Graduate HS early?

Since you're asking for opinions, I'd say graduating early to go to the draft with committed intent to get started with professional ball would be a reasonable decision, depending on the individual kid.

Graduating early to to go JuCo route I guess could make some sense, since he could either transfer to a D1 with credits and a year more of maturity as a kid and a ball player... Or could elect to go pro at that point. 

But graduating early to go to a D1 I think could be a mistake. Could be creating issues for him socially and academically. Obviously you know your son well enough to gauge that, but JMO.

I do know of a player (pitcher) that has recently "reclassified" from a 2015 to 2014 to graduate early to attend a top ACC baseball school.  Time will tell if he goes in the draft after high school this June, or starts his college career early.  If he is drafted after 3 years of college, he will only be 20!

Having a college commitment does allow for choices/backup plan, if the dollars aren't there in June.  Reclassifying allowed this player to sign his NLI last November.

It's a very personal decision. Clearly, it carries lots and lots of risks, even with the most talented players. I have seen it done twice. Once (Bryce Harper), it worked out in an amazing way. The other time, not so much. Best of luck in your decision.

Graduating early and going into the minors would have him a seventeen year old competing against twenty one and twenty two year old men. Consider the physical difference. Is your son the equivalent of Bryce Harper?

On the surface it seems the JuCo or college route would be better. The JuCo route opens up year to year options. The four year college route would have him eligible for the draft at age twenty.

Decisions like this require a lot of thinking?  First of all what age is he?  Old, young or average age for his class?

Obviously these type decisions depend on many things. Most of all the talent level and maturity level of your son.  There could be a different thought depending on each individual.

At his age, if he would be considered a top 5 rounder, it's possible, maybe likely, he would be an even higher draft pick a year or more later.  The difference In bonus is great when we are talking about the top rounds.

The other thing to keep in mind is usually those graduating early tend to attend college. Even Bryce Harper spent a year at Juco before he could be drafted. And his was a very unusual case.  

The main thing is to make sure the player is ready for the next level emotionally and athletically.  Many find out they weren't ready without graduating early.  But if all the parts are there, it could end up being a good decision.

Sorry for giving no real advice, but that is impossible without knowing who the player is. And even if I knew who it was, my or anyone else's advice could end up being BAD advice. It's hard to predict the future.

Best of luck

You say he is singularly focused on MLB but also very mature and successful academically... does he have an idea what career he would like to pursue after baseball?  That should factor in heavily in determining which way to advise him.  Remember, an injury can end the baseball path tomorrow.

You might see if your school has a program with the local Jr. college.  In our area, advanced seniors start taking college level course while still in HS. 

You are asking us to give advice not knowing some important facts (age, skill level as asked by PG). How can anyone give an honest opinion without further info on your son?

Interest as a sophomore from top 25 programs does not mean he will be drafted.  You want us to make a recommendation based on where you feel your son might get drafted, that's impossible to tell as a sophomore as things change year to year. 

You have never discussed this with your son so this is your idea?  What does he want to do? If you are afraid he may get caught up in high school trouble its just as easy to do in college or milb. That's why major league teams don't draft high school players earlier than their senior year.  Even then a 17,18 year old in a man's world can be pretty challenging. Even if they appear to be mature.

Unless your son is the next Bryce Harper!  FWIW, Harper lived with his parents as a rookie. Of course one can do that when your son signs for 9-10 million dollars.

50% is a good offer for OF position. Very good offer, there are only 27 scholarships to go around. I am assuming you feel he is worth more?

PG has got it right, most who graduate early go on to play college ball.   Trying to start a professional baseball career graduating as a junior just isn't go to happen. Have you looked to see what a 5-10 round player gets as a signing bonus?

Some seniors do leave half way through their senior year. This is a discussion you can have with college coaches as it would be their decision to allow that opportunity. It was a discussion that son had with his college coach, but they would not pay for that first semester he would begin in Jan, and it cut into his eligibility, though he could have been drafted earlier.  Again, this is an option you can discuss with coaches when they are about to offer your son a scholarship, but I would NOT bring it up before that.

JMO

Sounds like you have a talented player there. He is only a sophmore, so anything can happen. Sounds like everything is riding on being drafted out of HS. Knew a kid in your sons same position. Got offer his soph yr for top 25 team and played on top travel team in country over Summer. Stayed in HS school, and MLB scouts were at most of his games. Had a good yr not great and dropped down in draft, so he went to college and no doubt will get to minors, if he stays healthy. Too much can happen to try and make that big decision as a soph IMO. I'm assuming he's already played Varsity for HS team so he can't transfer schools without losing a yr.  A lot of kids r bored w school, and if he stAys busy w baseball he won't have time to be around wrong crowd?

HS is a time to be a kid, learn social skills, and mature. Sr. Yr can be a good time in a young adults life. 

Before you bring idea to son I would discuss concept w college coaches. Harper was a phenom, and while it worked for him it may not be for everyone. Remember he had issues w maturiy because he was young adult around grown men and he made some dumb decisions while he was learning his way. 

Keep us posted as this is an interesting Topic.

Yes it can, not sure why parents want to rush their kids lives away.

As a senior (committed in sept and all his core classes were done and not involved with another sport) he worked, delivering pizzas. He helped to get his team to a regional, first time in about 6 years. Looking back, not sure that he would have wanted to begin college any earlier.

Keep in mind Harper was a phenom, and way above his peers in his skills.  The option to go JUCO was a good one for him, I don't think it is for most.

In my opinion... Finish school... it takes one injury to end his career so why not take advantage of the chance to get an education? His senior year get a possible draft analysis and see where he would be. If he isn't in the top 5-10 I would go to college for a year and see if he can improve his draft status.

If he is falling into trouble now, while he is living with you and you have some control over him, what makes you think that sending him to live on his own earlier will make a difference? Sit down and have a talk with him and let him know that one bad decision can and will effect the rest of his career. 

My two cents...It sounds like you have talented baseball player and scholar.  It also sounds like your son is ready to move on to new challenges but not sure how to best do that while maintaining options.  With that in mind, I'd probably try to see if my son could graduate early (by 1 year), and make himself eligible for the draft with a top D1 college as a fallback position.  If he doesn't go high enough in the draft, then I'd consider enrolling in a rigorous academic school which also has a top notch baseball team (ie Stanford, Vanderbilt, Virginia) to be draft eligible junior year of college.  This would give him a couple years of skills development and an opportunity to finish his degree before trying to climb the MLB ladder.   I think this approach gives him flexibility, possible college degree and top notch college baseball,  but also keeps that end goal of MLB in mind.   JMO.

Think Fenwaysouth is on the money per usual. It does sound though like even though the player is a stand out student, that he is focused on pursuing MLB maybe above all else? If so then maybe a JuCo year could be a good intermediate step in either direction. Would get the player moving beyond HS which seems to be a goal, and leaves options wide open to the player moving forward. Let's the player continue to develop skills and to continue to mature... plus another year to decide if he wants to pursue a college education or wants to pursue MLB in earnest. If he decides to go D1 route, he has additional playing experience plus credit hours to transfer. Conversely, if he goes directly to a top D1 program and realizes it's not for him... he may be stuck on the bench for a year or two and stuck in the situation for three years. If he decides to go the pro route, injury is always a concern. But if that were to unfortuantely occur, pursuing a college education would still be a viable option. Definitely sounds from the OP like this is a young man with different things to weigh than most.

At this point, it looks like your son is doing all the right things to give himself a lot of options.

He doesn't have to decide anything now.  

Just encourage him to keep working hard at baseball and in school.  A year from now, he'll have more information about likely draft position, the full range of his college options, what is  important to him, and which path seems best for him.

Best wishes,

Best response yet...

Thank you. This is helpful. Clarifications based on feedback:

- Fairly young sophomore. 6'1 or 6'2, runs 6.97, 90 OF velo. Been playing up in summer ball a long time, on varsity as freshman. Not a small school.

- Not close to getting in trouble. The fact that some "friends" (boys he's hung with in the past), are making bad choices pushes him to want to move on, toward his goal.

- Doesn't know or really think about what he wants to do if not baseball, but maintains 4+ GPA with an emphasis in math and science so he's prepared.

- Has no interest in Ivy League schools. Wants to go pro after HS, but knows if not very high draft pick, college may be best. (Aside: thanks to HSBBW and research, I understand the significant difference financially between rounds 1 through 5).

- If college is the path, would likely opt for perennial D-1 contender if offered, putting baseball first, and hopefully continuing to get good grades.

- HS does offer duel credit college courses.

- Skill level: As dad, whatever I say is suspect, so I defer to others. The level of college interest would seem to indicate they think he has very high skill level and potential. Perfect Game seems to agree based on score, written comments at tournaments and invite to Jr. Nationals.

- Haven't discussed this specific possibility (graduating a year early) with him yet, because my wife and I just started discussing, and are getting input from baseball men who know him well, and here. If it seems wise based after gathering advice, will discuss with him.

- He has discussed with us many times how eager he is to move past HS.

"Growing up too fast" is our concern as well. But me and his mom are not him. He's the person Fenwaysouth described: "It also sounds like your son is ready to move on to new challenges but not sure how to best do that while maintaining options."

JMO...Stay in HS, play high level college ball and get a degree. If he is and it sure sounds like he is that talented, all the pro options will be there for him.

Life goes by fast enough,let him enjoy the ride. I still remember moments from HS & college that help shape who you become.

All teenagers make bad choices, it a part of growing up. As parents, we can only hope that they have learned to limit the mistakes. 

Just my two cents!

anotherdad- This is a very interesting topic, and I am glad to have stumbled upon it. I think your son's situation is actually a bit more common than some realize, and I agree with the posters above that you are taking all the right measures toward making a rational, fitting decision.

There have been a few instances with which I am familiar of people leaving high school early in the past, with various degrees of success. During my time with the Washington Nationals, we drafted a player in the 3rd round by the name of Drew Ward, who made the decision to forego his senior year of high school. Drew was old for his class, being already 18 by the time the draft rolled around. He was committed to attend the University of Oklahoma if he was not tendered a signing bonus offer that would have swayed him to turn professional. In speaking with Drew and his family, it was very obvious that they spent a lot of time deciding the right action for Drew. Once the decision was made, they informed everyone involved in the process (college coach, advisor, pro scouts, etc.) of their intentions. 

Another player with whom I've had interaction, Trevor Bauer, left high school early to enroll at UCLA. Trevor's decision was heavily rooted in academics, as he was interested in studying engineering. While I don't know for sure, I have seen interviews and heard that there was a social element to the decision as well. Nonetheless, he is another example of an extremely bright young man who put a lot of time and effort into this decision. Upon reaching his junior season, Trevor was 20 years old and therefore a year younger than the majority of the other players in his collegiate draft class.

Every case is different and every person is going to take a different path. I'm impressed with the work you and your family have done thus far in ensuring the decision is the right one. As noted above, I do believe that the time you have from now until the decision must be made is valuable and should be enjoyed. If you have any questions specifically, feel free to PM me. 

Also keep in mind that Harper went the JuCo route because he didn't finish HS early - he quit and got a GED. he wasn't eligible for the MLB draft or he would have gone straight in. As mentioned above, though, his stock could rise. I would say if he looks like a first rounder, go for it. You might think about it if he looks high 2nd. Past that, you have to believe he could considerably increase his stock with another year.

Also keep in mind that the following eligibility rules apply (unless they changed recently):

"Graduating high school seniors, all junior college players, players that have completed their third year of college, and players that have turned 21 years of age within 45 days of the draft. College players that have dropped out of school can apply for the draft by writing the Baseball Commissioner's Office no later than March 20."

My son is a freshman LHP/OF at the Div 1 level.  He is in a chemistry lab right now as I type.  He will leave the lab, go pitch in a scrimmage, then return to a bio lab later this evening.  He grew up in a baseball coach's house and understands the importance of education first and then baseball.  He has seen too many of my former players injured or have short pro careers in his lifetime.  He made the Dean's list in the fall and is in pre-med.  I'm writing this to say that if a kid wants it bad enough, he can be successful on the field and in the classroom.  If things don't work out in the pro ranks, he falls back on his degree in Optometry.  Not a bad safety net.  I hope this helps.  I'm tired of watching parents and kids live the 'dream' and get smacked in the face with reality.  I am not doubting your son's ability at all!  There is nothing wrong with having your cake and eating it too. 

I've never seen an official explanation from the Harpers, but I will speculate that there were two overriding objectives: 1. enter the draft as early as possible  2. lock up the #1 pick.

According to published reports, Bryce left high school after his sophomore year, and played his JUCO baseball in the SWAC (a wood bat conference). He was 17 1/2 years old during his spring season at College of Southern Nevada.

Doesn't sound like the OP is considering an option where his son doesn't get his HS diploma.

Fun stuff.

No, it didn't sound like he was. It's no secret that Harper's plan was specifically to make himself eligible for the draft.  But he would either have had to finish high school or wait three years, but used the fact that all JC players are eligible. I think we'd all admit that his was a unique case. He was a guaranteed top draft pick with enough signing money to set him up for life even if he never played a game. Not many guys fall into that catagory. However, I can't imagine not doing it if I had been in Harper's shoes.

Not getting a HS diploma is absolutely not an option.

He's not Harper, in many more ways that one.