2 way player/how do you handle Camps & Showcases

What are the chances of being a two-way in college? If he is better at one than the other, just do that at camps/showcases.  And if it’s pitching, prepare for lots of downtime.

He could go as a pitcher or go as a position player. Seriously, that's how we handled it. My son had signed up for two college camps and two multi-college camps/showcases (HeadFirst and Showball) as a two-way player for this summer, but due to the problem you identified, he participated as just a pitcher.

On the second topic, he shut down from pitching late July - November, and just played in the fall as a position player. In our son's case, it was more important that he went through his school's throwing program and lifting program in the fall, and put on some mph, than it was to showcase his pitching junior fall, because his velo the summer after sophomore year wasn't quite high enough. It does create some recruiting difficulties -- my son's first game back on the mound last fall was Nov. 11 -- right after the D1 quiet period started, so coaches weren't allowed to come see him.  Video did come in handy. Anyway, it depends on your specific situation -- if he's where he needs to be, velo-wise, you can do some camps in September and early October and still have a reasonable shutdown time frame before your high school ball starts in January.

I beg to differ with the suggestion of going to as many showcases/camps as he can.  My son is a 2019 who recently made a verbal commit to a D1 school.  We had/have hundreds of camp invites from just about every college with a program that you can think of.  We only attended 4 showcases in the past four years and 4 specific college camps.  All of the showcases were invite only and I believe that was a great rule of thumb as there were more college scouts at each event than we ever expected.  He attended 2 camps where he was personally invited by the coaches and 2 where he showed up in hopes of being recognized.  His best performances were both at camps where he had no previous contact with the coaching staff.  Both camps gave him great feedback, started an email and texting dialog, but eventually went dark and quiet.  The coaches that reached out with a personal invite via phone or text showed the greatest interest and he was offered right attending the camp.  The bottom line is that the camps are money makers for the programs and even if your kid does well, the prevailing thought of the staff will be that the level of competition will allow them to look much better than normal.  If the coach invites them personnally, they are measuring your kid's interest and inspecting what he is like in person.

It would be a great idea to dedicate to either a position player or PO for each individual camp.  PO's usually get twice the amount of hitters than combo players which allows them to look good if they have a case of the nerves.  

Good Luck to You!

Unless he’s a stud at both (relative to the roster) the coach is going to pick one or the other for him. As a long shot he could become a P/DH or P/IB. At showcases how does he compare to the other top players as a pitcher or position player?

I can’t imagine showcasing both pitcher and position. It was enough of an effort for my son showcasing and then practicing in college as an infielder and outfielder.

Ask the posters here how many had son’s who showcased as a pitcher and position player who were told they were pitchers when they arrived on campus.

Most top players were also pitchers in high school. They’re the players with the best arms. At some point choices have to be made to put the best effort forward to be noticed.

DOo't know what your son's position is. If he is a HITTER he could probably take the BP in the hitting drills along with spending time on the mound. If he's a MI and PO, I suspect he'll have to choose.

Pitch, run the 60, and take BP or in game AB's. Little to no fielding. If coach's are interested, then they'll watch you take a few Flyballs, but in general, a two way is only going to be playing utility OF, and maybe 1st, unless you are at a college that is desperate for players.

The days of a SS/P combo, even in in HS, are more or less gone. Coaches want stability at the major defensive positions. 

My son played 3B in HS and showed it at a couple of early showcases, but soon realized his best option was as a pitcher. But at almost every camp, there would come a time when a kid didn't show for the position his parents had paid for. Son was ready with a glove on his hand when someone irritably yelled "we need someone in right!"

It wasn't that he was showcasing any position other than pitcher. He was showcasing that he paid attention to the game even after he was done with his two innings of pitching, that he was always having fun, and that he was a team player.