FWIW my son was also a SS and had a serious injury that was disruptive in recruiting. He’s at a JuCo starting his second season and it has been very rewarding (but much more difficult than I imagined). My $.02 is to think of junior colleges (as y’all call them out there) as a fundamentally different strategy from a D1 4-year program. D1-JuCo is not D1-lite. It is a different way to climb the hill.
Pitchers and hitters climb the hill differently, too, and most of what you read here is about the pitcher’s climb. Hitters have it different. It took me a while to get this.
The Post Grad pitch sounded very interesting to me. Especially for an injury-impacted player (my son and yours). Two thoughts:
1. The PG teams I’ve seen play, very limited exposure but here in TX where there should be good programs, were not robustly talented. Your son needs to see the *best* pitching available. Aside from getting bigger and adjusting to college-level demands (school, living outside the home, competitive intensity), the adjustment that matters is hitting real college pitching. When I hear he hit 500 throughout HS I wonder if he’s seen anything like what he is about to see. At the next level there are tons of athletic guys who can play across IF and Outfield - the ones who hit well on legit college pitching play. PG gives ABs but I’d check if it gives him elite pitching matchups. If you aren’t hitting elite pitching what are you doing? D1 gives you elite pitching but the odds of seeing 100+ ABs as a freshman are not good. JuCo is a strategy that can deliver a higher likelihood of both ABs and quality pitching for freshman
2. Life is a battle and there is always going to be adversity — our boys enter the arena at a time when baseball is especially clogged with talent. For my son’s situation, I would be wary about PG and the signal that could light up in him. About waiting vs confronting a tough reality. Very personal issue, but something to think about.
i imagine SRJC is on your radar but if we lived closer it would be pick of the litter. Do not assume that D1 offers mean he will own any position or even get regular starts at that caliber of school. He might redshirt, he might struggle adjusting, there might just be a few guys who are just better. JuCo is a grind. He will see pitchers who dropped down from elite P5 programs, pitchers about to go dominate in those programs, and he’ll see guys who are about to get drafted. Listen to the experiences of hitters (not just pitchers). Go to games, see what the pitching looks like. See who transfers in — there will be a lot of sophomore D1 guys changing lanes and trying the JuCo route up the mountain, too.
Hope he’s feeling healthy and ready to have a blast senior year.