How important is summer ball for a HS sophomore?

The best level for your son to play is one he enjoys. If he's burning out on baseball maybe he needs to play at a level that's less demanding than the schedule of travel ball. He could pick one showcase for experience. While he could get some exposure following soph year for the next level, summer of junior year is more important.

Mine went to a college camp summer after sophomore year where he was seen by his current college coach. Had he not gone he may not be playing now. It was his only offer, now he is tearing it up so well he will be moving to the next level, his dream, not mine. You just never know when the opportunity will arise, but rule #1 is for extra curriculars: if it's not fun, don't do it

The first question is what does he want to do. And what are his goals.

Talk to him about how he feels about it, although I might suggest (and you know him) that a couple of weeks off would be great....then he'd be looking to play some ball.

It would be better to play than not play. Is it crucial? Probably not.

D.B.
I think you have asked some great questions and included some very poignant thoughts, in terms of your son, baseball, his future in baseball, and his future outside of baseball.
From our experience, I don't think there is any right/wrong answer.
Part of any answer depends on your son, his motivation and most importantly his skill level.
If your son has dream schools like UCLA, Stanford, USD, etc for academics and baseball, then it will not be critical for him to not play elite travel ball this Summer.
It could however, put him behind in that recruiting experience. Depending on his level of talent, it is a gap he could surely make up during his junior year/Summer after junior year.
If your son isn't one of the elite players in his area, in CA, then not playing that Summer will not hurt him. Most DI/DII and DIII schools recruit from the junior year.
Knowing what happens in college, it you have any doubts about your son "burning" out and/or losing interest, now is the time to address the issues and work with him.
College baseball is a major, major commitment. The extent players sacrifice social life and other outside activities cannot be overstated.
In my view, this really comes down to your son's interests, priorities and talents. The more talented he is, the more he is focused on top DI colleges and baseball, the more important it could be for him to play in the Summer. If he is a very top talent, he will get recruited by very good schools, whether he plays or not.
At the levels below, not playing that summer could impact him at a few schools, but not most, if he returns with a new found intensity, love for the game and talent on the field.

Thank you all for your comments. To answer a few of your questions, my son is not a 5-tool prospect at this point. His hitting (power and BA) is his meal ticket, which is why he was brought up to varsity as a sophomore. Hopefully, his defensive skills will continue to catch up (can you say 1B or LF?) A college coach that needs a strong bat might eventually be tempted to take a chance, particularly since the GPA and PSAT scores are way up there.

As for what my son wants to do, he still is at that age where he looks to me for guidance as to what is best for his long-term interests. I try to coax answers out of him, but he does that 16-year-old “shrug the shoulders” thing because I really don’t think he has a clear picture in his own mind. Because he already has an older sibling in an outstanding university, he knows that sacrifice and commitment are essential elements to getting into a great school just from an academic standpoint. He equally understands that that if he wants to get to the proverbial “next level,” i.e. college baseball, he is going to have to make similar commitments and sacrifices. He seems intent on taking baseball as far as he can, but I still think he’d welcome some time off to just hang out and be a normal teenager with his non-baseball friends.

It’s funny how what seems to be a simple question, summer ball or not, can turn into a much larger self-evaluation. If I’ve added anything to your thinking with this additional information, I would very much appreciate any further thoughts or insights you might be able to add.

My son is also a Soph playing Varsity, also a good student. He keeps saying he wants to play college ball but we are also concerned about the demands of balancing the academics with baseball.

He can't wait for the summer and playing on an elite team. In our case he we will start ramping up the process this summer and fall. His team will play a tournament or two right after HS season ends and ramp up for the USA baseball 16U championships in June. He will play a couple of other high profile tournaments in the summer and then play on a scout team in the fall. We will also go to the Arizona Fall Jr Classic. We probably won't do any PG or similar combine type events, although we probably should we will hold off on these until next year.

I am certainly not an expert at this process, but think the Soph-Jr year is the most important as schools are starting to look at kids at younger ages.

I agree with others however your son has to want to do it. I have arranged his schedule and arranged to get him on the teams, but always make sure to talk to him to make sure this is what HE wants to do.

D.B.
thank you for the additional information which I think is even more helpful.
With the additional information, I will try and focus on specifics:
If your son wants to play college baseball at a top academic school, it won't matter if he plays this Summer if schools like Pomona-Pitzer, Emory, Trinity, Tx. Johns Hopkins and the like are included in his potential list. Everyone of them would love to have him(if he can gain admission) and they won't even start recruiting/looking until he has finished his junior year.
If he includes WCC schools like St. Mary's, USF, and Santa Clara, for instance, not playing this Summer could hamper those options. But, if he continues to improve and shows the talent to play at that level, getting him to camps like Stanford and others after his junior year, combined with a good Junior year/Junior Summer, will overcome not being seen as a sophomore.
To get to the basics, this is all about talent and academics. If your son has both, he will be recruited and have opportunities to play college baseball in a very good program where he can get a great education. That will happen whether he plays this summer or not.
The variable on this Summer is his talent level and choice of schools for the future.