Not much to add to a very good post by Southpawdad! To me, "It" was the definition of skills and work needed to get to the next level. He began at age 8 (real late in these parts, although that's when we all began play in my day!) and I knew the first time he picked up a real baseball bat and faced a pitching machine throwing 35mph for tryouts, that he had really good hand-eye skills.
From that point it become is he skilled enough to make a good Travel team. That carried us through until the next "It" marker for H.S. and maybe college. I knew at 14 that he'd be good in high school and by 15 he could play somewhere in college. That's all materialized. The next "It" is can he play Pro? My thoughts now is yes he has the skills, particularly bat speed. He needs to add 30lbs to his 185lb frame (IMO, College Staff says they will put 20lbs on him 1st year!) and continue to improve all his skills. He hasn't yet peaked (he's a late birthday/bloomer) so I think it's very doable.
Will I ever see him on the tube in an MLB game, doubtful but I'd never bet against him!!!!