Exposure Question

My inital answer would be no. That may be tempered however by whether he is just another face in the crowd of a very good team, or if his skills are easy to spot.

He will not get an individual evaluation of his talent at a WWBA event such as East Cobb or Ft Meyers. If he is interested in getting evaluated by the PG staff and then see what they think of him he should do at least one of these events. Personally it was one of the best things my son ever did. It opened up alot of options outside of our area even though he stayed close to home to play in college. Its a great way to see how you stack up in this type of venue. And its a great way to see what PG staff actually thinks of your abilities.

I struggled with that for a couple years and decided to have my guy attend a major event just to get his 60 times down on paper and get his arm and glove seen. As a player during a game a position player may not get a chance to "showcase" these tools when scouts are present during a game. We did it and are happy that we did. It is always a fun event and after spending as much as many of us already have, you may as well get this type event checked off the list as well!

It's never a bad to be seen by people who know something and you want to impress. It's bad to assume that the people you want to impress have seen you.

As long as you can afford it and pull off without too many hassles - go for it. You will never look back and think "man I wish I hadn't went to that PG thing".

I am not sure which team your son plays with however I do know there are a few travel teams in NJ that will do an excellent job of putting your son in front of the right people.

While I don't know if it's necessary,I would still suggest he attend an individual showcase his junior year. I think one of the hardest things to determine is where your son may fit in the college baseball spectrum. The information gained from getting an unbiased evaluation could help him better understand where to target his college search. A good showcase in our area is called Selectfest. Selectfest is an by invitation event however if your high school or travel coaches feel you warrant an invitation they can help you get an invite. Even if you can get into Selectfest I would still suggest getting to a PG event.

I can only speak from our personal experience however aside from the evaluation, PG certainly opened some doors for my son that I doubt would have been opened if they weren't involved. Aside from that, attending a PG showcase with my son was one of the best trips we ever had together.

I see we are from the same state, if I can help you feel free to send me a PM.

Good luck.

jerseydad you have a PM

reply sent fillsfan

My son is a rhp/1b throwing low to mid 80s and is attending an underclass PG event. What is the advantage/disadvantage or even difference between that and a top prospect event? Both are held the same weekend at the same venue.

Your son is a 2011---look at the title of the events----don't rush the process

quote:

My son is a 2011 6'5 200lb rhp/1b throwing low to mid 80s and is attending an underclass PG event. What is the advantage/disadvantage or even difference between that and a top prospect event? Both are held the same weekend at the same venue.

By having both at the same venue one would think they would get more people (players, coaches, and scouts) in one place. Some see more people in one place as an advantage AND some see it as disadvantage.

gamefan, I'm pretty sure Top Prospect events are "Invite Only" -- they are largely populated with kids who have performed very well at prior PG 'unedrclass' events......or who may come with a referral from a known and well-respected scout or coach.

quote:

wait for one more year, let your son crack up his pitching speed to about 88-90 mph. Then you probably will have a PG score 9.5-10.

I have to disagree with kbat2012. There are many players that never reach 88-90 that go on to play college baseball. This is NOT about getting a score from PG. This is about getting exposure! Besides once you reach the 90's everybody seeks you out.

I also am confused with the statement: Underclassman PG event is not very competitive
Again this is not about being competitive -- this is about being seen. Trust the scouts and the college coaches. They can find talent. That's their job!
Fungo

PG will invite you to Top Prospect based on the criteria I mentioned. They don't give a rat's arse about any questionnaires. If they don't know you, or know someone whom they trust to refer you, you probably aren't getting into a PG TP event.

I agree with Fungo disagreeing with kbat's advice.

There is no competition in a showcase, the player attends to find out how he falls in the scheme of things among his peers and where his skills fall as far as college recruiting and professionally. The rating you receive is also based on future potential. The player also gets a chance to get some added exposure (what this post is about) he might not find otherwise.

You don't say your son's position. I think that makes a big difference.

I love those WWBA tourneys, but let's face it, they are pitcher-centric. If your son's a pitcher, he can get all the PG reports they need to evaluate him in his WWBA appearances.

But if he's a position player, they need to see him doing his skills work, they need to time him running, they need to see him in BP, etc. If you think your boy could make enough of an impression to get an invitation to PG National, a showcase now could pay a lot of dividends next summer.

Why? They wanted to see where they stacked up and they found out. Whats wrong with that? Is there profile going to matter if they throw 75 as a senior? Its alot better to go and know than to stay and pray. Go and find out where you stack up in the big scheme of things. Or stay around home and pray it all works out.

If these kids work hard and improve and go to another event then their ratings will improve.

I took my son to an underclass event the summer after his freshman year in hs. I wasnt worried about his rating or his profile. He wanted to see what PG thought. He wanted to see where he stacked up against the rest.

Let me tell you there are a ton of local baseball heros that as freshman throw 75 and they are proclaimed the next Nolan Ryan. Getting out and seeing that you have a whole lot of work to do is not a bad thing. Unless you are afraid of knowing the truth.

Unrealistic parents dont have to be unrealistic parents. They can be informed parents. And the players can be informed players. Then they can see where they need to get to. And then they have some choices to make. I would rather know than hope.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach May:

Unrealistic parents dont have to be unrealistic parents. They can be informed parents. And the players can be informed players. Then they can see where they need to get to. And then they have some choices to make. I would rather know than hope.

Thanks Coach. You just saved me from a LOT of typing!

The tournaments being "pitcher-centric"----I think not---without the "gloves" behind them the pitchers become eccentric

kbat,
My son's first showcase was as a junior. We and he did not feel the need for him to showcase before that time because of other events that he had participated in and living here in FL. He had added exposure others don't often get. The only reason we took him, was for him to see how he stood as a 2004 RHP among other 2004 RHP (underclassman). But that was our decision and Coach May makes some great points.

Why mention about freshman showcasing anyway, fillsfan's son is a junior, good time to add a showcase or two to those WWBA tourneys. As in son's case, he attended the southeast underclass (not top prospect showcase) which led to an invite to the PG National Showcase, which opened up a lot of opportunities.

Have you ever been to a PG showcase?

This is why I love this forum.

PG is the biggest pond we could think of to find out where our son ranks with others who have potential - or at least hope they do.

So, I guess the goal is to find out if he gets an invite to the national showcase?

We listed him as a rhp/1B - does he get to show both positions?

kbat,
I realize your intentions, but in order to get to a PG National event (or top prospect) you have to have had some prior exposure for them to invite you to other top events to give you better exposure. You can't get an invite to their top events by just filling out the questionaire. They will do their homework if they are not familiar with you as a player (see Krak's comment).
As far as the comment about it being a Con (not having scouts at showcases) there were very few scouts at son's first showcase, but there where PG SCOUTS there, who rated him and along with his performance at the WWBA in Jupiter extended an invite to the PG National.
You are making assumptions on what you are reading, maybe it's time to attend to find out what it's all about, so you can give better advice from experience.

Thanks everyone for your responses. After reading them I think it would be best for him to attend at least one showcase.
My son is primarily an outfielder who can play third and does pitch some. I think he needs to be seen and evaluated individually at a showcase, then possibly observed at a WWBA event.

Special thanks to jerseydad. His son, who most of you know, played in the same organization as my son and gave me some good advice. If my son can garner a tenth of the attention his son had we would be thrilled.

I agree with CM. It's a good move to go and see how your son compares with others. We as parents always want the best for our childern so knowing what level our boys are capeable of playing at makes for happy campers all the way around. What better way to find out than getting an unbiased oppinion. We attended 2 Perfect Game events (Indoor Pitcher/Catcher, and Pre-Draft) during my sons Sr. year and my only regret was not doing it sooner. PG host a well run event with lots of exposure and plenty of fun for all parties involved. I would highly recommend any of these events to anyone.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach May:
Why? They wanted to see where they stacked up and they found out. Whats wrong with that? Is there profile going to matter if they throw 75 as a senior? Its alot better to go and know than to stay and pray. Go and find out where you stack up in the big scheme of things. Or stay around home and pray it all works out.

CM,
I'm sure you'll correct me if I'm wrong, but your son was always a top talent on his team. He was probably on par or above average physical maturity for his age.

Then you come to examples like my son. An average pitcher with flashes of something better. Physically immature for his age, which is a family trait of being late bloomers. No point in seeing where he stacks up, because the deck is going to get shuffled by the time he matures.

It's not a stay and pray mentality, it's a "it really doesn't matter yet" mentality. When it does matter, then it's time to go.

As to the original question, where the player was going to a number of PG events including Jupiter, but not a showcase where the player would be publicly evaluated, he would still recieve an evaluation and ranking from PG. Coaches and scouts and premuim subscribers have access to that information. My son never went to a PG showcase, but was ranked nationally by PG after Jupiter. It just wasn't published publicly on their website.

There is a difference between parents wanting to know, and coaches getting the skinny on a player. fillsfan's son would still be evaluated and his information known to coaches without a showcase evaluation.

quote:

Originally posted by kbat2012:
TPM, I don't think "had some prior exposure" to some PG events is the only way to get an Invite to the PG National. What about your high school Stats?
Your performance in the high profile HS games?...etc.

Kbat,
My son attended PG National many years ago. I do not think he would have gotten an invite if he hadn't attended a PG wood bat or the underclass showcase.
Times have changed, there are many players now attending PG wood bat tourneys and showcases. This would mean, possibly that a pitcher throwing in teh 90's only in hS may have a tougher time getting "exposure" these days, what this topic was all about.
The only one who can answer those questions qwould be from PGStaff, hopefully he may find this and comment.

IMO, you'll get an invite through exposure and that might mean attending a showcase (not necessarily PG) or top woodbat tourney.

As a soph in HS, son tried out for USA baseball team and made the cut for the tryouts in Houston.There he played with and against several players that are now MLB players (they were 2003's he was 2004). That was his way of learning how he saw himself in relation to some of the top prospects in the country. That opened a lot of doors, but most likely if he hadn't done that, we would have sent him to a showcase as a sophmore, just for him to see how he did compared to others. That, IMO, is one of the most important reasons to attend a showcase and to have someone else evaluate your talent besides mom and dad and the pitching or hitting coach that your folks pay tons of bucks to.

If he relied on evaluating himself compared to his teammates on the HS team, he would have considered himself the next first pick of the draft . High school ball is very deceiving in the large scheme of things. It's only one piece of the pie and for many, just a slice. Showcases and tourneys attended by top prospects put things in perspective, the good with the bad.

kbat,

Please contact Jim Arp in our office. I'm sure he will honestly answer all your questions. We probably see more players than anyone, but we do not see them all.

quote:

Originally posted by kbat2012:
[CPLZ, You are way too humble

Here is the truth about your son:

Kbat,
I should have given a better explanation. My comments regarding my son were when he was a soph/Jr in HS. He has matured and gotten better since then, which is sort of my point. I was attempting, albiet feebly, to show a contrast between the known top players and the players yet to grow into their own. The ranking of my son as a sophomore would have been quite different than the ranking of my son as a senior. It wouldn't have benifitted anyone to "know where he stands" at a young age because it was all going to change so drastically. (known family genetics)

Thanks for the compliments. Best of luck to you.