While my son (and I) had an advisor during the draft out of high school, the person he selected in college was always referred to as his agent. I met with his agent one time when he flew in to Tennessee from NY to meet with me and my son. The decision was 100% my sons and I only had one “conversation” with his agent afterwards he selected him and that was when I emailed him asking him if I could forward all inquires to him. He promptly replied with a “yes”. Unlike an advisor, an agent does ALL the negotiations with the club and can improve a prospect’s position and can help negotiate a better bonus. Immediately after signing my son secured an equipment contract..All handled by his agent. If the round is 1 to 10 I highly recommend an agent. Round 10 or above the choice is yours. But as rounds increase the signing bonus gets smaller..so the agent’s fees are smaller.
I never got the feeling the agent intervened between the scout and the player during the college season. The player must still communicate with the scouts and fill out all the necessary questionnaires and sell himself. The agent simply takes it to a higher level. They actually market the player and pull strings. There are a lot of things to consider other than the draft too. The agent basically works for free (other than the signing bonus) until the player signs a MLB contract. Consider equipment, tax returns, (state and federal) and the professional advice in general that the agent provides. I personally would opt for an agent.
Fungo