getting noticed in a small town

Hi and welcome to the site.  I assume by "getting noticed" you mean for the opportunity to play in college? 

 

Typically, there are several elements in play.  A lot depends on where you want to go to college and what your major will be, and of course, your playing ability.  For exposure, you will probably want to try to earn a spot on a reputable travel team that attends events where your target colleges will see you.  You can also mix in some strategic showcases.  Being from a small town may be a factor only in that you may have to travel a bit more to work out with your travel team.  Most college recruiting does not occur at the HS level so that is not a factor.  Most important is that you continue to develop your baseball skills, athletic abilities and GRADES. 

 

You came to the right place.  You can find info here on travel teams, showcases, finding good instruction, developing a good college target plan and how to communicate, timelines, conditioning, speed and agility, velocity, attitude and more.  

 

Give us a bit more info as to what you are currently doing so others can be more specific with their advice.

 

logan:

 

A sophomore with those current measureables will not have any problem getting noticed.  As cabbagedad stated, you will need to get in front of scouts...that happens for the most part in the summer on a good club team.  Whether the schools that become interested in you, are a good fit, is up to your objectives -- school location, degree, baseball program, etc.

 

Attending ONE good PG event with your current velo, and size, as a Sophomore will at least put you on many schools radars.  Most will expect you at least in upper 80's to low 90's by Senior year, which will get you plenty of top looks. 

 

Make sure when you say you are throwing "85 plus" that means you have been clocked on a radar.  I can't tell you how many times I have heard velocity numbers thrown around, that are not even close to accurate.  Even if your 85+ is top velocity, and not normally where you "sit" in games, that is good enough to get you looks right now, especially with your height, and lean build.  I would put you in the classification as -- "Very Projectable" 

Now the big question.....lefty or righty? 

I feel for you, Logan.  I recently moved to from Denver to a small town in Colorado. This town has a population of under 8,000 and, yet, is the largest town for two hours in any direction hours from an interstate. My son is an eight-grader (6' 2" / 170) with a low eighties fastball, so there is a chance he'll be college material by high school. This site is a great resource for figuring out what you need to do. Where exactly you are will determine what your options are. This small town has a great baseball tradition, having put four pitchers in the majors since the 90's and having a small JC that is a baseball powerhouse. Luckily, you are a pitcher which makes it easier. A position player who is a big fish in a small pond will have a hard time convincing scouts or recruiters of his talent, but a pitcher has a much easier time. Get in front of decision makers once or twice by next summer. If you can get the velocity up, 90 is 90 no matter the competition.

Thank you very much.  I have been clocked at 85  a few times from the coach. Coach says it will get better  into the season.  I work very hard and love the game.

righty  

Do you live in Western RI, bc everywhere else in RI is heavily populated. Like everyone else said those are good numbers. Keep up on this site and you will find plenty of guidance.

thank i will keep up

 

My son was in the same situation as you. A solid pitcher that generated outs but top speed as a sophomore was 85. Range was 82-84. He wants to play at the highest level in college. He plays on a quality summer team and did get some interest over the summer and into the fall. He was told by a few coaches he was on their follow list, but was not getting any attention from the schools he wanted to attend. Several people told him and I read on this site several times that an 85 mph righty are a dime a dozen and if he wanted to turn heads he needed to hit 90. After the fall season he made a goal to hit 90 by June. He worked out and threw all winter. He pitched in a game last week and hit 91. A coach was there and word is getting out. Another coach, from his wish list, is coming to his next game.

You need to get on a summer team that will play in front of the schools that you would like to attend. Contact the coaches and give them you schedule. With what you are throwing now and your size you should attract some attention. However, from my sons perspective, the harder you throw the more attention you will generate. Keep working and keep us posted.

If you want to go to a local/state college attend their camp/showcase this Summer. My son got a lot of interest that way and they r now coming to watch him pitch in games. Three came last week. If your on a local summer team and playing near a college you like send coaches e -mails intro yourself and let them know u will be close by and pitching. You will see many local coaches around games/tourn in Summer.

if your interested in far away school u may have to do things diff. good PG showcase is a start to be evaluated.good luck

Don't let the small town situation get you down, we live in literally the most remote area in the US (west side of Kauai), no travel teams, no batting cages, 6k a pop to go to a showcase on the mainland, nothing just great weather year round to practice in. just keep at it and market yourself to the schools you are interested in. and keep the grades up, as my son gets deeper into the process (Sophomore) its becoming more and more apparent how important grades are (he thought a 2100 sat score was good as a soph but after some emails with high academic schools that will not do)

 

One day while practicing with my son at a local park an older gentleman comes up and introduces himself, turns out he is involved in recruiting on the west coast and was on Kauai for vacation and needed a break from his family heh. long story short he liked what he saw, took our information and within 3 days we started getting emails from schools based on what this guy saw over the course of an hour.

 

being someone who loves baseball it was great to see the old adage "if you are good they will find you" is actually alive in some cases. and fate is funny

 

So keep it up and don't let the small town syndrome bring you down.

Mark Rogers (Brewers) is from an island in Maine, population 200. He threw 90 in high school. He attended showcases. He received offers from every major college program in the country. He signed as the fifth pick in the draft out of high school. How much more isolated could a player have been?

 

Amazingly, the Maine high school championship game included Rogers versus Ryan Flaherty (Orioles) and Ryan Reid (Mets). One future MLBer would be unique in Maine. This game had three.

OP.... Hello and best of luck to you... I am sure you will get noticed in your small town. you could be the talk of the town and the counties near by too..

your high school coach will get the word out there too...and when you make the local newspaper... they will hear your name.. and start asking about who you are..

  where do you want to go...  D1 in state, out of state.DII.etc.

what schools do you have in mind....???  go to the camps of that school now and let them know you are interested... go to a showcase via PG... become a big name in your small town...then become a big name in your home state...

 

Best of luck to you...

keep that GPA up too...

Thank you,  I just heard about showcases and will be going this Summer. This web site is awesome you can learn so much.