2013,
As MidloDad pointed out, there is a legitimate benefit to having a favorable ranking. I can certainly see why someone would pursue it.
On the other hand, there are poor reasons for desiring a high ranking, as you have pointed out.
While I understand your opinion that people should just be happy that their son is desired, I can't blame anyone for wanting to raise their sons exposure or profile to better their opportunities for baseball and life.
In my sons case, a favorable evaluation at a minor showcase opened up the recruiting floodgates. Sometimes little things mean a lot.
I think we have all assisted in the success of standup's original plan......his goal was to have his son noticed by Perfect Game. I think his mission is accomplished. 
quote:Originally posted by cheapseats:
I think we have all assisted in the success of standup's original plan......his goal was to have his son noticed by Perfect Game. I think his mission is accomplished.
I don't have any evidence that there was that much forethought put into his effort.
CPLZ i understand your point and I agree to an extent. It just seems that standup is too consumed with the ranking. By way of example, 2013 son is a good ball player, but certainly not a PG 9 or 10, not to mention a ranked player. We are going to attend Underclass Showcase in St. Pete in December. We shall see how he rates. But whatever it is, I'll be ok with it, because I will know he did all he could, and if that means he gets a 6, so be it. You won't find me here complaining that my son did this better and that better than some kid who got an 8. I understand "standing up" for your son is an honorable thing, but you can go too far to the point you lose credibility. I truly wish standup jr all the success in the world, as I do every jr. here on this site.
quote:Originally posted by 2013 Dad:
CPLZ i understand your point and I agree to an extent. It just seems that standup is too consumed with the ranking. By way of example, 2013 son is a good ball player, but certainly not a PG 9 or 10, not to mention a ranked player. We are going to attend Underclass Showcase in St. Pete in December. We shall see how he rates. But whatever it is, I'll be ok with it, because I will know he did all he could, and if that means he gets a 6, so be it. You won't find me here complaining that my son did this better and that better than some kid who got an 8. I understand "standing up" for your son is an honorable thing, but you can go too far to the point you lose credibility. I truly wish standup jr all the success in the world, as I do every jr. here on this site.
2013, I think the problem most see here is that standup's kid has not attended any PG showcases. And from the looks of it, only attended one PG event - the Jupiter event. Most people here are saying that if you want a true evaluation and possibly a ranking, get the player in front of those who make those decisions. He should attend a PG showcase and get himself on a team that plays in more high profile events. To be noticed, you have to get in front of those whose notice will matter.
bballman,
I completely agree with that statement. Hence, 2013 Son going to St. Pete in December
I completely agree with that statement. Hence, 2013 Son going to St. Pete in December
Good choice. I think if your kid is any good at all and aspires to play at the next level, at least one PG showcase is in order. Good luck to your son!!
Get good grades, play and work hard on your baseball skills. Go to some showcases and college camps and forget about rankings.....don't fall into the ego quagmire of comparing players. There is always someone bigger, faster, stronger, smarter or better looking.
Most of us that visit this site daily & regularly know the feedback and advice is excellent and honest. This thread was no exception. PG, you did your best! This was a very interesting read with way too much drama...definetly memorable. I really hope the OP will follow through with the advice given, because his son appears to have talent.
It reminded me of quote about statistics I read not too long ago: "He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts—for support rather than for illumination."
It reminded me of quote about statistics I read not too long ago: "He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts—for support rather than for illumination."
My son is a 2012 kid. His stats do not fly off the page. He has plus power. He had a great summer, and has been playing scout ball this fall also. He just accepted a verbal offer to a D1 program. We learned a lot in the process. I firmly believe it is not about stats and rankings, it is what that particular college coach is looking for in that specific recruiting class. They have holes to fill, and our son happend to fit perfectly. They really look at attitude, work ethic and grades - and is your son projectable.
Keep swinging it...
Keep swinging it...
quote:Originally posted by fenwaysouth:
It reminded me of quote about statistics I read not too long ago: "He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts—for support rather than for illumination."
Outstanding!
A kid from our HS conference was at one of those pitcher's bootcamps with my son a couple weeks ago. His HS stats last season as a junior pitcher weren't very good. ERA, WHIP, K/9, you name it.
He and my son long tossed at the camp and I saw the kid do some throwing drills into a net. That was it. The kid is in the 2011 CA draft rankings. It was clear that he deserves to be in the rankings. I can't tell you if he's going to be a successful HS pitcher in the Marmonte league this coming season, but I can tell you he's got serious potential and the scouts will be showing up at his games.
Stats mean very little.
He and my son long tossed at the camp and I saw the kid do some throwing drills into a net. That was it. The kid is in the 2011 CA draft rankings. It was clear that he deserves to be in the rankings. I can't tell you if he's going to be a successful HS pitcher in the Marmonte league this coming season, but I can tell you he's got serious potential and the scouts will be showing up at his games.
Stats mean very little.
i would echo Sdlefty's comments for Chinny Jr. He will sign early next week with DII who has had him on their watch list since 2008. Never have they asked for stats, nor have we offered them. Jr. did go to a PG Showcase- but did not particularly stand out at it. I have know way of knowing whether the DII ever logged on to PG to check him out. They liked mechanics, size, and upside potential (and grades were not going to be and issue). He did go to DII's evaluation camp this summer and performed well. Bottom line, someone has to NEED a player, they have to LIKE what they have SEEN of that player, and the payer has to feel it is a goo FIT for him.
Stats even at the college level are really not a good judge of a kid's ability and do not tell the whole story. It is really a moot point if the kid can't make grades in the fall- because he will never see the field come Spring! Every year top recruits end up inelligible due to academic reasons...But they had might impressive stats back in the sophmore year in High School! What does it matter?
Stats even at the college level are really not a good judge of a kid's ability and do not tell the whole story. It is really a moot point if the kid can't make grades in the fall- because he will never see the field come Spring! Every year top recruits end up inelligible due to academic reasons...But they had might impressive stats back in the sophmore year in High School! What does it matter?
I've kept my mouth shut the remainder of this thread and decided it'd be best to be an onlooker rather than getting involved. I've learned a lot from everyone who has posted here. As a college player who is looking at his future and possibly considering going into some sort of coaching aspect, this sort of thread helps get a gauge of what some things coaches deal with everyday are out there
quote:Originally posted by standup:
b]What are recommendations for non ranked players becoming ranked?[/b]
I have to agree with cheapseats, there was a purpose to the OP's topic. The question could have been asked without all of the links, and standup already knew from other topics the value of attending PG events.
Early signing is just around the corner, I sense some frustration from startup that there just hasn't been enough interest. I asked a question twice and never received an answer. With all these unbeleivable tournaments, were these events not attended by scouts, coaches to watch players? Are these really events that bring those that the player needed to be in front of?
I know there is talent in OK, the cards 2007 first pick is from OK, along with other players from there as well. True the depth isn't there, but there is talent. I don't hink that anyone was disputing that fact and giving info on other players, IMO is just meaningless.
For parents just setting out on the recruiting road, lots of good stuff here, lots of do's and do not's, most I am sure can figure it out for themselves. In our case, attending a perfect game showcase was not about achieveing a high ranking or rating. My opinion is that what is important is what the player learns and takes away from the experience to improve his game, even the 9 and 10's have something to learn about themselves and what to work on. If you approach it with that in mind, and not worry about where your son is ranked, your experience will be so much more pleasant then eating your heart out that there are other players out there who are touted as better and yours hits better, pitches better, plays better competition, etc., etc.
Remember, it's not how we view our players, but how others view them and how they view themselves and I am pretty sure most couldn't care less about most (ratings, rankings, stats) of what we do.
TPM
You have flushed me out of retirement.
As he kindly acknowledged I originally posed my question to PGSTAFF privately twice about a week apart but unknowingly did so at a time that was understandably inconvenient for him. Had it been a more convenient time the post would have never been made.
. Around here nobody even considers early signing for guys that just entered their junior year in high school. Even the recent Marlins MLB draftee Realmuto didn’t commit to OSU until the fall of his senior year as everyone does locally.
Sorry I didn’t answer your repeated question. I guess I missed it while attempting to address the 50 or 60 posts. As for the tournaments played in my son doesn’t pick them and just goes as part of the team. He is fortunate his coach makes a great schedule. I have met a couple of juco coaches at those events that told me they thought he could play and gave me their card and later reviewed his videos before calling me to express verbal interest. No tournaments compare to PG’s visibility from what I’ve seen. Though it is no big deal 29 college coaches have been in communication with my son including a half dozen personal emails and phone calls. You can see on his page that 62 coaches have viewed his profile and they all send questionnaires and camp invitations. At his favorite D1 School, he loves the coaches and they seem to really like him. I have never met them and stay out of the way. They have seen him almost every week this fall when he was not traveling.
I have been positive about all of the players mentioned and they were mentioned only because another poster questioned the quality of the pitching.
When I see undrafted guys like Brendan McCurry from Roff Oklahoma hit 130 homeruns in high school including 47 in 72 games and play for the Elk City Travelers with an ERA of 1.01 and twice as many extra base hits as strikeouts in a season, I have no illusions about my son’s (or most anyone’s) future in baseball but that’s what he loves to do and its taught him a lot of good life lessons.
It is pretty obvious to me that a PG ranking is valuable to a player, particularly if they develop to the point they are draft quality at the end of high school. Like many have said it’s not what you do but what they see u do and the endorsement of the most respected scouting service is a huge deal even if some guys can make it without it. The flip side is even with it you have to perform or it doesn’t matter. By the way, there is a PG nationally ranked 2011 player on his own team that my son beat out at 3rd base and I guess if I had made the comparison with him I would have had to add the other two returning senior players to the comparison because between the 3 of them combined had no homeruns and about a third of his extra-base hits in the same 28 games. But we all know now that is not what is important though it does explain my question on rankings.
You have flushed me out of retirement.
As he kindly acknowledged I originally posed my question to PGSTAFF privately twice about a week apart but unknowingly did so at a time that was understandably inconvenient for him. Had it been a more convenient time the post would have never been made.
. Around here nobody even considers early signing for guys that just entered their junior year in high school. Even the recent Marlins MLB draftee Realmuto didn’t commit to OSU until the fall of his senior year as everyone does locally.
Sorry I didn’t answer your repeated question. I guess I missed it while attempting to address the 50 or 60 posts. As for the tournaments played in my son doesn’t pick them and just goes as part of the team. He is fortunate his coach makes a great schedule. I have met a couple of juco coaches at those events that told me they thought he could play and gave me their card and later reviewed his videos before calling me to express verbal interest. No tournaments compare to PG’s visibility from what I’ve seen. Though it is no big deal 29 college coaches have been in communication with my son including a half dozen personal emails and phone calls. You can see on his page that 62 coaches have viewed his profile and they all send questionnaires and camp invitations. At his favorite D1 School, he loves the coaches and they seem to really like him. I have never met them and stay out of the way. They have seen him almost every week this fall when he was not traveling.
I have been positive about all of the players mentioned and they were mentioned only because another poster questioned the quality of the pitching.
When I see undrafted guys like Brendan McCurry from Roff Oklahoma hit 130 homeruns in high school including 47 in 72 games and play for the Elk City Travelers with an ERA of 1.01 and twice as many extra base hits as strikeouts in a season, I have no illusions about my son’s (or most anyone’s) future in baseball but that’s what he loves to do and its taught him a lot of good life lessons.
It is pretty obvious to me that a PG ranking is valuable to a player, particularly if they develop to the point they are draft quality at the end of high school. Like many have said it’s not what you do but what they see u do and the endorsement of the most respected scouting service is a huge deal even if some guys can make it without it. The flip side is even with it you have to perform or it doesn’t matter. By the way, there is a PG nationally ranked 2011 player on his own team that my son beat out at 3rd base and I guess if I had made the comparison with him I would have had to add the other two returning senior players to the comparison because between the 3 of them combined had no homeruns and about a third of his extra-base hits in the same 28 games. But we all know now that is not what is important though it does explain my question on rankings.
quote:Originally posted by standup:
By the way, there is a PG nationally ranked 2011 player on his own team that my son beat out at 3rd base and I guess if I had made the comparison with him I would have had to add the other two returning senior players to the comparison because between the 3 of them combined had no homeruns and about a third of his extra-base hits in the same 28 games. But we all know now that is not what is important though it does explain my question on rankings.
I realize you aren't looking for advice anymore, however, I want to caution you about making negative comments or comparisons to your son's current HS teammates. Downgrading teammates stats or skills (even if your comments are 100% true) to build your son up is unwise.
As others have mentioned...the baseball circles are very, very small. It would be very easy for these comments to get back to your sons teammates, their parents or to one of the 8 baseball coaches at EMHS, neither of which would be helpful for your son's HS baseball season. I saw this very scenario play out in the Texas forum a few years ago and it was very public and left some hard feelings between dads of players on the same HS team.
As other have mentioned, let your sons play speak for itself...
There is a whole world of wonderful high school base ball players that don't ever hit a homerun or have many extra-base hits. In fact the majority don't. There are very, very few high school players that have more extra-base hits than strikeouts. The great thing is all your friends and coaches that have known u for years aren't offended if you score 40 points per game in basketball or a third of the team's runs in baseball and they would be the first ones to acknowledge the reality of that.
Yep, your right, I don't even know why they let the other 4 players out on the basketball court or the other 8 players out on the baseball field. 
standup,
I know a few kids who were injured, didn't get along with their coach, were young for their grade, etc. and didn't put up all that great of stats in HS. They were ranked by PG and went on to do well in college or pro ball. Do you realize you are insulting those kids with your comparisons?
I know a few kids who were injured, didn't get along with their coach, were young for their grade, etc. and didn't put up all that great of stats in HS. They were ranked by PG and went on to do well in college or pro ball. Do you realize you are insulting those kids with your comparisons?