I think the coaches can make a world of difference and the players and parents generally know who does and doesn't make the extra effort to place players. My son was told by one of his teammates about a coach in the HS league they both came from who is very aggressive about placing players. This season that team has 3 or 4 kids signing D1. The team tied for last place in league with a couple of those kids hitting under .250 for the season and most likely even less against league pitching which might be more indicative of their potential for success against college level pitching.
The team my son came from has 1 who has signed D1 and 1 who has committed D1 with little or no help from the coach. There's another player who is probably the best and most talented player on the team who hasn't committed yet as far as I know but has probably gotten and deserves plenty of help from the coach. The kid is probably a bit underrated due to size but I think will be a solid D1 player if he gets the chance. It is purely speculation but my guess is that he's simply trying to decide between so-so D1 offers and good D2 offers. (Update: the kid has committed to a solid D1) This is one of the top ranked teams in the top division of CIF SS.
Who is better off? The kids who may not belong in D1 ball who were aggressively marketed by their coach or the kids who had to be a bit better than the rest to get their spot because they didn't get much help from a coach who was being cautious? I don't know the answer to that one.