2024 RHP from CA not playing much. Possible D1/P5 recruit. What to do?

DD 2024,

Go out and play, attend a PG showcase or tournament.  Get a qualified evaluation from a scout, or coach who can identify true talent, not based on height.  If you have what coaches like, you will hear from them, though they may not be who your son is interested in. 

Keep working hard, in the classroom, in the gym, on the field. Start making contacts through emails.

If your son becomes a true P5 player, he will get noticed.

However, your son should ultimately decide where he wants to get his degree. Not just who he wants to play for.  As far as the Ivies, RJM is correct, too early.

JMO

DD2024 ...

Make a business plan. In the heart of recruiting it would be a “how good am I” target plan. In your son’s case it would be a “how good can I become/potential” plan. But it has to be realistic as opposed to a dream. Talk to his travel coaches. Ask how good is he? How good can be become? My son and I did this while he was having an all conference season soph year of high school and was already joining a 17u travel team. His was a how good am I combined with how much bigger, faster, stronger and better player can I become. At 6’ 160 he had more potential.

Then select target conferences. Decide which teams in the conference are academic, baseball, financial, social and cultural fits. The list can be 50+. Some won’t be interested. Some your son will lose interest as he learns about them.

A good travel coach will be able to presell a player. But when the showcase or tournament occurs the player better produce to the expectation sold by the coach. This is why it’s important to ask yourself, “Is my kid ready to show what he has?” He doesn’t have to look like a D1 pitcher now. He has to look like he’s going to develop into one.

A travel coach making a phone call is the best way to be introduced to a program. Otherwise send emails expressing interest in the college and the program what showcases and tournaments they attend.

Keep in mind the higher up the food chain you go the more the program chooses the player than vice versa. The absolute studs get lots of options.

At a (large classification) high school game a dad asked if my son dominates travel games. The dad was shocked when I told him on a given day he may be the star. But there’s a field full of players just like him. There are a lot of really good players out there. This is before considering the studs. My son was a position player. After metrics a lot is subjective. The one advantage a pitcher has is the reading on the radar gun is not subjective. It’s real. Spin rate is real.

When it nets out is anyone telling the kid he’s a pro prospect and not just a potential pro prospect? If not a top ten round prospect (84% of American MLBers come from the top ten rounds) a kid should be looking for the best education combined with the best baseball experience regardless of level. It’s called the forty year plan. College is setting the kid up for life.

@DD 2024  So maybe the question should be - what makes a D3 vs mid D1 vs high D1 vs pro player?

A) it's too soon to know for a 2024 and B) it's whatever the market says it is once it is time.  Not the desired answers, but both are likely the case.

Believe me, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone on HSBBW that isn't/didn't REALLY want black and white answers when it came to their kid's recruiting approach.  EVERYONE is looking for those magic bullets.  My cousin is married to a paid D1 asst (mid Major), so I was beyond excited to sit him down and have him divulge the true secret to me.  What exactly does my son need to do to get recruited?  He gave me a two-word answer that made me wanna puke.  He said "be seen."  He has to be seen.  Two years ago the reaction in my head was "you've got to be kidding me!!"  Today, I understand that he was spot on.  So I can appreciate being unsatisfied with recruiting advice.

@DD 2024 posted:

Hey now that's great insight.

I have older kids who will play college sports. One of them dominated in 10U-12U and will go on to play D3 in college. It was very hard for us to scale down our expectations. Took years, but reality is here. And it's 100% fine. More than fine.

So maybe the question should be - what makes a D3 vs mid D1 vs high D1 vs pro player? One amazing pitch that can fool batters and a couple mediocre ones? Ability to mix pitches that all look the same at delivery? Change of speed? Two sets of pitches? Overpowering speed? Lots of height? Seems like someone should be able to draw up a matrix with probabilities.

With the exception of the top studs the college choice is a leap of faith. My son’s observation was there are 6-8 studs who are going to play. There are 6-8 at the back of the roster who are capable, but less likely. In between are 19-23 players all reasonably close in talent competing after the 6-8 studs for the other 12-14 spots of playing time where they will be considered contributors. Approximately 18-20 position players and pitchers in a given year receive enough playing time to be considered active contributors.

Of these 19-23 players competing for 12-14 spots it’s not about physical ability. It’s about mental and emotional stability and motivation. How do they handle not being handed a starting position for the first time in their life? If they start the season as a non contributor can they stay physically and mentally ready for when they receive the opportunity to prove themselves? Or will they mentally crash and burn if they don’t get immediate gratification? The opportunity may only be  facing one batter, or pinch hitting or pinch running. Success may only mean another opportunity to prove yourself. A kid may return soph year ready to perform and find a JuCo transfer junior at his position.

For the player the matrix is believe in yourself and don’t leave any effort unused. Yet, there are still plenty of transfers due to the choice not working out.

For the parent the matrix is the various antacid products. I remember posters here talking me off the ledge after my son had a major injury just as we were expecting offers to start coming in.

@DanJ posted:

@DD 2024  So maybe the question should be - what makes a D3 vs mid D1 vs high D1 vs pro player?

A) it's too soon to know for a 2024 and B) it's whatever the market says it is once it is time.  Not the desired answers, but both are likely the case.

Believe me, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone on HSBBW that isn't/didn't REALLY want black and white answers when it came to their kid's recruiting approach.  EVERYONE is looking for those magic bullets.  My cousin is married to a paid D1 asst (mid Major), so I was beyond excited to sit him down and have him divulge the true secret to me.  What exactly does my son need to do to get recruited?  He gave me a two-word answer that made me wanna puke.  He said "be seen."  He has to be seen.  Two years ago the reaction in my head was "you've got to be kidding me!!"  Today, I understand that he was spot on.  So I can appreciate being unsatisfied with recruiting advice.

Thanks.

Totally get the "being seen" part. Coaches are smart - they generally will be able to evaluate and project a player pretty quickly. But they do that based on seeing thousands of players over many years.

Not at all specific to me, it just seems like a situation where someone could quantify the probabilities.

Great pic!

@RJM posted:

With the exception I’d the top studs the college choice is a leap of faith. My son’s observation was there are 6-8 studs who are going to play. There are 6-8 at the back of the roster who are capable, but less likely. In between are 19-23 players all reasonably close in talent competing after the 6-8 studs for the other 12-14 spots of playing time where they will be considered contributors. Approximately 18-20 position players and pitchers in a given year receive enough playing time to be considered active contributors.

Of these 19-23 players competing for 12-14 spots it’s not about physical ability. It’s about mental and emotional stability and motivation. How do they handle not being handed a starting position for the first time in their life? If they start the season as a non contributor can they stay physically and mentally ready for when they receive the opportunity to prove themselves? Of will they mentally crash and burn if they don’t get immediate gratification? The opportunity may only be  facing one batter, or pinch hitting or pinch running. Success may only mean another opportunity to prove yourself. A kid may return soph year ready to perform and find a JuCo transfer junior at his position.

For the player the matrix is believe in yourself and don’t leave any effort unused. Yet, there are still plenty of transfers due to the choice not working out.

For the parent the matrix is the various antacid products. I remember posters here talking me off the ledge after my son had a major injury just as we were expecting offers to start coming in.

Amazing.  Thank you.

@Buckeye 2015 posted:

For whatever reason 6'6 and 90mph is a much bigger draw than 6' throwing the same lol

Taller the pitcher less time to the plate. Whether that's a positive I dont know.

@Consultant posted:

2024

Do you attend Serra or San Mateo HS? When our 16-18 year old Santa Rosa Team played San Mateo, it was a "war'!

Many games were decided by our pitchers, who had "accidental" control and "movement" on the fast ball. San Mateo Summer Team in one year had 4 players who played later in the MLB.

Bob

what year was that?  san mateo baseball hasn't been that good in a while!

@DD 2024 posted:

So maybe the question should be - what makes a D3 vs mid D1 vs high D1 vs pro player? One amazing pitch that can fool batters and a couple mediocre ones? Ability to mix pitches that all look the same at delivery? Change of speed? Two sets of pitches? Overpowering speed? Lots of height? Seems like someone should be able to draw up a matrix with probabilities.

I think you need as many of these as possible and some luck that they guys in front of you don't check more boxes.  Ultimately, you need to get outs and be in a position to get the opportunity to do so.  You can only control what you can control.

Talking to a dad on here the other day... both of our boys are freshmen at top P5s.  Both kids were studs in hs and recruited well.  Neither of us have any idea if our sons are even going to be on the travel squad, let alone get opportunities.  They missed out on the "luck" part when it came to everyone getting to come back and the small draft last year.  The boys knew what they were getting into, so now we sit back and hope for the best.

Mattys

1985 -1988. Teams from Danville, Oakland, El Cerrito, Antioch, San Mateo, Santa Rosa, Marin.

40 players later played MLB. This was strong competition. No showcases. No metrics. The only question - "can the boy play"?     [5 scouts each game].

In 1987, I started the Area Code Games.

Bob

@Consultant posted:

Mattys

1985 -1988. Teams from Danville, Oakland, El Cerrito, Antioch, San Mateo, Santa Rosa, Marin.

40 players later played MLB. This was strong competition. No showcases. No metrics. The only question - "can the boy play"?     [5 scouts each game].

In 1987, I started the Area Code Games.

Bob

yeah...that was the golden age of the peninsula, for sure. 

@mattys posted:

yeah...that was the golden age of the peninsula, for sure.

And in the early 80's Kmak, Bonds and Jefferies were at Serra.