Looking for advice for my 2021 position player
He's a 6'1" 185 pound position player. 7.8-7.9 60, throws 78-80 mph. Consistently hits 90 mph exit velocity line drives in games. Consistently hits over .400 vs very good travel competition.
He is in a dedicated weight lifting program. Deadlifts 300 pounds. His plans are to lift 4 times a week and work on Speed & Agility prior to his 2019 Summer season (rising Junior summer). He is 15 years old. Very self motivated. We have to make him take days off occasionally. Loves the game. Very good student but not interested in the high academic path. Wants to play Baseball as long as he can and then coach Baseball.
Defensively he has mainly played 3B in his 15U season. I would rate him as "Average" at 3B as compared to the 3B's in the Top Travel programs in the Midwest. Very good hands, makes all the routine plays, but the lack of an elite arm exploits him vs very fast base runners and the lack of elite quickness means he doesn't make the spectacular plays. He is somewhat of a train wreck in the Outfield. He is a solid 2B but, understandably, nobody is going to put a 7.8 at Second. He is an above average defensive 1B.
He is an excellent hitter, he regularly squares up the best pitchers we see and has a short line drive swing. It's been a long time since I've seen anyone blow the ball past him, including pitchers we saw who threw 85 at the ABC's in Indy.
So what do you do with a kid like that? Obviously, get him Bigger Faster Stronger. But what type of Travel Team do you get him on for 16U in 2019?
He feels like he can hit well enough to compete vs any team in the nation. He says he is eventually going to be 220 pounds of muscle and will play D1 and is willing to go to JUCO first to prove himself. He'll likely top out at 6'2" or 6'3" but it's possible 6'1" might be his final height.
I think he is on the D3 path so far and I will believe it when I see it if that path changes. He's got to prove it. Part of my question is "how do you prove you can hit top team's pitching if you can not make one of the top teams at tryouts that plays the top teams on a regular basis?"
Do we just have him tryout for the Top local teams and play on a B or C team at 16U vs mostly other D3 bound type players, or do we search far & wide for a National Team? He says all it takes is just one program director who recognizes his hitting ability projects and he can prove himself at WWBA & Wilson Premiere etc...
