My son entered college just as he turned 18, thus was a "young" HS graduate. We also had a choice to hold him back when young but we never gave it a second thought. Similar to the above, son was one of the youngest and was on the smaller side (seems like always was given the uniform number 1-3 during local rec ball). We never ever considered an athletic scholarship since no relative I can think of ever played any college sport for scholarship. We stressed academics and hoped for something to be awarded based on that. Note that our focus did change half way through his Jr. season, but that's another story. Fortunately he was taught at a young age strategies, objectives, and the way baseball is played, thus became (and still is) a student of the game. What he lacked in physical attributes and talent he made up for it by understanding the game better than others, and both in combination gave him an advantage. At the time I never realized this, thought all baseball players knew how the game is played. Only while he was playing in college was this specifically brought up by some parents and MLB scouts. They mentioned his concentration, methodology, and approach seemed to be on a different level, and "how does he do it"? There are so many variables in athletics as you go up each level including being lucky and in the right place at the right time. Best of luck in his journey