWBA and Music City tourney's.  They are still looking for baseball talent, just because they're D3 academic don't think all they care about are the academics.
4. Velo: spoke with D3 academic coach last week - he said 83-85 is normal range with good command, with the occassional guy sitting north of 86. Look up draft picks from last year: Amherst P and maybe an MIT P, could be Scouting reports available online.  
5. Find out ahead of time which showcases or camps the targeted D3 will be at.  Very key if considering June HF or Showball events, they sell out early.  Inquire before the D3 starts their spring season, to increase chances of a timely response.
6. Coach Fitz at UofChicago is a good guy, very relaxed, been around.  His AC is the former HC at Northwestern...they're trying to build a program.  They need to improve their indoor facilities.

Edit: If the colleges are easy for you to get to, their camps are a lot cheaper than the HF or Showball events, so why not?  Especially if they're top schools of interest for your son.