Unless a parent is at every practice and hears every word spoken by the coach its unfair to judge his playing time actions.
Sometimes talent is not enough to be a starter.Sometimes the better talent is on the bench because they refuse to play team ball.The team ball I refer to is hustle and attitude.
If a superstar is constantly berating a team mate for an error or strike out at the plate he's not my idea of a team player.
If a player wants to mouth off to the umpire or worse yet to a coach he's not a team player. If he whines about bunting because he wants to swing away he's not a team player.
There is more to being a starter than just being talented. Some parents don't seem to see this and wonder why a player is not starting even when he seems to be talented.
This may not be the case with the situation you described but it might be something to consider.
There will ALWAYS be coach's favorites thats a given. Life is often unfair. Some coach's handle it to the teams benefit better than others.
I would say stay out of it and just stay positive with the players. You might suggest they find a quality summer team so they can get the looks they deserve if they are thinking of college.
Seadog
The choices we make dictate the lives we lead.