Coletrain14 posted:My son is a very young 14. He is just now beginning to grow.
My son was 5’4” 120 at fourteen.
PG scores are based on perceived potential not age. If a 6’ 14yo throws 80+ he’s going to get a very high score. The evaluators picture a future 6’2” 16yo throwing 90.
GaryMe posted:Here's a little perspective. My son had a former major leaguer at his high school team practice yesterday. I won't say the name of the player, but they don't come any bigger. The message this guy sent to the kids was interesting. My son said he told the team he actually felt bad for them, because for their college recruiting, it's now tougher because there is so much emphasis on statistics and measurable like velocity, exit velo, etc. He said there is so much emphasis on that stuff, and not enough on seeing if a guy can really play baseball. He said he played football and basketball at his high school as well, didn't pick up a baseball until spring. In the pros, he said some guys were late bloomers and really didn't show what they really could do until they were 25-26 years old. Today, they would not be in the game any longer. Basically, he told them getting recruited for a chance to play in college is much HARDER now, as opposed to when he came up. Interesting, we think kids have more opportunities, but here is a guy who is saying all this stuff makes it harder.
That said, I remember a couple years ago my son went to a local D1 college camp, and the head coach addressed the players and parents at the start of the camp. He mentioned he would be letting a few guys that he did not recruit go because they were "showcase" players and their skills did not show up in game situations.
Yes, it's important to know what pond to fish in, but you don't really need to go to a showcase or spend a ton of money traveling to the largest tournaments to see where that may be. Get a local coach with good credentials who will give you an objective assessment of your kid's talent.
That was well thought out Gary. I have to throw a caveat in there that I think you were talking about D1 schools. The funny thing is, players were drafted from D1, D2, D3, NAIA, and Juco last year.....so there are options other than D1, just not sure the kids remember that when they list Power 5 on their PG profile.
RJM posted:PG scores are based on perceived potential not age. If a 6’ 14yo throws 80+ he’s going to get a very high score. The evaluators picture a future 16yo throwing 90.
What’s very high? My son was 5’11 and 80mph and he got an 8. I don’t consider that “very high” but his measurables were in the 90+ percentile for his age. At 16 he throws 91 and has a 9.5. The grade has gradually gone up with velo. I tried to find the chart. But it was basically
75-79mph: 7.5
80mph:8
85moh: 8.5
90mph: 9
over 90: 9.5
i am unsure what gets a 10. I know 95 would get it but there are some kids with 10s who don’t throw 95+.
in our experience, that chart seems pretty accurate.
CaCO3Girl posted:GaryMe posted:Here's a little perspective. My son had a former major leaguer at his high school team practice yesterday. I won't say the name of the player, but they don't come any bigger. The message this guy sent to the kids was interesting. My son said he told the team he actually felt bad for them, because for their college recruiting, it's now tougher because there is so much emphasis on statistics and measurable like velocity, exit velo, etc. He said there is so much emphasis on that stuff, and not enough on seeing if a guy can really play baseball. He said he played football and basketball at his high school as well, didn't pick up a baseball until spring. In the pros, he said some guys were late bloomers and really didn't show what they really could do until they were 25-26 years old. Today, they would not be in the game any longer. Basically, he told them getting recruited for a chance to play in college is much HARDER now, as opposed to when he came up. Interesting, we think kids have more opportunities, but here is a guy who is saying all this stuff makes it harder.
That said, I remember a couple years ago my son went to a local D1 college camp, and the head coach addressed the players and parents at the start of the camp. He mentioned he would be letting a few guys that he did not recruit go because they were "showcase" players and their skills did not show up in game situations.
Yes, it's important to know what pond to fish in, but you don't really need to go to a showcase or spend a ton of money traveling to the largest tournaments to see where that may be. Get a local coach with good credentials who will give you an objective assessment of your kid's talent.
That was well thought out Gary. I have to throw a caveat in there that I think you were talking about D1 schools. The funny thing is, players were drafted from D1, D2, D3, NAIA, and Juco last year.....so there are options other than D1, just not sure the kids remember that when they list Power 5 on their PG profile.
He actually was not talking about a particular level of college play, just how the recruiting process in general is very focused on metrics and measurable, not necessarily if a player can actually field a ball, hit to the correct side of the field if the situation calls for it, bunt, etc. These are all aspects of the game that are hugely important at the college level in general, whether JUCO or D1. This former MLB'er also said launch angle is garbage, and it is responsible for the high strike out rates (I hear a lot of former pros say that).
Regarding options, a player should look at all options. I know I was at the point with my son during the past summer where it was basically "this is the last push for D1, if we don't have anything locked up by September we start pushing harder on D2s" and even then, in the back of my mind, I felt it was a little late to start the conversations with D2s at that point. But I had enough feedback from college coaches that we were fishing in the right pond...they were right. But as others have said...that's just the first hurdle. Get on campus, perform well in fall, get playing time in Spring and see what the future holds.
CaCO3Girl posted:PABaseball posted:I'm not sure the score matters much. There are plenty of 8.5 and 9s that will not receive a single offer. If you're going for a score I'd say you're doing it for the wrong reasons.
I don't know what this means
baseballhs posted:RJM posted:PG scores are based on perceived potential not age. If a 6’ 14yo throws 80+ he’s going to get a very high score. The evaluators picture a future 16yo throwing 90.
What’s very high? My son was 5’11 and 80mph and he got an 8. I don’t consider that “very high” but his measurables were in the 90+ percentile for his age. At 16 he throws 91 and has a 9.5. The grade has gradually gone up with velo. I tried to find the chart. But it was basically
75-79mph: 7.5
80mph:8
85moh: 8.5
90mph: 9
over 90: 9.5
i am unsure what gets a 10. I know 95 would get it but there are some kids with 10s who don’t throw 95+.
in our experience, that chart seems pretty accurate.
My son threw 91 at 16 and got a 10. But he was 6'5" with room to fill out. Pretty sure that's what made the difference.
PABaseball posted:CaCO3Girl posted:PABaseball posted:I'm not sure the score matters much. There are plenty of 8.5 and 9s that will not receive a single offer. If you're going for a score I'd say you're doing it for the wrong reasons.
I don't know what this means
JUCO
CaCO3Girl posted:PABaseball posted:CaCO3Girl posted:PABaseball posted:I'm not sure the score matters much. There are plenty of 8.5 and 9s that will not receive a single offer. If you're going for a score I'd say you're doing it for the wrong reasons.
I don't know what this means
JUCO
High on JUCO ball lately in your posts, eh?
GaryMe posted:CaCO3Girl posted:PABaseball posted:CaCO3Girl posted:PABaseball posted:I'm not sure the score matters much. There are plenty of 8.5 and 9s that will not receive a single offer. If you're going for a score I'd say you're doing it for the wrong reasons.
I don't know what this means
JUCO
High on JUCO ball lately in your posts, eh?
I am....thanks for noticing 
make funny GIFs like this at MakeaGif
CaCO3Girl posted:GaryMe posted:CaCO3Girl posted:PABaseball posted:CaCO3Girl posted:PABaseball posted:I'm not sure the score matters much. There are plenty of 8.5 and 9s that will not receive a single offer. If you're going for a score I'd say you're doing it for the wrong reasons.
I don't know what this means
JUCO
High on JUCO ball lately in your posts, eh?
I am....thanks for noticing
You are making a smart decision by looking hard at the JUCO route. What I'm about to say will not be a popular opinion on this board - but it is true nonetheless. MOST 18 year old kids ARE NOT ready for a 4 year program. They ALL think they are - but they are not. Most parents don't know enough to know any better. But only 10% or so of freshman that go to a 4 yr program straight out of HS make an impact on the program as a freshman - or even as sophomores. JUCO gives a kid an adjustment period to learn how to be a college athlete and a college student - and they get playing time instead of bench time so they get better. JUCOs are not full of kids that have bad grades and JUCOs are not all academically inferior. JUCO is a great bridge between HS and a 4 year program, and if you do your homework up front on the academics you don't lose anything. And the quality of baseball is way better than most people think. Some programs are better than others, but if you do your research you can find the good ones - and you can probably find one that is a good fit. Not to mention the fact that they are very affordable, and if a scholarship is involved they present a way to get 2 years of college out of the way for next to nothing. JUCOs are a fiscally responsible and a very practical option for a lot of families.
Adbono; I am liking the idea of Juco due to their smaller class size, cheaper price tag, and interesting baseball. I’ve pulled up the roster of many local D1 and D2 schools and about half of the kids are juco transfers.
So, why pay the 4 year college fees and probably be red shirted when you can take smaller classes for cheaper that will transfer to the school you want to eventually end up at and when you get there you will have experience and be more likely to get playing time over the newly recruited kids.
JUCO makes sense for several reasons.
Agree JUCO could have advantages from a financial and baseball perspective, but the best friends I have to this day are from college. That's because we spent 4 very important years together. Kids may miss out on that if they have to transfer to schools, etc. Just something to think about, or at least discuss with your son, before making that decision.
Baseball is awesome, but I wouldn't want to sacrifice the college experience for it, unless you're a pro-prospect and it's just a means to an end of making it to the Bigs.
CTbballDad posted:Agree JUCO could have advantages from a financial and baseball perspective, but the best friends I have to this day are from college. That's because we spent 4 very important years together. Kids may miss out on that if they have to transfer to schools, etc. Just something to think about, or at least discuss with your son, before making that decision.
Baseball is awesome, but I wouldn't want to sacrifice the college experience for it, unless you're a pro-prospect and it's just a means to an end of making it to the Bigs.
I played JUCO and I played D1baseball. I have lifelong friends from both schools. So you don't necessarily sacrifice one for the other.
CaCO3Girl posted:Adbono; I am liking the idea of Juco due to their smaller class size, cheaper price tag, and interesting baseball. I’ve pulled up the roster of many local D1 and D2 schools and about half of the kids are juco transfers.
So, why pay the 4 year college fees and probably be red shirted when you can take smaller classes for cheaper that will transfer to the school you want to eventually end up at and when you get there you will have experience and be more likely to get playing time over the newly recruited kids.
I have no problem with the Juco route and would recommend it to many. But this doesn't paint the full picture and is probably an overly optimistic outlook
I had two play JUCO.... it depends on the JUCO.... do they have a history with D1 schools? Also IF you go to a good Juco you need to make sure you are playing right away. Juco's don't have time to develop you.... IF you are a D1 talent and want to make sure you get playing time, go juco first. Most play fall spring fall spring , so it's like getting 3 years of playing in 2 calendar years. If you are a draft guy and don't want to tie yourself up for 3 years. If you grades suck and your D1 talent that cannot get in .....
Most juco guys go d1 mid major or low D1 ..... very very very few SEC teams take Juco's maybe 1 or 2 per team and some take none.