Exposure for top talent?

Dadofa17,

I think the answer was at the bottom or PGStaffs post here :

........."But if your son has a lot of talent we want to see it. Doesn't matter if it is a PG event or another event that we scout, like the Area Codes, East Coast Pro, Tournament of Stars, etc."

and here:

....."Also, for the record, a very large number of these kids will end up at the big showcase events. PG National, Tournament of Stars, East Coast Pro, Area Codes. Some might even end up in the PG All American game that is televised each year and has over 70 players already who have made their MLB debut."

My son attended a couple of these events with his travel team.   The amount of talent at these national events is jaw dropping.  He quickly realized that his future was in academics.   It is very difficult to stand out.  If your son stands out, then your son has significant baseball talent.  Good luck.

Dad-

I will say it depends.  If he is a position player I would say wherever you can find the best competition in the country he should play and play a lot.

My son's team has a pitcher that is one of the top 5 2016 pitchers in the country as ranked by PG.  Committed to a historical top 10 program as a freshman this past spring.  I would say it would be hard to argue with what his dad has done.

He has never pitched in the fall and is not pitching in the fall this year (too bad because we have been in position to win some PG events this fall-selfish ).  Starts his throwing program late November or early December.  Pitches in spring and summer and repeats.

So far not pitching has not hurt him in the eyes of the baseball community.  Advisers always try to get him to pitch when they are there but to his dad's credit he holds fast and says not today.

As one gets to junior and senior year I think that schedule would change as you want to be seen by the pro decision makers as much as you can.

Good luck

My suggestion for those that are among the most talented at the high school level.... You don't need to go to every event... Go to the events that have lots of players that are among the most talented. Play on the teams that have the most talent and play against the most talent. After all, if you are one of the best, decision makers want to see you.  Where you see the most talent, you will find the most high level decision makers.

Think of it this way... When you see someone promoting that they can guarantee X number of college coaches and scouts, what does that mean?  It probably means they need to pay those coaches or scouts to be there.  Nothing wrong with that, but that is not an event for the most talented player.  

Every MLB club has Crosscheckers. To over simplify what they do, they are the ones that see the top prospects in one area scouts territory so they can compare him to the top prospects in another area scouts territory. That is is a very expensive project requiring lots of travel.  Then they don't have the luxury of seeing those prospects playing with and against each other.  So when there is a single event that has most all of the top players... Think about all the advantages for a Crosschecker, not to mention the money saved.  These highest talent level events are where you see the most scouts and recruiters. It is where you see the most Scouting Directors and Crosscheckers.  So the most talented players should look fort the places where scouts and recruiters pay to see you, not where they get paid to see you.

How do you know which events have the most talent? Do a little research! Don't pay attention to anything other than the facts.  Check out those who are drafted early and see what they did.

There are good regional showcases, and there are good National events. The very best prospects seem to go to certain events each year.  So if your son is at that level, that's is what he should think about doing.  At the risk of missing one, here are the National showcase type events that are scouted the heaviest.

in order of when they are held during the year...

Perfect Game National Showcase

USA Baseball TOS

East Coast Pro Showcase

Area Codes

Perfect Game All American Classic

Under Armour AllAmerican Game

PG Underclassmen

PG World Showcase

among the most scouted national tournament events.

WWBA and BCS national tournaments

World Wood Bat Championship Jupiter

Connie Mack

actually there are some regional events that draw lots of scouts, too.

Anyway, all the extremely talented player has to do is check the past.  What did those players do? Don't listen to me or anyone else, find out for yourself.  Of course, there is one other problem, those national events are not easy to get into.  You have to be invited.  In order to be invited you have to be seen.  Sometimes this all starts at the local or regional level or at one of the high level tournaments. But once you are invited and attend these type events there is no limit to what can happen.  At that point it is all up to you and the scouting/recruiting community. You will not be one of those that need to market yourself.  If you are one of the best everyone that can make a decision involving your future will know who you are.  Get ready to be bombarded by agents/advisors and invitations.