Advisor or not?

quote:

Originally posted by Kokomojo:
Are advisors allowed to talk with MLB clubs regarding players prior to the draft?

To that question, the answer is no, if the player wants to maintain NCAA eligibility. Player representatives are not allowed to negotiate or be present during negotiations with MLB clubs and still maintain their amateur status. Although this rule has been struck down in Ohio, it still stands on the NCAA books and the NCAA right now is going to great lengths to flex its muscle and make examples of people violating this rule...ala Paxton at Kentucky.


Whether an advisor is advisable...I'll leave that answer to people who have already traveled that path...

I am not meaning negotiating with MLB. Is it forbidden to have them talk about the players with the scouting community, as I have witnessed several advisors for other players over the last 4 years that talk with scouts on a regular basis and opinions are shared?

koko

Do you consider the travel team coach an advisor?

I don't much about the subject, however it seems like you are trying to make your son more visible so he can get drafted, or move up the draft ladder. From what I have seen the scouting community (particularly in hot bed areas like Fl and Ca) pretty much knows who is and who is not draftable. Trust me scouts from Fl will know if your son is a "player". An "advisor" is not going to help this at all.

IMO - Probably the #1 most important thing an advisor can do for a player leading up to the draft is to promote that player. This can be done in many different ways, but the goal is to reach the scouting community in a positive way.

Many are confused as to whether they should go seek an advisor. Once again (IMO) in most cases the advisor seeks the player. If a player is talented enough to be an early draft pick, he will be contacted by agent/advisors.

The only real way the advisor/agent makes any money off a player is when the player is drafted and signed. Then he becomes the players agent and will likely receive very little (possible endorsement money if they player is a very high profile, high draft pick) until that player signs a MLB contract. And the potential for big money comes later, once the player has established himself and has free agent eligibility. So whether or not a player gets an agent in Rookie Ball or AA it doesn’t make much difference. Once again, agents decide who they want for the most part and they want the players who are likely to make them money, which stands to reason.

Actually the biggest dilemma is not whether or not someone needs an advisor, more important is finding the right one if you in fact do need one. You don’t need an advisor to figure out if there is serious draft interest. If you don’t know whether there is some “serious” draft interest, in all likelihood, there isn’t!

PGSTAFF


What is your feeling with regard to travel team coaches speaking with scouts? Can they get a reading for the parents/player?

My son 6'-175 lbs has been a little above average but on all the winning teams. Has started OF Freshman ,Soph,Jun and this year Sr. He is rated # 20 class of 2010 in AZ. He has been a late bloomer with his power and his 6.6 to 6.8 speed is advancing. He's had an 8.5 PG rating twice, a 4.0 GPA and recieved some D1 interest. He will be signing a JUCO full ride to AZ Western. No agent has called on him. No MLB draft forms in the mail. He has been back seat to All Americans on his Team and won State Championships back to back looking for a third his Senior year 2010. For the hell of it I sent his Profile to an Avisor/Agent asking for representation. based on his Profile they said they would love to. That they can see why D1 schools would be looking at my son. Now, would it be to my advantage to say sure? Did my son fly under the radar? If he has a suspected break out year, would an Advisor be needed? Those are very good questions. If I sent out 3 or 4 request to Avisors asking the same question would it create forward motion buzz amongst the Advisors an Scouts to the point that maybe that my son should be watch more closely? I think being proactive is good and being ready doesn't hurt either. As long as the NCAA rules doesn't get infringed upon. In my case and IMHO I should have an Advisor ready to call in the chance my son improves from his previous season and has that breakout year. You will have to be the judge. Each case is different. But if the talent is there and he has stats to back em up and colleges are there but your wallet isn't ready to support a 4 year yet then IMO why not be ready?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by PGStaff:
IMO - Probably the #1 most important thing an advisor can do for a player leading up to the draft is to promote that player. This can be done in many different ways, but the goal is to reach the scouting community in a positive way.
[QUOTE]

That is exactly what I was looking for, thank you PG.

To answer TR's question as to whether the coach (travel, HS or college) is an advisor, I had not really thought about that. College coaches talk all the time to scouts at practices, before games, after games, etc. In fact they are probably the best advisors of all!

TR,

Travel Team Coaches vary from those who have extreme credibility with Professional Scouts and College Recruiters to those who have no credibility at all. It varies from those who are very knowledgeable, to those who have no idea. Therefore; in some cases a good travel coach can be very beneficial in gathering some information.

Truth is… If there is a player out there who really impresses the scouts, that player will end up knowing about it. It doesn’t take an advisor or a travel coach to find out for him. Besides the Travel Coaches who have had lots of talent over the years don’t have to ask scouts what they think, those travel coaches already know how good the player is regarding chances of playing professional baseball. Scouts will talk to travel coaches about players they are interested in, but that involves them wanting and gaining more information about the player.

IMO, the best suggestion for players, travel coaches, parents, etc., is to get in front of the right people or in the right situations and wait for them to contact you. If they think a player is good enough, everyone will find out soon enough. All the rest just leads to confusion.

Azallan,

There is nothing wrong with what you are doing. But only expect that advisor to do much if and when your son creates serious interest with MLB scouts. If he really thinks your son has good draft potential and if he is the right advisor, he might help a lot in creating interest in your son. BTW, there are advisors out there that will gladly accept any player. Once in a great while that player might actually turn out to be a decent draft pick and the advisor will make some money. It’s more about how seriously the advisors interest and effort works. In some cases they can do absolutely nothing… wait for the draft… and see what happens. If your son is drafted… there they are. Most of the real good agents/advisors will only take those players they believe will be good draft picks at some point. Not saying that this pertains to your situation, because a wise advisor might think a player could turn out to be special coming out of college. Some of the best actually recommend that some of their players go to college first. Those are the ones who truly have your sons best interest at heart. They can afford to wait three years before making any money. They don’t just give advice based on their immediate need for money. Some kids are best signing pro contracts, others are best going to college… The real good advisors want to do what is best for the player. The real bad advisors want you to do what is best for them!

Kokomojo,

You have nailed it... Sometimes the very best advisor you can have is not an agent/advisor! For sure not anyone who stands to gain financially. Listen to those who you truly trust and who have lots of experience and have no motive other than they are willing to help. If they don't know something, they will tell you that and try to find the answers.

quote:

Originally posted by Kokomojo:
I am not meaning negotiating with MLB. Is it forbidden to have them talk about the players with the scouting community, as I have witnessed several advisors for other players over the last 4 years that talk with scouts on a regular basis and opinions are shared?

I would be very careful about this and contact the NCAA to get as clear an answer as you can to determine what is allowed (or not allowed).My son ended up signing a pro contract and bypassed college so it doesn't matter now however looking back on his journey, I’m not sure if the NCAA couldn’t have found some areas regarding the role his advisor played in the process as “questionable”.

Truth be told, my son's advisor did spend quite a bit of time talking with the scouts at his games and to us it was one of the most valuable parts of having an advisor. The feedback that he gave us was a key part of understanding the level of interest and it also helped us to better determine where he might go in the draft (or at least what type of bonus might be realistic). The thing is if the advisor ever gave the pro club a dollar range that it would take for son to sign it would probably be construed as negotiating and therefore put son’s amateur status in jeopardy. We know it happens all the time however with the recent questionnaire that the NCAA’s sent out to players that were drafted but didn’t sign it looks like they are about to go on a witch hunt. Look at the upcoming battle that the University of Kentucky player (Paxton?) is getting ready to face because of what the outgoing GM for the team that drafted Paxton said regarding their interaction with his advisor/agent.

The whole thing seems to be counter to the “best interest” of the player (which by the way in our case our son wasn’t even an NCAA “student athlete” yet) however fair or not, he wasn’t allowed to have proper representation to negotiate in what will probably be one of the biggest decisions he will ever face? In my opinion the NCAA is not your friend in this situation so I would check things out to make sure you or your advisor isn’t stepping over the line.

Good luck.

quote:

Are advisors allowed to talk with MLB clubs regarding players prior to the draft? What I really am searching for is there an advantage to having an advisor for exposure purposes?

Found this link last year.


http://graphics8.nytimes.com/p...ncaabaseballmemo.pdf

Good luck with your decision.

Thanks saintpetrel, that document makes it pretty obvious.

I read through most of that document. It is sickening how the NCAA has overreached its boundaries of authority by attempting to place limits on the rights of citizens attempting to research their marketability in a commercial, professional market.

This is so easy to evaluate - even an NCAA president could comprehend this suggestion. Let the young men research their value in professional sports. If a contract is signed, the player is a professional. If no contract, the player remains an amateur.

Maybe I can work on a anti-NCAA avatar to show my displeasure with them.

I just hope my son has the talent someday just play at the level where advisors hang out.

Agent/Advisor. This is just my opinion based on my experiences. It in no way means that I know what is best in every situation. But maybe these two situations I will post about will help someone.

I had a player a few years back that came on late his Jr year. By the start of his Sr year he was on the radar bigtime and projected to be a mid to late first round pick. His father approached me and asked me if I thought he needed an advisor. He said he didnt know anything about how all this stuff worked. He said he didnt know what to say to the professional scouts that were contacting him. I suggested that they get an advisor to give them advice. I told them "If you were arrested do you think if the police told you "You dont need a lawyer" what would you think about that? He mentioned that every scout had asked them if they had one. When he told them no they all said "You dont need one."

I got in touch with a couple of highly respected agents/advisors. The father decided to take a local area scouts advice and not get an advisor for his son. In other words there was no one working on his sons behalf and no one to talk to about advice on the process, etc. On draft day the scout that had advised them not to get an advisor called and said before the draft started "If we draft you will you sign for X number of dollars?" The dad had no idea what his kids draft value was. There was no one there to assist him that was really in the know. The kid signed and got slot money in the 3rd round. He is in the show now. There is no doubt and I have been told by many who would know that he was hurt by the fact he did not have an advisor.

Another player a couple of years ago was living with me. I got him an advisor. The advisor worked out a pre draft deal that got him 7th round money and he was drafted in the 20th round. There was no doubt this kid would have never gotten that amount of money without his advisor working very hard for him. He would have gotten 20th rd money without an advisor.

What I am trying to say is what does it hurt to have someone that does this for a living working on your sons behalf? They will try to get you for the least amount they can get you for. That is their job. You need someone that will try and get you what you deserve and more if possible. I know scouts that will discourage players from having advisors. I know souts that encourage players to get advisors.

I was in a posistion where the team that I scout for was very interested in the player living with me. I also made it clear that I advised him to get an advisor. He was drafted by the team I scout for. There were no hard feelings because I made it clear that this young man was part of my family and I wanted to ensure that he had people looking after his best interests.

I hope this helps someone. I think its important to remember that this is a business. Your son needs people that will look after his best interests. You have to trust those people. And there are many ways to check into who is legit and who is not. Advisors will "pump" a player and try to do everything in their ability to drive up the interest and buzz about one of their players. But in the end his performance will be what matters the most.

Having one that went through the process twice, PG gives excellent advice, read it over, a few times.

It's sad actually, a young man should have the opportunity to discuss his future with one that is experienced with the process, but as PG suggests, not all are experienced in all of the rules, and as one can see they are very easy to break. Be careful.

IMO, an advisor/agent is for advising you on the process on how the process works and perhaps how (you and your son) to speak to scouts. If you think your son needs one to create a buzz, and he is going to attend or return to an NCAA institution the advisor will compromise his future eligibility.

We are facing the issue of whether or not to get an advisor for our son and to be honest we have been going back and forth about it. We are just not sure what to do. We've had several "advisors" contact us and 3 home visits by pro scouts earlier this month. So we at least know that he is on the radar for the draft.

I do think we need some help - BUT, I do not want to do anything to jeopardize his college eligibility as he has signed an NLI with a great program. I wish we were in a position to get advice from someone that is truly neutral and has nothing to gain or lose by whatever decisions our son might make. Unfortunately we haven't found that person yet.

quote:

I wish we were in a position to get advice from someone that is truly neutral and has nothing to gain or lose by whatever decisions our son might make. Unfortunately we haven't found that person yet.

Where is this Utopia where people labor for free? Expert advise & the labor invested by an advisor on your behalf has value. If you are satisfied with his efforts and accept his advice, the advisor has earned his fee - which is typically the opportunity to represent your son as his professional agent in the business of professional baseball.

quote:

Where is this Utopia where people labor for free? Expert advise & the labor invested by an advisor on your behalf has value. If you are satisfied with his efforts and accept his advice, the advisor has earned his fee - which is typically the opportunity to represent your son as his professional agent in the business of professional baseball.

Sorry, I didn't word my post very well. Not looking for someone to work on our son's behalf for free. It's just that so far the only people we have discussed the issues of needing an advisor and the draft with are pro scouts, advisors and college coaches. They obviously all have a bias. Really I guess right here on the HSBBW is a great place for the type of advice I'm looking for and I think PG, Coach May and Jerseydad have posted some great thoughts on the subject.

The fact is they will work for free because they have to. They are hoping to build a relationship with you. They are hoping that if your son is drafted and he decides to sign that you will then hire them. At this point and time they will get paid.

My son has an advisor. What does he do? He calls and asks how everything is going. He gives advice. He flew up here from Florida when my son was in HS and watched him play a couple of times. He told us what scouts were saying about my son. He told us what we could expect from certain org's if he made it clear he wanted to be drafed. He gave us advice on what he thought we should do. During the recruiting process he talked to several college coaches while making his rounds at tourneys across the country. It was only advice.

Now what does he hope to get out of this? He hopes that my son , your son , develops into a draft choice and the higher the better. He hopes that he has developed a great relationship with you and you will in return reward him with the opportunity to represent him one day if that day actually comes.

They want to show you loyalty so you will show loyalty in return if that day comes. For some it will never come. And all that work that they put in returns nothing in monetary value. And if it does come all that work that they have put in hopefully will be rewarded with a percentage of your sons signing bonus and an opportunity to continue to represent him throughout his career.

Think of it this way. What do you know about this business? Do you think the scout or scouts have your sons best interest at heart over the org that they work for? Do you think that they want to negotiate with you to get your son the most money they can from their boss? Or do you think they want you to trust them blindly and accept what they offer?

Its a business. Having someone that is a professional to work on your sons behalf and give you professional advice imo is very important. I am not saying that all org's are out to take you to the woodshed. But why go into this thing blind when you dont have to?

There are other advantages as well. Like I said in the other post. The player who lived with me had someone to work out a pre draft deal for him. He had someone to advocate for him that knew and understood the process. He got drafted in the 20th rd and got 7th round money. Once he signed with his advisor and the advisor then became his agent his agent worked out a glove contract , bat contract , etc etc.

There are sleezy adviors / agents out there just like in every profession. Its not very hard to find a professional org out there one with an outstanding rep. Good luck. And this is jmpo based on my own experiences. Others may not feel the same way I do and that is fine. I am not an advisor / agent. So I have nothing to gain from this post.

I always find it interesting that a few scouts come to the home and already people are doing their homework on advisors and serching for advisors.

Better yet, do some homework on how HS players fair in milb vs. college players. This year, the Cardinals had to either release or suspend many players for off field issues, most were HS players. My son has been to college and plays pro ball, we and he have seen both sides. Both are not for everyone but the professsional life has many temptations that are hard to resist, most of them occur after a player is in the system for 1-3 years and realizes how HARD it is to reach the highest level. I think it takes a very mature individual to be able to grasp all that is in front of you. If you get some older guys who will take you under their wing to help you find your way, that's great, but you don't find that in pro ball as often as you do in college ball. It is such a different culture than what your sons are used to. People don't realize this, that is why, the best advisors advise players to head to college first, even ones that can command millions of dollars out of HS. At best if there is potential, attend a year of JUCO to grow up a bit if they need that, this is just my opinion.

This is a personal decision, based upon how you see your son as an individual, that is very important, the advisor doesn't know your HS son as well as you do. If you think that you need an advisor to "promote" your son's talent, you don't need an advisor, what you need to do is get them in front of the right people for him to be seen, then the rest takes care of itself. Spring has not even begun, your son's decision has a lot to do with how he performs in the spring, and most players and their families don't need that stuff hanging over their heads. Unless your son is one of the lucky ones that are expected to be drafted very early, then you do ned someone to help you sort it all out.

I am sure there are many advisors that break rules, even the good ones, that's why Boras' guys who don't come to terms go off to play Indy ball. They have done it so many times, they know when they can cross the line and when they can't.
My son has an agent, he would be lost without him, he may have broken some rules during the process, I don't know and want to know about it, but in son's case it was pretty clear that he was not going back to school, and he accepted the terms immediately that his team was offering, no negotiating, that is what the NCAA doesn't like. Once your advisor mentions a dollar figure to a tteam, his eligibility has been compromised and most good advisors know not to discuss money with anyone. The advisor was helpful in deciphering terms of the milb contract, where he might fall in the draft and what the slot would be and that was just about it, I will admit who he worked with made him credible and most likely a second round pick was a result of that, so was where he played at college and his coaches. All that stuff seems to come together at the end. It is much harder for a HS prospect, but you as parents can do most of the work on your own, you get a call on draft day your son is drafted then you have choices, and pretty much will depend on slot money, round, team and his commitment to college.
Try to enjoy this time, sit down with your player and discuss all the possibilities that exist and find out what HE wants to do, don't stress about it, it all works out in the end. If he attends college, let his coaches guide him in the process.



Do your homework.

pro ball is a big business, disquised as a little boy's dream.

quote:

Originally posted by 20dad:
pro ball is a big business, disquised as a little boy's dream.

You ain't kidding!

All I am saying is you can wing it. You can trust people that say they know what they are doing. Or you can have someone that does this for a living with a proven track record of looking after the players best interest. Thats all I am saying. Pro ball is tough its not cookies and cream. But so is college.

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
I always find it interesting that a few scouts come to the home and already people are doing their homework on advisors and serching for advisors.

Better yet, do some homework on how HS players fair in milb vs. college players.

Do your homework.

Not sure if your post is directed at me or the original poster, but since I'm the one that mentioned scouts in the home I'll respond. We are not searching for an advisor in any way. We've been contacted by 4 different advisors. So we are trying to "do our homework" on ALL areas of this process and part of that is deciding if and when we need an advisor. We would have never even given an advisor a second thought if we hadn't been contacted by them in the first place. One potential advisor told us that even if we didn't choose them that it was ok, but that we were definitely going to need someone based on what he was "hearing" about our son. So is that just a great sales pitch to reel you in - or an honest opinion? Who knows?

I agree with you that if you are considering an advisor just to create pro interest for your son, then you probably don't need one.

"Unless your son is one of the lucky ones that are expected to be drafted very early, then you do ned someone to help you sort it all out."

What is very early? 1st round only? Rounds 1 - 3? Rounds 1 - 5? Where's the magic cut-off? I know there is no magic cut-off and everyone's situation is different, but seriously what do you consider very early?

There can also be "advisors" for HS players regarding college---there are advisors who work with the academic studs in terms of getting them to the right college---advisors do not necessarily have to be pro draft oriented---thus a travel team coach can be an advisor

You see I disagree with that statement in bold. And I can talk about personal experiences with players I have coached to back that up. And if you look at the last few drafts you will see players drafted late that were able to get way over slot money. They didnt get that because the parents were out there negotiating with the ML orgs.

When my last player who lived with me was drafted in the 20th round and got 7th round money it was because his advisor / agent did an outstanding job working on his behalf. When scouts are coming to your house you are getting one side of the story in this process. What is wrong with getting the other side? What does it hurt?

IMO you should have an advisor to give you advice. If you feel you are capable of handling this by yourself and you feel you are knowledgable enough then fine.

The players that benefit the most from advisors imo are the ones that will not be drafted in slot posistions. For many reasons I say this. I have had a few drafted and several more that could have been but made it clear they wanted to go to college. After talking to advisors and getting a clear picture or at least as clear of a picture as you can get.

Again I will say it. It cost absolutely nothing to get a professionals advice. It cost absolutely nothing to get someone out there in the mix to help you out and advise you. Or you can wing it. Good luck.

One last thing and then I will let this topic go. Some players want to be drafted. They do not want to continue to go school. They want to give pro ball a shot now. Some are better off with this road. We would all love to see every kid go to college and get a degree. But some do not want to go to college. They do not like school. They are not college material. Etc etc.

Of course they sign with a juco etc and have that option if they are not drafted. They also want the leverage. But what parents say to scouts and how they approach the conversations , interaction can hurt their draft posistion greatly. And more importantly their signing bonus. And this happens all too often. The scout comes in the home and they are just blown away with the excitement of it all. They give information during these conversations that they dont even know they are giving out.

I have no idea why people think they can handle this better than someone who does this for a living can. But some have this idea that this is a game and everyone is looking out for their son. Get real folks. This is a business. If they can get him for a coke and a pack of nabs they will. And they will if you let them. Good luck

I was responding more to the first post.
Early rounds, IMO, would be first 10, you can do most of your own homework regarding slot for first 10 rounds, though many players get drafted later and get very good bonus, after negotiating all summer and after the team sees what money they may have to spend AND where your son might have fallen earlier if not for signability.
FWIW, you don't need an advisor to let you know the interest your son is generating, PG or BA gives very good information, as an example son was predicted an 81st pick and he was the 71st pick, they seem to get most of that stuff pretty accurate these days.
Of course they are going to contact you, it's their business to do so, get clients (I am speaking of advisors who are registered agents) and if you have been contacted by top agencies, then you might want to assume that he is being considered a very high pick, in other words if you heard from some of the agencies PG mentioned a strong consideration for rounds 1-5 might be. Make sure that agent has at least one man on the 40 man roster or he cannot do business with MLB.
You have to decide to what is best for your son, in HS my son's future coach had us get in touch with a top guy in the business, who sent a scout to do an evaluation then advised us he would NOT be his advisor, unless he considered college first and mine was listed in the top 100 HS players. We were advised as to what to do, and took that advice, someone else may have felt it was bad advice. That was a personal decision. In senior summer my son was approached by Boras, handed him his card and told him to go to college and contact him then. So now we have two top agencies telling him to go to college first, all the other ones didn't give that advice, it was, let's wait to see where you are drafted before any decision is made. That may be fine, but remember if you give indications you will sign if drafted and don't sign that scout loses his job, later that may come to bite you.
sportsmomof2, will be very happy to answer any questions you have in a pm.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach_May:
Pro ball is tough its not cookies and cream. But so is college.

Hmmmm "cookies and cream" Whats a Nab?

EXCELENT INFORMATION PEOPLE!! What an eye opener hearing the different opinions and situations. Take what you read,learn from the experiences and apply them to your sons situation and may you all get what you're looking for. I thank you all for your continued wisdom, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to ALL !!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
Of course they are going to contact you, it's their business to do so, get clients (I am speaking of advisors who are registered agents) and if you have been contacted by top agencies, then you might want to assume that he is being considered a very high pick, in other words if you heard from some of the agencies PG mentioned a strong consideration for rounds 1-5 might be. Make sure that agent has at least one man on the 40 man roster or he cannot do business with MLB.
You have to decide to what is best for your son, in HS my son's future coach had us get in touch with a top guy in the business, who sent a scout to do an evaluation then advised us he would NOT be his advisor, unless he considered college first and mine was listed in the top 100 HS players. So now we have two top agencies telling him to go to college first, all the other ones didn't give that advice, it was, let's wait to see where you are drafted before any decision is made. That may be fine, but remember if you give indications you will sign if drafted and don't sign that scout loses his job, later that may come to bite you.

TPM.. Awesome post

The greatest thing about this site is the shared experiences of the membership. Discovering and defusing landmines that potentially could derail a player at any level is huge.

It's been my understanding that a MLB team will have already worked out whatever the signing bonus will be, with the prospect before he's drafted. Is this not the case?

I enjoy reading about the various experience people have had. Especially the stuff that has worked out well. On the other hand, I think it's only fair to include the not so good stuff.

Nothing to brag about, but this is an area/topic we deal with a lot, literally thousands of times over the years. You see some things that most people will never experience in their individual case. It's also sometimes different when you look at things after all the smoke has cleared rather than while the fire is being stoked!

In every case a player is valued by either draft position or amount of $$$$ which are basically the same thing. Actually when a player goes in the 15th round and signs for a million dollars, it’s because he is valued as a first round type who went in the 15th round.

Typically all early round prospects will have an advisor and probably need one in most cases. But the advisor doesn’t dictate the players value, the MLB club determines that in every case. Then the player and his parents decide what to do. The advisor can be very helpful, or could be fairly worthless. I’ve even seen some who screwed everything up.

The advisor can tell you what he believes your son is worth or where he thinks you might be drafted. If that is the same or less than what the MLB club has offered, then where are you? Then it is completely up to you to do any negotiating (legally anyway).

If you’re not an early round pick I wouldn’t be overly concerned with any endorsement deals. Nice, but really don’t amount to a whole lot of money in most cases at the lower levels. Agents check the lower levels of minor league ball for new clients who don’t have an agent. So basically, it once again revolves around your perceived value at the time.

This is where making a decision from the pool of potential advisors becomes important. This can be difficult, because there are many different ways to look at things.

Without mentioning any names, let’s say agent A has a track record of all his high school players signing. Remember that advisors can tell you what they think your worth, but it’s still the team that decides what you get and it’s up to you to make a final decision. When agentA has all his players signed at or below slot, what does that tell you. Is that a good thing? Is he doing his best to help all those player? Or is he doing his best to help the MLB Club? We already know he wants to do what is best for himself! The good part is that in the end you hopefully will make the final decision and it’s the right one. But then will he be talking you into signing that contract for the amount of money offered? If he is, is he is doing it for you, the club, himself?

Listen, there are some great agent/advisors out there that deserve to be treated with lots of respect, but this is an ugly business that can be very lucrative and it’s one that is extremely easy to get into. Most of the real good ones would have no problem with what’s being said here. There are so many things involved that most people don’t ever think of. Players can become pawns in the process at times.

Here is a not so Hypothetical situation… Agent B represents MLB star C who happens to be up for Free Agency. Agent B also is the advisor for potential Draft pick D. Agent B obviously is involved in negotiations for MLB star C, while he also represents lesser known MLB player D and is the advisor for potential Draft pick D (YOU). Could any of this have a bearing on the type of advice you might get from your advisor? A lot can go on, and sometimes does, behind the scenes. You really need to trust your advisor a lot!

Listen, I agree with Coach May about how valuable an advisor “CAN” be. I would just add that it is even more important to secure a good one that you truly trust. Because there are some real stinkers out there who will sound like your best friend, but really could care less about your kid. To the point of actually giving terrible advice that could have negative results. Don’t be one of the pawns!

Yes, there are many very good advisors and agents, but beware because there are just as many, if not more, that you might be sorry you ever met. In order to be recognized by MLB an agent has to have had a player on a MLB roster. This helps somewhat, but it shouldn’t make anyone feel secure in every case. It’s also possible that a small time, new guy on the block, might end up being that honest friend you’re looking for. Odd how some of the smaller agents will do a great job for a player until the player gets closer to the Big Leagues and then other Big Agents swoop in and take him away. The real money is about to be realized and the small time agent who has always been reliable and honest is left with nothing. I guess greed can be an important motivator.

Truth is that changing agents is very common in baseball, which by itself speaks volumes. Good thing is… getting rid of an advisor is very easy. If you feel an advisor can help you… Just go out and get one of the real good ones who has contacted you.

We can talk about the good stuff and that does exist and it is important to know. But at the same time, I think it is at least equally important to talk about the ugly stuff.

Good post PG!

In my son's case, he was disappointed at the money offered, but being that his last two games were not so great, he was told to take the money as a second pick instead of negotiating, begin your career instead of missing out sitting at home and move forward. Also, a lot has to do with the relationship that the agent may have with an organization, the ones who have MLB clients also have better relationships with their clubs, BUT, that might only mean that they know the type of players they represent, which may make their value go up a bit higher to that club. But the scenerio you speak of can have a lot of bearing on what goes on behind the scenes.
You are right the only one who determines your worth is MLB.
What worked out for son was that a second round pick offered more card opportunities, which could have been the money he tried to get from the club from negotiating. I also think that because there were no high demands, the club has been willing to take care of all medical/money issues without any argument. Sometimes how you do business (or your agent) will help your guys when they need it more than in the bank. JMO.

I know agents don't always give that advice to everyone, but the point is, you want someone to do what is best for your son, not the other guys he represents and that is what one hopes to gain by picking the right person.

From teenage years forward, IMO baseball is a game that is played in pursuit of a dream. Whether it be dreaming of that game winning hit, coming in and shutting down the lineup in the bottom of the last inning, winning a championship – you get my drift.

The ultimate dream that any baseball player has is to play MLB. As we all know most never get that opportunity. So what do they have? They have the dream, a dream that keeps them on the field, in the weight room and in the cage long after they are expected to be there by coaches, parents or teammates.

At what point does the cold splash of reality hit the face of the player? Is it when he is not drafted out of high school? No.

Is it when someone says he is not big enough? No. Is it when he bats .200 his freshman year of college? No.

I guess one might think that it would be after your senior year in college and you are not drafted. However, some don’t let the door close even then, they go on to independent ball.

We have Perfect Game and Baseball America to tell us who the best are and where they think they should get drafted. If a player is not on that list, does this spell the end of the game? No. I think PGStaff will admit there is no way they can predict all who will be successful.

The only person that can control the success is the player, his desire, determination, drive – and of course talent. Which brings me to this post. PG, TPM and Coach May have provided awesome insight and advice in this thread. TPM states in one of her posts that she was aiming towards the original poster in her discussion about having scouts in the home. I didn’t say one way or the other about scouts in the home. All I said is a scout told son he didn’t need an advisor until Double A ball.

I followed TPM’s advice quite a bit during son’s junior/senior year in high school, especially about the push to go to college, which is where he is at (did not get drafted so that became a moot point for now anyway.)

No where did I say how good son was or even get into that. I asked a question because I was curious if advisors did any good when talking to scouts regarding players. My post may have been poorly worded, but what I wanted to know was answered very well by PG and Coach May and I thank them for it. I don’t expect anyone could shape a scouts view on a player, as their job is too important for that to happen.

My son is not considered a blue chipper, and advisors are not banging on our door. But he does have a dream of getting the opportunity to get a shot at pro ball, like almost every other kid playing baseball. And he did not arrive at that dream entirely on his own. There are others outside of the family that have fed him information that if he puts in the work that it is not a hollow dream.

So in summary, whether he is a top 10 rounder, 50th rounder or no rounder, it will be up to him and his talents/work efforts that will make that happen. And if an advisor (college coach, friend of family, agency advisor or HSBBWeb old timer) can help him see his status with more clarity and what he needs to work on I believe he will take that information.

Again, I thank you for all your input and advice.

These posts are so interesting to me - (and keep in mind I have one son who will soon be entering his 4th year of pro ball.)

We didnt have any of these somewhat complicated decisions.

Life is funny sometimes - in my sons case - his "rankings" were a cut above a cold pork chop. Giving him the benefit of the doubt - perhaps warm meat loaf. LOL

No need for advisors. No need for anything.
A 16th round draft pick.

We did our own thing - no agent until after he was signed and then he just played - wherever and whenever he got the chance. And he is still doing the same thing.

Still on the bottom of the "Prospect list" - as he has moved from Short season - to Low A - to A - to AA.
All the while many of "Top Prospects" continue to progress through the system using their "tools" to hit .210 and make a mess on the field.

Tell your son that no advisor on earth will help him perform - and no advisor I am aware of will convince a MLB team that he is a 1st rounder instead of a 16th rounder.

You just hope for the chance - tighten up your spikes - and run like a wild dog until they tell you to go home.

In our case - a very simple proposition.

Merry Xmas and best of luck to you and your son.

Great posts and I have enjoyed hearing everyone's opinion on this matter.

Swann are you serious? You have never hear of a nab? It must be a Southern thang.

Nabs Must be southern; I had to google it... now I know

quote:

We have Perfect Game and Baseball America to tell us who the best are and where they think they should get drafted. If a player is not on that list, does this spell the end of the game? No. I think PGStaff will admit there is no way they can predict all who will be successful.

Kokomojo,

A couple things, I sometimes think Baseball America simply tells people what we think. Our lists are always out first and it's amazing how close all the other lists become.

That said, I have no problem at all admitting we can not and do not predict all who will be successful. In fact, no one can do that, not even the teams who spend all that money.

The truth is, I actually enjoy it when we are proven wrong. At least when it works out to be a positive for a players. It helps restore my love for the game knowing that the so called underdog can make it big.

I'll be one of those pulling for your son, best of luck.