2019 PG Rankings? So what is the path?

And herein lies the problem we discuss in many instances.  These freshman haven't played an inning of HS ball yet.  Now obviously they are "ranked" by what PG has seen in tournaments/showcases.  But, imo they aren't playing with a full deck yet.  This just perpetuates the "get them while they are young" mentality that is out there these days. 

Well there are only 5 players listed.  Two of them have already committed to a college.  We are a scouting service.  The earlier a prospect can be identified that longer we have to follow them.  The more history scouts have on a player the better when it comes time to make important decisions.

 

Yes, there is a gigantic advantage involved for those players. Everyone interested will know who they are.  They also have some additional pressure.   Three years from now, chances are they will still be ranked fairly high, but probably not 1 thru 5.

 

Once again, we are a scouting service.  We work very closely with many colleges and MLB scouting departments.  If they didn't want us to identify who we think the top 2019's are, we wouldn't do it. But as long as they are being recruited by wome of the top college programs in the country, they fall into the scouting catagory.  And there are many more than 5 making commitments, with or without any rankings.  So it (the early commitments) has very little to do with rankings.  Keep in mind, we haven't seen all the top 2019 players.  The list will grow to be very large over the next couple years.

If there are only 5 players listed, they will all be able to say "I was nationally ranked in the top 5 of my recruiting class". 

You have to take those rankings with a grain of salt I guess,,,

 

PG can only rank what they have seen.  A local kid is ranked #1.  He's been playing in PG events since he was 12, usually playing up a couple of years.  He's a complete stud.

 

Does that mean he's the best freshman in the country?  Not necessarily - but he's the best one PG has seen.  PG ranks 2019's because they are playing in their events. They can't just not evaluate them because they are young.  They can't rank them with older players, because they aren't.

 

Obviously a lot is going to change as these kids age, but the rankings are just a snapshot in time. The #2 player is rated an 8.5.  Right now, he's the second best 2019 they have seen.  The chances are that in a couple of years the #2-#30 kids will all be 10.0 ranked.

A 6'4" 238 lbs. Freshman throwing 91 is not hard to scout... LOL!

The #2 2019 is actually in our district, and I've never seen or heard of him...

 

Getting old...

PGStaff

 

I sure am glad that I didn't pay to upgrade my membership to be able to see the complete list!! 

Bolts-Coach,

 

I bet you do hear about him.

wareagle,

 

That's OK, there are only 5 on that list anyway.

Fall-ball is here, so I'm sure we will quite shortly!

Incredible, huh?

Actually he has already committed to Miami and topped out at 89 along with an excellent breaking ball, this past summer. That was a 5 mph improvement from the previous year. BTW, I see our guys have expanded the list to 10.

Elijah,

You found a great resource and will get answers to all you questions along the way.  You will discover how fortunate we are to have someone like PG break things down from the inside perspective of the biggest, most respected recruiting service in baseball.  But your son is 12u.  Please try not to get ahead of yourself. Take it one step at a time.  Sure, it's OK to keep an eye forward from time to time but you are best served fully enjoying your son being 12 (11?).  If your son aspires to play at the next level, his efforts should be focused on getting good instruction, enjoying playing the game every time he gets to take the field and working hard at getting better in every aspect.  There's plenty of time for your son to find those opportunities if his talent and work ethic dictate.

 

You'll discover that so many things can happen along the way.  New interests, injuries, girls, not quite enough talent, academic focus or issues, on and on.  You'll find that each level has more and more hurdles and challenges.  Enjoy each age for what it is.  

 

I would rank kids that early, as well, if I were PG. Makes sense as a company. BTW, the PG Facebook page says that they have the top 1000. This would lead me to believe they are pulling from individual showcases. My question was more of a procedural one. What tournaments/showcases do you need to be playing to be noticed on this level? 

My son is a 2021. My goal is not to get him ranked as a freshman. I don't talk to him about such things. We focus on getting better and keeping it fun. I do, however, want to know what I need to be  aware of to take advantage of opportunities for him in the future, be it Perfect Game or Area Code, etc. What are the milestones we need to be aiming for aside from making his high school team?

At the young ages, 6'4" and throwing 90mph is about it. 

2019Son has played a number of times against one of the five kids on the list. I don't think this kid has played PG events, but he is very good at baseball, and has prototypical size, so it doesn't surprise me to see him listed so highly.

 

And to PGStaff's earlier point, yes, other 2019s are committing -- just the other day there was a local 2019 catcher who committed to a PAC-12 school. He is also very good at baseball. Just looking at pitchers, we know a couple other 2019s that have touched 85 (per PG profile or other reputable source -- that is, not dad radar ) and they are getting a LOT of interest from nationally known programs. 

 

I've noticed recently that I have a problem -- the kids I think are really good are these types of kids! The kind that make the USA Baseball national teams, or are strongly considered for them. I dunno if it is living in SoCal, or having had 2019Son play with and against these kids, but my perspective has gotten totally skewed. I can't imagine what it would be like to be PGStaff -- my standards would probably be "if you're not as good as Kershaw or Greinke, you're not that good . . ."

I don't care about the rankings or if my son ranks as a freshman. If my son is throwing 94 in my backyard, he won't be ranked or seen by anyone. I would like to know how these boys were seen in the first place. Was it a tournament? A showcase? Tournaments that started when these boys were 12, 13? Or did this information come from recent summer ball? 

 

So if 2019dad does not think this kid has played a PG event, how was he noticed by PG to get ranked?

 

I can't be certain how he was noticed by PG, but I know that this particular kid was on one of the USA Baseball national teams in the past, and won a gold medal playing overseas. I'm sure that helps get you noticed. And I know he stood out at the USA Baseball team championships in Arizona a couple months ago. I'm no scout, not by a long shot, so if that was plainly visible to me, I can only guess the professionals noticed it too. The way I look at it is, PG is a scouting service. They get paid to identify the top kids. So it is their job to notice kids like this.

The way most good players are seen and graded by PG is via a PG showcase or tournament.  See PG website for details.  Most of these kids will attend a PG showcase when they have enough talent to show something, which is generally some time between rising sophomore and rising senior year in HS.  There are some truly exceptional young players such as the ones mentioned that will show well earlier.  They are off-the-charts good for their age.  Most of the higher profile PG tournaments will have only teams that have long standing reputations of having kids that the scouts and recruiters will want to see (again, mostly rising HS sophomores thru rising HS seniors).   Area Code is invite only by a major league scout... to those players known to be the best in the country, mostly D1 commits and draft-bound players. So, again, it is one step at a time.  Develop enough talent, ability, maturity and measurables that a college recruiting coordinator will feel strongly that you can contribute to his program.  When your son is near that point, then it is time to figure out the whole PG, high-profile club team thing.  Is there something about his current skill set that leads you to believe he is close to that point?

 

 

 

Here is what I don't get.  If I posted on here that I don't think score should be kept in 13 and 14yo games cause it shouldn't be about competition at.that age...  I doubt I would get a single person to agree with me.  It is all about competition and learning how to not only compete but deal with adversity as well.  Also the reality of knowing where you stand.  So why is it different for showcases and showcase tournaments?  What happens there?  They compete, learn where where they stand and perhaps have to deal with adversity/disappointment if they don't receive the glowing review they hoped for.  Its a personal choice to send your kid.  I haven't as of yet but am certainly not opposed to it.  But I love reading the PG tournament all tourney team and their numbers.  By doing that I know my son would be a tad better than middle of the road at his age.  And I assume middle of the road for PG all tourney teams ain't bad.  I am thankful for the information provided at my son's age level by PG and PBR.  I am also waiting with excitement to see where some of his friends get ranked next year when the 2020's come out.  One kid topped at 82 last year as a 13yo!  Wondering if he might be nationally ranked by PG next year.  I think it all is fun and exciting. 

P.S. I know high school ball is a wide range of ability from one area to another.  And not to fuel the hs vs. Travel ball thing again but I think rankings can be done even better watching them in a travel setting than a hs setting.  Simply better competition in the vast majority of areas.

2020dad, there is a HUGE difference between the concept of keeping score at the 13-14 age level and a parent of a 12u asking about PG national rankings and what advantages those present and how to make sure his son is taking advantage of those opportunities.

 

This site is both a discussion forum and a place for advice and guidance. In my assessment of the line of questioning by the OP, I felt he may benefit from advice that suggests he slow down and smell the roses a bit.  Surely, I could be wrong.  But I think even old dogs who have been around the game forever like you and I are susceptible to getting a bit ahead of ourselves when one of our own show potential to excel in the game.  I have surely benefited from similar advice in the past. 

It is in our mission statement to above all promote baseball at every level.

 

I'm not sure that ranking HS freshman is all that great for the few kids that are ranked.  Yes, it creates opportunities, but it also creates pressure.  Some could allow it to get in their way.  For sure it doesn't help and doesn't hurt any of the other millions of players that are un ranked other than it might bother some parents of those kids. It does give kids some incentive to work hard to reach their goals. That can be a good thing, too.

 

Often the very best players and athletes at young ages, end up concentrating on a different sport by the time they are upper classmen in high school.  Basketball and especially, football are the more glamorous sports in HS.  However, if a young boy knows he is ranked among the top baseball players in the country, it might just be enough to keep him playing the game.  When that happens, it is a win for baseball and possibly also for the kid.

 

One thing we know for sure is that it does create is interest.  We are positive about that based on the amount of feedback we get.  We believe that that interest is helping to promote the game at that level.  

 

Many dislike Little League Baseball and the fact that it is on national television.  But you can't dislike something unless you know something about it.  I love LLB because I believe it is a great promotion for the game of baseball.  People can love it or hate it, but one thing we know is that LLB is extremely popular on ESPN.  Would it be better for baseball if it were not televised?  Or does it bring attention and promote the game that we love?

 

I believe bringing attention to baseball at all levels is a good thing.  The more people talk about it, the better.  

       
       
I don't fundamentally disagree with you.  But I think it can be both.  I hope we do a good job with my son of balancing hard work and tunnel vision of what needs to be done to achieve his goal.  At the same time as a parent I am doing my best to enjoy the ride.  I am getting out of coaching high school next season so I can see as much of his 14u season as I can.  The last true youth season.  I intend to enjoy every minute of it.  I just think there is time to smell the roses and still look towards the future.  Not always easy I grant you but I believe its possible.

I will always appreciate advice from someone that has experienced something before me. That is what makes this site great and I am thankful for it. I think a little more was read into my question than what I actually asked. I asked how 9th grade boys were ranked and that is all. PG has rankings and I simply wanted to know where they pulled their data from. Because it was freshman rankings I feel it is legitimate for a 12u parent to ask about the process just to make sure we are at least on the right track. I am unconcerned about whether he ranks in two years.  I do care about knowing how things are done.

I don't know what I don't know (if that makes since). Something tells me I need to understand a little more about how the system works. Not asking questions will keep me ignorant and that absolutely does not help my son. Asking these types of questions also does not mean I am a salivating "stage dad". I am interested in the big picture. Glad I didn't ask about how kids were chosen to play in the All American Classic!

Thanks for everyone's patience as I navigate these new waters! Another question coming!

Elijah,

 

I think you are going to be a welcome addition to this site.  It should always be OK to ask questions.   

I totally agree and am glad to see, based on Elijah's last comment, that I have not discouraged him from doing so. 

Elijah, hopefully my post had enough balance to it that I was able to provide some specific information that did answer your question.

 

Thanks PGStaff and cabbagedad. I appreciate the advice and guidance as I try to guide my son. Hopefully one day I can contribute to others as well.