Confusing Evaluations

quote:

All five evaluators are experienced and respected, but there is no consensus as to my son's level or position. Of course this will all be sorted out by who actually offers him, but I'm curious if others have experienced this kind of variety from reliable experts?

Let his talent take him where it can. I always caution against listening to evaluators. BB is a game of development and you can never tell when you will reach your potential.
Look at all levels that interest you. Yes the offers or lack of offers will determine where he ends up.

i don't think it's that surprising to find such varying opinions.i have a couple of friends who are/were scouts and a few friends who played in the bigs. from talking to them i have come to the conclusion that baseball evaluating/scouting is a very subjective endeavor. show the same kid to five scouts and you're likely to get five different opinions. just remember that all your son has to do is find one school--he doesn't have to have everyone love him

These are great questions.

I think there is some consensus here. I would not pay much attention to the last evaluation as a pitcher.

The consensus appears to be he is a corner infielder. Being a low 80's thrower, that might rule out many D1 programs at 3b. Since he is a 7.2 runner, again that may rule him out of many D1 outfields. The question then is, is he a D1 first baseman? I'll be honest, that is generally the biggest power position in all of D1 baseball and often the most competitive. It sounds pretty clearly that your son is a D1 hitter but the question is does he have D1 power. He'll need 10-15 run homerun power to compete at that position.

At the other levels of the game, I would think that some of these other positions (3b, outfield) open up for your son and that may be why you are getting some D1 coaches saying he would be a good fit at D3 or D2.

Here is the bottom line imho. At the end of the day, you and your son have to decide what his talent level is and then target schools at that level. You obviously have been attending all these showcases, how has your son stacked up in your mind?

It is entirely possible all these evaluations are premature at best or incorrect at worst. If your son feels he is a D1 player and wants to compete at that level then my suggestion is challenge him to learn how to compete right now. Get him enrolled in a speed program with the goal to get his 60 below 7.0. Have him start an aggresive long tossing program and get his throws up to the mid 80's in the next few months. Get him into the weight room and have him increase his power. These things can be easily measured. Go out and hit a bucket of balls and see how many go over the fence. Increase the strength and see if you can increase the number. Same with long tossing. Each time after a long toss drill, let one rip and measure its length by marking it with a stick or some other marker. Next time, see if you can move the stick. Do these things over the next few months and then showcase over the winter break or in late October or early November. If he can achieve these goals, he will turn heads and he should be able to get an offer.

quote:

Originally posted by hitithard:
i don't think it's that surprising to find such varying opinions.i have a couple of friends who are/were scouts and a few friends who played in the bigs. from talking to them i have come to the conclusion that baseball evaluating/scouting is a very subjective endeavor. show the same kid to five scouts and you're likely to get five different opinions. just remember that all your son has to do is find one school--he doesn't have to have everyone love him

Welcome to the hsbbweb hitithard - excellent advice imho.

Don't worry too much about the level. There are good players at all levels, D1, D2, D3, NAIA, JUCO. Just as there are good and not-so-good programs at each of those levels. Find a place where your son likes both the school and the program because if he's happy there, it will not matter to him what level it is. At some point, you'll discover which level fits best based on which schools end up recruiting him. But it sounds like he's good enough to play somewhere, and that's the most important thing.