I would offer up a another thought. Perhaps if we are talking bang for buck we should include some other options. We have many ways to spend money in baseball. Equipment, travel teams, facility memberships, fitness memberships, fitness instruction, private lessons, showcases and camps. I am sure I missed something. I guess for those of us not having unlimited funds we have to prioritize. I suppose if I had millions of dollars I might showcase my son before he is ready for the 'experience'. But since my funds are very limited I have to make decisions. So for me here is how it would break down in order of importance:
1. Travel Team/Facility - have to be on a team good enough to at least possibly be seen. An organization with a great facility to get your work done is critical. We are extremely lucky here as we just built a new facility 4 minutes from where I live!
2. Fitness - To me this is the one way too many people ignore. Make yourself stronger, faster and more agile and a lot of the rest will fall into place. I would spend here before camps, showcases or anything else. If you are fortunate enough to have things at your disposal at your high school then great. We have a $10 a month Xperience membership plus he now does almost everything at the school. But personalized instruction would be great when possible.
3. Equipment - I am not talking the latest and greatest just making sure things are in good shape. A bat that is not dead, gloves that won't bend back when the ball hits them etc. A bat without pop could make the difference between a home run and a warning track fly ball. A bad glove could lead to a key error right when a scout was watching. Again not talking about $500 gloves, just in good shape.
4. College camps/showcases - I would put these together because i think it depends what kind of recruit you are. For my son I think college camps are more important. He is a great kid who is a great teammate with a great attitude and just good baseball skills. Going to a showcase is not going to generate a feeding frenzy. But picking a college at an APPROPRIATE level will give the coaches a chance to really get to know him. They know they can't recruit the kid throwing 95 anyway cause he will go somewhere bigger. So many colleges are more than happy with good players not great - especially if they are a good kid! Even at D3 they don't recruit based upon being a good kid but it can be a difference maker between you and somebody else with the same skill set that they are less familiar with. If my kid were a stud I would probably put showcase first. Go and let the feeding frenzy begin. The OP I would think falls more in the category of my son.
5. Lessons - Just not a believer. I know there are probably some great ones out there but I haven't run into them yet. Mostly snake oil salesmen. Then there are the cookie cutter guys. The tobacco spitters who don't think you need video etc. Don't trust 'em. Not sure I would use them if I had millions, sometimes hurt more than they help!