@Giff, that is a very honest post that indicates a healthy perspective on your son’s situation. I have some comments that may or may not be helpful. But I’m going to make them in hopes that they are. Here goes. I agree with you that your son is ranked too high by the scouting services. Their evaluations are mostly done by non-baseball people that pretend to be knowledgeable. They aren’t capable of evaluating mechanics and movements so they lean heavily on metrics and their rankings reflect that. Much of the public is misled by their narrative and even a lot of people on this board believe (or did at one time) that reaching certain metric milestones is certain to get you recruited. Your son is living proof that it’s not true. I have seen video of your son and so have some coaches that I trust. I believe that your son has a lot of potential but he just hasn’t realized it yet. Because of that I would advise against the service academies. Even Merchant Marines. You don’t go to service academies to play sports. You go there to serve your country. I expect big gains from your son during his freshman year in college. If that were to happen at a service academy I don’t know that he would be able to leave and take advantage of it. I think the JuCo route makes the most sense. But not at Amarillo College. Best of luck!