How common is it to get invite to pre draft workout

This is very common. Most HS Seniors have Scouts visit their home at least once, especially before the season begins. They have plenty of time and have to justify their salary by meeting as many kids and their families as possible. 

I know the visits are common, the point of my posst was the invite to the pre draft prospect event?

I would say, yes, and no.  It obviously means your son is really good, or why would they bother taking the next step...

In terms of the number of draft selections over 40 rounds, the number of players invited to a pre-draft workout of 30-50 is not "common." On the other hand, being in the 30-50 does not provide a real assurance of where the prospect is necessarily viewed in the draft selection process by that organization, i.e., it does not equate to rounds 1-5 or anything of that type, necessarily.

Clubs may have several pre-draft workouts in various locations spread out geographically - usually in the weeks before the draft. Locations range from the MLB stadium to local HS fields. Large numbers of the clubs scouting and development department will be there. Being invited is a very good sign because your player has most likely been seen by his area scout and, perhaps a cross checker, durin the season. The workout allows the rest of the brain trust to watch the player in person (as opposed to film).

 

When my S was in HS most of the players who attended his workout were indeed drafted. 

 

I understand your excitement. But, this is just the beginning of what will be a roller coaster of a year. Scouts - and the others - you will speak to during the process will be selling the idea of heading into pro ball straight from HS. Use the next months to really really think and weigh the advantages and disadvantages of that path. The closer you are to draft day, the louder the siren call of pro ball; try to do much of your analysis before the frenzy overwhelms your family's ability to calmly and rationally make a decision. (Just MHO.)

My remarks were "tongue in cheek". Congrats to your sons accomplishments! It is a very good indicator. Have fun and enjoy the ride!

floridafan, I was about to post WHAT do you mean most HS seniors get a visit! LOL

Florida, no worries.

I meant common in that ........it is for this time of year in regards to visiting at the home. I think we are on the same page.

Goose, great input....we may need an advisor.

i really wasn't going down the path of getting an advisor. Advisors can be tricky; not only may a kid run into NCAA issues if one of the mines in the mine field is triggered, but the advisors are hoping to become agents (the primary difference is an agreement which entitles them to a small portion of the players money) and, therefore, tend to tilt towards pushing a kid into pro ball sooner.

 

I was alluding to the weighing process of the myriad of elements which go into a decision to pass up college and head directly into proball. Every couple of years a thread will discuss these elements. There is no right or wrong decision, per se. There is a right and wrong decision for each individual player (in other words, the same elements will be weighed differently by each family thereby leading to a different conclusion for each family).

 

Once the spring HS rolls around the circus begins; dozens of scouts at games, cross checkers, and even higher big wigs will pepper the crowd. All those parents you've grown older with during youth baseball and travel ball will watch with envy; your son may begin to show signs of stress (in the classroom or in the field [thinking - wrongly - that a bad outing/pitch will torpedo his chances]); you will get sucked into that vortex. At that time it is possible to lose perspective (in the short run; but it's only a short run until the draft at that point).

 

It become very difficult to keep your priorities in order (basically education v. Proball). So, begin thinking about those issues now - before the dreams your son has had for a decade seemingly appear at his fingertips.

 

Advisors, scouts and even instructors and his coaches may have the priorities in a different order then does your family. 

 

It it is pretty clear that your son will - absent unforeseen problems - have a choice to make. While it may ultimately be his choice, he is a 17 year old who has no context within which to make this choice. And this choice is life altering (whichever way it goes). That is where a family really matters - the family's collective wisdom helps decide what are the priorities. The time to begin thinking about that is now, while it is relatively quite and calm; in six months your family will be buffeted by some very strong forces.

 

I understand, the advisor comment was based on the premise that if he is drafted and it's high enough to move the needle, we will need insight on the process, do's and don'ts. Believe me, his mom is a teacher and that D1 scholarship he has is like gold....now, if you ask my son, his dream is to play MLB. I think his number and ours are a few digits aparts but if the things you elude to do occur this spring we have told him to enjoy the ride, shoot for a state championship and have fun with your teamates. Regardless of him on the team, we have a few other candidates for the draft and those scouts would be there anyway. Thanks for the advise and insight, thats what keeps me coming back to this board.

Some advisors will want you for the long haul, during recruiting, signing, minor leagues, and hopefully a MLB contract. During recruiting a advisor that is looking out for a kid will help with info to sort out some options like What schools might help the most with your development, who will play Freshman, the right fit and so on. Recently we had an advisor offering some very good off season conditioning programs, and some arm care advise that is currently being used in the big leagues. There are some things that a parent can learn by just talking to these guys. There is a lot of accurate info on here about advisors/agents but it all comes together when you are able to discuss with a guy you trust.

Just a friendly reminder to everyone going through this process...  Every year the draft ends with a small number of happy draft picks while it leaves the vast majority feeling very disappointed.

 

Also, understand that while there are some excellent advisors, there are many others that  will actually provide bad advice.  In those cases, their future is more important than your future.  Make sure you completely trust the person who wants to be your advisor.  Advisors are just like players... Some are much better than others!

This seems easier said than done.  (Trusting an advisor completely.)  Since it is not someone you have probably known for long, and the need for one would have arisen quickly, how would someone be able to trust the advisor completely?  Just doesn't seem like there would be enough time to get to know the advisor on that level. 

rynoattack,

 

That is a good point!  Guess it would be hard to have "complete" trust in most any person.

 

However, research can be done and everyone has a reputation and a history.

 

 

 Since the original post was about a home visit, an advisor might help you prepare for this meeting. Give a kid a idea of what will be asked, and what message to convey to the scouts. I know several families that are being courted by advisors right now, and they all seem to be for a kid going to school, but I guess there are some that don't do this.

The home visit was detailed but the real question had to do with a subsequent invite to a pre draft prospect workout in June 2015 and if that was typical?

Exactly, and your advisor could probably tell you how common and how meaningful this could be depending on your sons status. Obviously the boy's at the top will get a bunch of attention. These guy's know lot's of people and can sometimes get a good feel for what people are thinking. An advisor that visited our house was first given our name by a MLB scout that used to work for their agency. Sometimes it really seems intertwined.

"An advisor that visited our house was first given our name by a MLB scout that used to work for their agency. Sometimes it really seems intertwined."

 

Doesn't a situation/referral of that type raise  "trust" questions and issues which PG and rynoattack both reference?

 I guess it could if you tried real hard to turn it into one.

A bird dog scout see's a kid at a PG event and phones his old minor league teammate (now advisor) hey Skippy, have you ever heard of a shortstop named Clubber Jones? well you might want to look him up because he looks like the real deal!

 

This scenario don't bother me too much, I think that was how we found our septic tank guy too....word of mouth.

 

The first post said the scout used to work for same agency as the adviser he referred to you. Seems like that could raise a number of questions at least for me. Word of mouth for the septic tank would not be the same approach I might want for someone advising a 17-18 year old through the MLB draft process. Getting a referral from a scout which is for an advising/agent he used to work for has some potential things in it which would cause me to be quite careful and cautious, if it were my son or someone I was helping.  Perhaps that is just me.

Having negotiated  with some MLB folks, they mean business. Some can be really smooth and friendly and charming.  Ultimately, they  really mean business and many are really good at what they do, which is get what their team wants and protect the team paying them.

From your posts on the site, my guess is you are far better connected that many(probably most) in terms of who has a reputation for trust and reliability. The septic reference is easier for you because of your involvement with very high quality baseball and players who make the college/draft transition on a regular basis. 

The process of finding a good adviser and after the draft agent can be daunting was all I am saying.

Infielddad, what questions does it raise.

The most obvious is how can a family(parent and player alike) be 100% confident that an adviser recommended by a MLB scout who worked for(maybe with) that adviser is both completely competent and 100% devoted to the player/family? 

I have sent referrals to friends, family, and sometimes to just some old guy that needs a little work. Once in awhile I get something in return maybe a referral or a lead to something that pans out but usually I get nothing. I have even told friends how to get a bid that I missed out on. But this was basically a scout in the midwest who called his buddy on the west coast and said you might want to keep an eye on this kid, I saw it as networking, and not a problem. But I will say again everyone knows everyone in some kind of way.

 

 Now if bird dog scout was writing signing bonus checks, and was able to get the advisor to talk player into excepting much less than his worth. And player was still available in whatever round.....that would be a little sketchy.

Personally, I happen to love that approach to life and to "referrals." Having grown up in MT., and being from a place where ethics and integrity and a person's work and handshake are a reflection of who they are, I wish that was the shared world.

Unfortunately, my view is we live in a big world where ethics and integrity are often compromised by $$$$, the type of $$$$ which exist in the MLB draft.

After watching what happened with 3 of the first 5-6 draft picks of the Astros this Summer, anyone at that level, which the OP sounds like could involve his son, has, perhaps, a different view of "referrals" than the world we would like?
Wish it were not that way.

Just for kicks let's play this out.  Rather than a bird dog, let's say an area scout that really likes a certain kid recommends his friend the advisor who he used to work for.

 

Let's say the player and parents truly trust this agent/advisor.  Then the draft takes place and low and behold the club that scout works for drafts the player.  Now the advisor you trust is giving you advice, over slot, slot money, or less than slot.  The scout, advisors friend, has the job of signing you for the least possible money. If you decide not to sign, the advisor will not get a quick pay day.  

 

Now... Will he work completely on your behalf or will he try to help the scout and the club that scout works for get you for the bargain price?

 

If it is the right advisor you will get good accurate advice.  If it is the wrong advisor you get screwed. Worse yet you might even be elated because you just don't know any better.  You might think your advisor helped you a lot.

 

Of course many agents have friends in the business.  Friends they have known for a long time, long before they ever knew you existed.  It's really important to get with someone good who has the integrity to be completely honest with you.  There really are some out there like that.

 

A quick story that I have told here before. There was a young player from California who one of our scouts saw at a travel team tryout.  We didn't have him in our database at the time, but then put him in the top 200.  We ended up rqnking him much higher later. Several top teams saw the ranking and tried to pick him up at no cost to play in Jupiter.  He told them all he wasn't interested.  So we called him and found out his agent told him if he went to Jupiter he wouldn't get drafted very high.

 

We knew someone else that knew that agent/advisor and he confirmed what we already knew.  In Jupiter pretty much all the best and most well known agents are in attendance. The easiest thing in the world is to change advisors.  So this guy was simply protecting himself rather than giving the player good advice.  He was going to keep this fairly unknown player away from every MLB scouting department so that he could keep him away from all those agents. He would rather have the kid be a 10th round pick with him being his advisor than have him possibly be a first round pick with someone else advising him.

 

There are many good reasons for a player to miss Jupiter.  Injury, rest, school, etc.  but in this case the reason was not in the best interest of that player.

 

Long story short, one week before Jupiter this player did switch advisors and did end up in Jupiter. He ended up being a second round pick and signed. There is no doubt in our mind that he would never have gone that early had he not been in Jupiter.  In fact, both he and his dad would say the same thing today.

 

There are plenty of very good advisors. Just be careful because there are lots of bad ones. There are tons of war stories out there,

Shoveit4ks-thanks for starting this thread

Goosegg & PG Staff - Thank you for great information.

 

Son was invited to 2 of these 2015 workouts and we had many of these questions, appreciate your sharing.

 

It makes you wonder what we don't know if they don't tell you.

More great info....now i'm as confused as ever about advisors. Have had a few emails and conversations with advisors. I know it is crucial to get one that you can trust, i will ask aroud and try to get references, dont be surprised if i ask on here and look for feedback.

We interviewed and/or talked to a 10-12 potential advisors. In our mind, it was much harder than choosing a college. You have to find one that your son is comfortable with. Do you want a larger firm or smaller firm?  Get names from other people in your area that may have used advisors and inquire of them the good and bad of their advisors. Call the college coach/recruiter and pick his brain. Check with your son's select team coach. Check with local college coaches, both 4 yr and 2 yrs schools.See who they represent? Just because they represent Babe Ruth doesn't mean it is a good fit for your son. But it doesn't mean that they aren't either.  Are they pro-college or pro-pro and why? What are their fees?

Find out exactly what they will do or won't do for your son if he signs out of high school? and then if he doesn't sign out of HS, what they will do the next 2-3 years before he is draft-eligible again.

IF they want to do something that may jeopardize amateur eligibility, RUN!

Maybe we just got lucky, I don't know. It is early in the process, though. I will be better able to judge his advisors at the end of next Spring. They have been doing a lot for him. My son is very happy (and so are we) with his choice.

"We interviewed and/or talked to a 10-12 potential advisors"

 

Did any of those contact you first? If you would, could you elaborate a little on how you first were approached by the advisers.

 

Did any of them mention having any prior contact with any of the scouts who looked at your son?

 

 

 

Probably 75% contacted us first. The one my son ended up obtaining was one that we contacted; however, they told us that they would have contacted us 60 days earlier but were "told" that he had already obtained an advisor.

 

I really don't remember how some of them got my son's name. One or more of them was through a relationship with my son's select team or maybe even a college coach on an unofficial visit he took..  I "think" some just saw him pitch somewhere. I know that after my son obtained an advisor, I saw some of the ones he didn't choose at subsequent events. Maybe they had advisees there or maybe they were still fishing for new ones.

 

As to initial contact, I think that I got an email or telephone call or snail-mail from the ones that I did not contact. I will ask my son and wife and see if they remember.

There are 3 players in our area that had mlb scout's come for home visit this fall. Home visit are not a common event for every HS senior. The "area scouts" complie a prospect list from seeing players in his area leading up to their senior year. Most scout's have a top 10 list and normally those are the 10 that will get home visits. The visit usually is followed by a in season private BP session or scout showcase(no charge). It will get really serious(top 10 rounds) when at some point the area scout will have a crosschecker, regional crosschecker and Team GM or Asst GM come to watch the player. Either way a home visit means the player is a top talent and the team is looking to possibly draft the player. Ask questions and enjoy it because there is only a small percentage of players that have home visits and a even smaller percentage that get drafted.

Sorry posted to wrong topic!

Sorry posted to wrong topic

Who in the world would ever use an advisor based on a recommendation from a scout?

IMO this is a complete conflict of interest.  

 

If anyone's player truly is an early draft consideration, advisors will be knocking at the door. To me that is the really true indication that things might be really serious for a chance at proball.

 

Scouts are out this time of year because that is what they do this time of year. Its not uncommon for home visits or an invite to a pre draft work out, but IMO, is a workout with 30-40 others mean the same as a private workout with 3 or 4?

 

All of this stuff is dependent upon a lot of things, the players spring season, his strong college commitment and where he is willing to settle for bonus for the draft.  

I know its confusing but it all will come clear as the draft approaches. Just keep in mind that just because a scout made a visit, really means nothing unless the people above him are truly interested. Take the advice of PG, just because someone is an agent/advisor doesnt mean that he will give YOUR player the right advice.  I have to agree that most likely most out there are out for themselves.  There is something to be said (not good) about the guy who would be willing to take a percentage of a players small signing bonus.  That guy should be advising, go to school first.

 

Just like you would do for college, do your homework on the draft, on anyone who contacts your son.  You do not need an advisor, unless your son will be drafted pretty early.  Sit down with your son and have the conversation, and keep in mind that going pro is a job, its like nothing your son has ever experienced.  Dont take anyone's word that this is an easy process, because it is NOT. As infielddad mentioned, look what happened in last years draft!

 

BTW, ask about the college scholarship plan and make sure that you understand how it works, very important even for those getting drafted after 3 years of college.

 

Nice job RFF, and Goosegg you GET it!

 

Home visits mean that the player MIGHT be consideration for the draft, not necessarily a serious one at this point in time.  Most never get drafted. Best to keep it all in perspective.   Everything is dependent upon the players spring season at this point (for most players not the ones already identified as top round guys).

Met with a local advisor this week and toured their facilities. Learned some insight on the pre-draft invite etc from their perspective. No commitment with them and not sure if we will go down that path. I still believe (using the Imperial) "WE" are behind in this game regarding the draft/position and am not quite sure it will happen or be high enough to matter in June. I believe what most say about the IYBITWC theory with advisors and although there are outliers who make the money rounds from off the radar, i think my son has to do more to disprove some common draft pre-conceived notions about size/durability etc. I know he is pretty excited about spring ball and chasing that 6A championship. If he gets more looks and if the day comes, i believe the right things will happen and i will be significantly more prepared to handle them, thanks to all of you. Happy New Year!

       

Tim,

Once upon a time my son had almost all teams come for home visit. He never got drafted. His projection late in the season went from high pick to 6th-10th round.

The reason being he had a very strong college commitment and most scouts probably recognized that and passed that info onto their clubs. 

I dont beleive that all home visits mean the player is a consideration for a top round pick.  I know a lot of people whose sons had home visits and they were either never drafted or very late. We also live in FL where the draft pool is quite larger than other places.

BTW, the area scout from team that ended up drafting son in second round out of college never visited him. Son had no clue who the scout even was.

 

So when I hear people ask how important this may actually be, it does mean that your son has gained interest from a team but may or may not ever be drafted.

 

I agree that the just when you think that things will happen they wont and just when you think they wont they will.