Trepfan, yet again we must agree to disagree. While I can agree that showcase baseball is not for every player and in every case is more expensive than High School summer league. You have to try and wrap your mind around the fact that you have very little personal experience in showcase baseball. It would be a very unusual year if over 90% of the rising seniors on the two teams mentioned in this tread didn't receive D1 scholorships AND have one or more players drafted. In fact on my son's team last summer/fall the rising seniors have signed significant scholorships with SEC powerhouses South Carolina and Alabama, ACC powerhouse Virginia, perennial top 50 contender Coastal Carolina, and a great academic school in Davidson. Two, and possibly three of those kids stand a good chance of being drafted (the young man I refer to as the "possible third" is the same one that you project as a second round pick. I only classify him as "possible" because of the quality/size of the program and scholorship, not based on talent). And the coach of this team is the same man that you call out by name as someone who is both greedy and ignorant. Amazing.
Now I'm not saying that these young men got these fabulous opportunities presented to them by playing showcase baseball, they earned them through God given talent and hard work. But what they did get the opportunity to do is play with AND against some of the best baseball talent in their age group regionally and nationally, not just in their county or section of their state. And in my opinion this allows them to get better, or at least better faster, than playing in a high school summer league. And my second point, and you should realize this yourself from attending St. John's games, is that college and pro scouts don't attend high school games (regular season, showcase, summer season, etc.) with the intention of surveying the whole team for undiscovered talent. They have the objective of giving one or two guys that they're following a first, second or third look. And how many times do they end up signing or referring an upperclassman that impressed them? More often than you think. How many times has an underclassman been put on their watch list because of a nice play or a bit of hustle observed by the scout because he was at the game watching someone else? A ton. Very few regular season high school games have scouts in attendance, even fewer at regular summer league games. The average number of scouts last year at the showcase tournaments we attended was around 20-25 (40-50% D1's) with a low of 12 (counted that one myself) and at any one game probably 8 average with a low of zero (only once, thank God).
Is a showcase team right for everyone? Absolutely not. Money is a big issue, and it's not limited to the team fee which usually covers coach(s), uniforms, balls, tournament entry fees, umpires, etc. If you like to watch your son play it's also gas, food and lodging for 6-8 weekends. My wife and I went to every tournament but the WWBA and with the team fee of $500 (which is below average)we spent a total of almost $2,500. Was it worth it? I think it was, the 3 of us had a blast, and my son had a strong outing against a strong East Cobb team that got him on the PG crosschecker list for '08 grads even though through bad timing and bad luck he hasn't been able to attend any other PG event ever. If he does get a scholorship was it direct result of what he did at this event? or one earlier in the summer? or the high school playoffs? But I know one thing for sure, it wasn't a direct result of the one's he DID NOT play in.
My broad advise is #1 don't go to any showcase tournament or event unless your injury free and in baseball shape. #2 get rated by Perfect Game, if you don't like your rating, work on your weaknesses and go get rated again. Now comes the tricky part, because your going to be invited to every camp and showcase in a 500 mi radius, be very selective. If you have a strong D1 competitive rating from PG, you'll probably be invited to a regional or even national showcase. Definitely don't pass those up as long as your healthy and in shape ( if you run a 7.2 60 instead of the 6.7 you ran last month, for a lot of scout there, you'll be a 7.2 guy forever because they'll never see you again). #3 get on the best, most competitive team that your abilities and the parents pocketbook will allow that plays showcase type tournaments at least sometimes in the region of the country that you want to attend school and plays in the WWBA Championships. And finally, don't overdue it...LOL Have fun, hustle all the time, run every ground ball back to the pitcher as if you were trying to beat the shortstop's throw from deep in the hole, and, not if but, when you strikeout or make an error DONT HANG YOUR HEAD OR THROW EQUIPMENT...because if you do and someone's watching you and you listen real close you'll be able to hear their pencil scratching your name off the list.