keewart posted:TPM started a great post about team composition and what college coaches may look for in any given year. Which got me thinking about the draft and this past season, as it relates to keewartson and his team.
It was keewartson's first pro season in short season A, and the roster constantly was changing. Some players coming from the Full A or AA season teams, some from the rookie team, and one due to a trade. Which means some players leave: going up, down or out.
So I looked at the roster as it was at the end of the season for his short season A team and the full season Single A team (some players were on the DL but still rostered):
The short season A Team: 18 pitchers and 13 position players. 15 were from the USA, the DR(5), Honduras(1), Mexico(1), Panama(1), and Venezuela(7).
The full season Single A Team: 20 pitchers and 16 position players. 24 were from the US, the DR(5), Venezuela(1), Mexico(1), Puerto Rico(2), Canada(2), and Bahamas(1).
Teams always need pitchers. However, if you are a position player, a given team may not need that position in a given year. With 30 professional teams, some may need certain position players, but the college player is also competing with high school studs and the vast unknown in the rest of the (mostly Spanish speaking) world.
If your player is interested in playing pro ball, you can research his position of those that were drafted this past year. It is pretty eye opening. You can sort by position here: https://www.mlb.com/draft/tracker If someone has a link to information on the foreign draft, please post!
Some very good players don't get drafted for various reasons. Don't make "recreational activities" eliminate your player from the pool. Be versatile. Hit.
If a player can hit that is the key to any level. They will find a place for you on the field (or dh). As keewart said, versatility is the key. If given the opportunity in college ball learn as many positions as possible, see if you can even play a few in games. A good chance if you get drafted by MLB they will put you at a position where they need or project you to be.