NYdad2017,
There is something very special about high school baseball. However, it can be very frustrating for scouting purposes.
Where HS baseball becomes vitally important is when a known prospect is playing his final season before the draft. I'm sure many of you have seen the larger gathering of scouts at a HS game and they are there to see one player for the most part. Almost always that one player created that draft interest during the summer or fall before his final HS season.
It is well known in scouting, just how frustrating scouting a HS game can be. A few years ago about 40 scouts including at least a dozen scouting directors traveled to the Atlanta area to see Jason Heyward play a HS game before the draft. They got to watch him get walked four times! Probably good strategy by the team he was playing against, they wanted to win, but it was a big waste of time and money for the scouts. One scouting director said this was the third time he came in to see Heyward and it was pretty much the same way everytime. This actually happens a lot in HS baseball when one team refuses to pitch to a top prospect.
This does not happen at the highest levels of summer or fall baseball. When you have a prospect pitcher throwing to a prospect hitter, they are both trying to win that battle. You only see intentional walks when the situation calls for it. Even then that doesn't happen much because the next hitter is also very good. The pitchers want to face the top hitters and the hitters want to face the top pitchers. And the MLB scouts and college recruiters absolutely love to see that. Sometimes you get to see what you came for in a HS game, but often you leave frustrated. The actual game might have been great for all the fans, but a waste of time for the scouts.
Personally I love HS baseball, everything about it is great except if you are a scout or a college coach. Even if you are out there trying to find talent, how could going to one HS game compare to watching a high level tournament with a ton of talent? Lets face it, it's just a lot more cost efficient and productive to go where the most games and the most talent is.
None of that detracts from how important, enjoyable, or great high school baseball is.