AZ SR Fall Wood Bat Classic

Me and Beast Junior will be attending. We will be with ABA/Team Texas.

Fortunately 4thGen won't have to face "The Beast Jr.".

Is his team listed as #34 ABA TX/OK? How are the young Texans going to get along with kids from OK? It looks like Beast Jr. does not play until Friday afternoon against a team from Utah and has the two game day on Sunday.

4thGen is playing for the AZ Pilots, team # 43.

Have you been out here before? Is there anything you need to know, or any way I can assist?

Yeah thats his team. He is a junior LHP/1B. The Texas - OU boys will get along just fine.I have never been out there. We are traveling with one of his high school teammates. He and his dad have been out there before. So he knows his way around. I'll let you know if we need anything. Thanks for the offer. I haven't been on a plane in over 25 years. Good luck to your son.

I'll be watching your son's results. You'll love the facilities. We sometimes forget how good we have it here with the ML spring training sites. The fields are really deep in the alleys. The AZ Fall League uses the stadium so you may see some pro players around. All around the complex are franchise eating establishments so you won't have to worry about feeding The Beast Jr..

quote:

Originally posted by The Beast:
I'll let you know if we need anything. Thanks for the offer. I haven't been on a plane in over 25 years. Good luck to your son.

You are going to need sun tan lotion and some type of shade. It is only going to be 97, we have been there when it had been 120+ in the fall, but it is a dry heat!

Have Jr drink a lot of water...

Good luck!

Yeah I heard its like standing in front of a hair dryer on high speed.

Beast:

We're freezing out here. Remember it's the desert. One of the big characteristics of the desert is a big change in the high and low temperatures for the day. If you play in the morning or evening you'll be cold in the shade. If you play at 10:30 AM or later you'll be hot in the sun. Bring lots of water for your son because it will be so dry he won't realize he's sweating. Bring a jacket for when he's pitching because as soon as the sun goes down the temperature drops precipitously.

Lets hope the weather is perfect toward the end of October since I will be there with my son at the Sophomore Classic. Looking forward to it.

What did you guys think? There were some real studs there. I liked the format the kids played under.

Yeah we had a blast. Weather was perfect. There was alot of scouts there. We will definately go back next year since my son was just a Junior. I want to thank Ryan Brewer (Albuquerque Baseball Academy) and his staff of coaches and Cade Griffis with DBat Baseball Academy of Texas for inviting my son to pitch. He really got alot out of it. Thanks guys.

Beast:


Your son may have been on of the lefies that drew all the scouts. a couple of times I saw them standing 5 or 6 rows deep with the guns.
Plus I won the raffle they were having and walked away with a new A2000.

Beast:

Curious if you would go to the Sr Classic as a Jr or go to the Jr classic if you had the choice again?

Next year we are planning on going with a team to the Jr classic but may have the opportunity to go to the Sr instead. Any feelings either way?

Thanks!

This depends a lot on your son's situation BOF. The Classic is a great showcase, and the Sr. event is slightly different than the Jr.
While competition is not discouraged, scores are not kept and innings are capped to ensure equitable participation. It's really all about getting looks. A lot of college coaches use the Sr. as an opportunity to shop for needs. Many are there to look at specific players. Some of the already committed guys attend just to stay sharp, play for the pro scouts, and even just to get ready for Jupiter. Others are playing for a last chance to commit before their final HS season. This is how and where my son found his ultimate college destination. If your son's team is all Sophs and Jrs, it's possible that they're not going to attract a lot of attention in the Sr., primarily because they're not yet ready to sign. It will still be an eye-opener for the boys and their parents.
For younger players, the Jr. is a bit more about matching up with the competition and getting some early exposure. They'll likely get on some mailing lists and maybe even get some inquiries. It's still not a tournament, but many of the teams approach it more that way. Not as many JuCo and D2 schools present, but it's guaranteed that somebody will be watching.
Either way it's a great venue and the weather is nearly perfect for baseball- even when it seems to be freezing in the early AM.

BOF
If we had to do it over. My son would go to the Senior Classic as a junior.JMO and his.

quote:

Originally posted by The Beast:
BOF
If we had to do it over. My son would go to the Senior Classic as a junior.JMO and his.

Beast/SP thanks. Any particular reasons?

I won't have all of the information until next year but he will have the opportunity to go to the Jr event on a fairly high profile (mostly Jr's) team. He has also been invited to play on a Sr team next year that I am not sure on the profile. He is a tall R/R pitcher (Soph - 6'3" now; then ?, was touching 80 over of the summer best guess would be 85ish one year from now...OK now put the crystal ball back in the bag)

So I am curious of the differences you saw. In the Sr event I think he would be noticable, but might get lost in the 90+ guys. I know it's one year away but would like to get perspective since you were both just there.

Thanks again!

BOF I sent you a PM.

I thought the event was great and boosted my son's stock because he did well as both a pitcher and a position player. However doing well is a relative term. Your facing some ridicules pitching with a wooden bat. 4thGen got a lot of positive feedback for a great at bat in which he fought off a few tough pitches and hit one to the track in left batting left handed. A couple of the coaches mentioned that at bat and that the ball was gone with a metal bat. One thing we were cautioned about is that lots of coaches are looking for a reason to cross kids off their lists. If a kid seemed overmatched or did not display the measurables playing up could hurt him. You may want to assess where you son is after this spring. If he thinks he'll show well against the competition he will get on more radar screens playing up. His team will need to have a least a few studs in order to draw coaches to his game, otherwise your hoping you get schedule against a team with prospects. 4thGen played a team from the Houston area that had three outfielders who were being timed from the instant they left the dugout.

We really enjoyed watching the JUCO games at night. My son is interested in playing at a JUCO and it gave him a good feel for the talent level at D1 JUCO versus D2 JUCO.

Their format was 5 batters regardless & you switch. Another good idea.

BOF, Bum, Jr. went to both the Junior and Senior events. By far there were more scouts in attendance (D1 and others) at the Junior event, and Bum Jr. got a bunch of contacts after that event. The senior event had a lot of roving pro scouts and mostly smaller schools. I think the Junior event is the way to go, especially for a player who wants to get early exposure to D1 scouts for a possible early commitment.

quote:

By far there were more scouts in attendance (D1 and others) at the Junior event

Perhaps there were more college guys at your son's Junior games thans Senior games, but overall the Senior Classic draws many more schools than the Junior Classic....167 colleges were in attendance at the Senior event and I'd be surprised if a third of that attended the Junior.