80/20 Evaluations

WOW, since no one seems to understand this system, I wonder why they use it?

obrady,

20 - Poor
30 -- Well below MLB average
40 -- Below MLB average
50 -- MLB Average
60 -- Above MLB average
70 -- Well above MLB average
80 -- Outstanding

These ratings are based upon the average MLB player. As you can see 50 is for an average MLB player and everything goes up or down from there.

Please do not get caught up in these numbers or even worse do not let your son get caught up with these numbers. Look at them as guidlines and areas where your son needs to improve. There is not a player out there that does not need improvement in some area of their game. So he is not alone. Tell him to continue to work hard on the field and in the classroom and he will be fine.

O42

Re 80/20 scale...when evaluating a H.S. kids tools don't they usually provide two grades...current and where he projects?

As Orioles42 explained, don't get caught up in the numbers. They are a scouts system for rating a player against an average mlb'er. They sometimes will keep a ratng for where they think the player will project, but thats very difficult for a high schooler as too many factors can change.
Think of this, if you have a 20 fastball at 16 yrs old, you could be a 40-50 when fully grown.
Not necessarily, but don't let a kids dreams and hard work be effected by these reports.
They are for the benefit of a scouting dept and only they can determine what will work for them.

Coach RIC

Can you phone me--I would like to chat with you

Tom Rizzi
800-782-3672

quote:

They sometimes will keep a ratng for where they think the player will project, but thats very difficult for a high schooler as too many factors can change.

Understood but isn't that what scouting is all about. Scouting in baseball for the most part is the projection business unlike football and basketball where in many cases your drafting guys can step right in and contribute immediately at the highest level. Thus in drafting kids out of H.S., and to a lesser degree college, scouts must keep projection grades regardless of the difficultly involved.

82 mph going into junior year is not a bad start, especially if he can pick up 2-3 mph by spring and another 2-3 next summer/fall.

i think its a little rediculous to compare a high school junior to an average major league player. Their are only several hundred average major league ballplayres in the world, and most are most likely a good ten years older than a high school junior. But thats just a small point considering we are talking about a major league ballplayer here. Not a minor leaguer, not a college player, but a major league ballplayer. The best of the best of the best. If any high school juniors have average major league skills, then they are the type that we hear called out their senior years in the 1st round of the draft. But usually even a great majority of the players tagged w/ major league tools never become average major league ballplayers. If they are trully comparing high school aged players tools to major league tools then they must be handing out a lot of 20s and 30s, because if kids trully had major league tools as juniors then they could theoretically just step right into a major league game and hold their own. Now consider, some of the tools are harder to gauge than others. Their are plenty of kids w/ major league velocity, but probably only a handful w/ major league hitting skills, and only slightly more w/ major league control of their pitches.
I would think that most of the players in the Bigs were no where near major league average as juniors in high school, although Im sure there are exceptions. Mark Buehrle was cut from his high school team his freshman and junior years, Nolan Ryan recieved no college scholarship offers, and David Eckstein walked on at Florida. Heck does David Eckstein have a major league average tool right now??
So Id actually feel right on my way if as a high school junior i had below major league average control and life, and an 82 mph fastball (which means your arm hasn't yet felt the abuse of a 90 mph fastball, as the arm jolts out of your arm socket w/ over 200 popunds of force) which you can improve easily w/ maturity. Personally I think your well on your way.

2 corrections: mark beuhrle was cut fresh and sophmore years, and by arm socket i meant shoulder socket.