5 of top 9 and 6 of top 15 picks …

Is this because NE players have more access to year round training and the explosion of travel teams?

I only knew one guy from 1st round. Noah Miller played on Hitters 2021 with Seth last few years. Great kid from a school so small his sister is 2B!

Missed a couple of games because his Mom made him go to church camp. U gotta luv it.

Wisconsin guy picked by Twins. 50 scouts came to watch games.

The very best players from NE and the upper Midwest have always been as good as the best players in the more traditional areas (Texas, Florida. California). There just aren’t as many of them. Therefore the overall level of play is better in the sunshine states.

@2022NYC posted:

Is this because NE players have more access to year round training and the explosion of travel teams?

I've been wondering about this too...in the 10 years my son has been playing the number and quality of indoor facilities in our area has skyrocketed (NY/NJ)

@K9 posted:

I've been wondering about this too...in the 10 years my son has been playing the number and quality of indoor facilities in our area has skyrocketed (NY/NJ)

It’s why top talent is developing. It’s also why many parents of players lacking college potential are getting fleeced.

Our high school coach was Director of Training Development at a local facility. Parents of 7-14yos brought their kids thinking spending money was going to influence a future varsity roster decision. It didn’t. In my view the coach made all the right roster and starting decisions while my son was in high school. Even the handful of short term misjudgments were corrected.

@adbono posted:

The very best players from NE and the upper Midwest have always been as good as the best players in the more traditional areas (Texas, Florida. California). There just aren’t as many of them. Therefore the overall level of play is better in the sunshine states.

This gets overlooked.

Team NJ, Team NY, and Team PA can compete with Team GA, Team FL and Team Tx. The only difference is those southern states can put together 5 teams that can compete and those northern states can really only put together one or two.

Despite the individual talent in the north, HS baseball is still average once you get past the top handful of teams in each state.

@adbono posted:

The very best players from NE and the upper Midwest have always been as good as the best players in the more traditional areas (Texas, Florida. California). There just aren’t as many of them. Therefore the overall level of play is better in the sunshine states.

Following up on this post now that the draft has concluded. Of the 612 players selected 205 came from Texas, Florida & California. That is almost exactly one third of the players taken from 3 states. Here is the breakdown: Texas 60; Florida 67; and California 78. I didn’t check but I doubt that any other state is even in the conversation. It’s been this way as long as I can remember.

adbono - the high school kids are easy, but for the college kids, does that count mean the kid played his college ball in those three states?  In other words, a kid from Minnesota playing college ball in Florida counts in Florida's total or counts in Minnesota's because that's where he's from? 

I think your point is correct either way, I just want to understand better.

@9and7dad posted:

adbono - the high school kids are easy, but for the college kids, does that count mean the kid played his college ball in those three states?  In other words, a kid from Minnesota playing college ball in Florida counts in Florida's total or counts in Minnesota's because that's where he's from?

I think your point is correct either way, I just want to understand better.

That’s a fair question. The MLB draft tracker separates players by the state the play in - not the state they are originally from. I reviewed the Texas list as it’s the one I’m most familiar with. Obviously all the HS kids are from Texas. Almost all the college guys are too. I only recognized a few as being out of state in origin. If you could factor in all the kids that played HS in Texas but went out of state to play college ball it would add more weight to my point. I’m sure the same is true for Florida & California. There are players from those 3 states on college rosters from coast to coast.

I don't look at the state they are from, rather where they went to school to improve.  First round would be about half college, half HS. Understand that these players have top representation from the best agents. 

Also, the draft is made up of wheeling and dealing.  Is it always the best player at that number or round? 

Actually we won't know that until the bonuses are posted.  It also takes a few years to see how each draft turns out.

Case in point, the entirety of UCLA's 35 man roster is from California.  The school has little interest in recruiting out-of-state given all of the talent in the state.  And the kids on the roster who do not have full rides know they can get in-state tuition and a great education playing baseball at UCLA versus going out-of-state.  And UCLA had 10 players drafted in the 20 rounds.

There is always going to be a Mike Trout or an Adley Rutschman who is a stud player born outside of California, Texas and Florida, but those states will always dominate in terms of the number of players drafted given the high quality of competition they face from youth baseball on up.

They are also the three most populous states in the nation, with 27% of the total population according to the latest census.  So 33% of the draft choices coming from 27% of the population shows a higher concentration of talent for sure, but I'm not sure its dominance.