Is your son a Tweener ????

The players in an event like that are gifted and are recognized as some of the best in their class currently. That does not mean they haven't dealt with adversity. That does not mean they don't work as hard as they can to continue improving on their skillset(s). It also guarantees absolutely nothing. Just because you're invited to a prestigious event does not mean you are going to have continued success moving forward. Perfect Game, and other outlets that run such events for exposure, are outstanding for the continued development of players advancing to the next level. But, for every player you see under the "bright lights" in an event like that succeed, you see many more fail to reach their goals. Other times, players are "missed"…not by Perfect Game necessarily, but by many others in the industry as well. The 25th overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft was not invited to the PG (then AFLAC) All-American Game. And, obviously, some scouts/organizations thought that there were 24 players available in that draft class better than him. Suffice to say that more people were wrong than right, in that instance, because Mike Trout turned out to be pretty good.

 

Getting an invite to any event means nothing without performance to back it up. If your son works hard and continues improving, the exposure he seeks will come.

 

Also, please don't imply that playing at an NAIA school or a DIII school is a bad thing. A small minority of baseball players are fortunate enough to play college baseball at any level. It's an incredible accomplishment.

 

J.H.

Thank you for reply.Your feedback is what I wanted. I didn't want to bash NAIA of D3 schools by any means. I was just wondering if at this stage in the game it was worth going to this event?? He is a 2015 player and why is he now getting recognition??

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by your question, to be honest. If he graduates HS in 2015, he won't be enrolling in college for at least a year. This is the exact time when recruiting is in full swing.

Well, at what point would you be looking at committing somewhere?? Before his senior yr in march?? Give me your thoughts??

 If you cant make it to the Perfect Game All Star game in California. keep working hard and become a stand out player at your HS or local area... if you move on to play at a local

college in your area DII, DIII, etc.. work hard to be the best..

 My son and I were watching those games and he said he  wishes he  was one of those guys

with the all star status.. and I told him he is now but just doesnt know it right here  in his hometown HS.. made  first team all everything because you work hard every day and are a stand out player in your home state.

people know your name..and talk about your playing ability.

Be All that you can be..  good things will happen..

A player should commit when he feels ready. There is no public timetable on a personal decision.

If you go to a PG game event you will get schools there that will see your son play and from that will get interest letters and invites to those schools that are at the PG showcase.

he is getting recognition now because he is a 2015.

This is the time of year 2014 summer / fall when things are suppose to happen for the 2015..

Is  Iowa schools on your list of  places that you are looking at for schools..?  

My son is also a 2105.. we were at the KY. PG a few weeks ago and now getting a lot of school interest from that state.

 

good Luck,

I would disagree.  "Full Swing" for 2015's is winding down.  Most schools have extended most (if not all) of their available 2015 money in offers by this point.  Obviously some kids have multiple offers and once they make their choice, that will free up money at the schools that he turned down so there is some 2015 money out there....but for the most part, D1's, especially the top level and mid-majors are pretty much wrapping up their recruiting of 2015's.  That doesn't mean there aren't D1 spots available...there obviously are....but with college fall baseball starting up D1 coaches are getting back to working with their teams....and spending a lot less time on the recruiting trail.  Most of them try to have it pretty well wrapped up by now...for that exact reason. 

vikingboy,

 

First, if your 2015 son is getting interest from NAIA and DIII schools, then you have not failed him. The kids playing in the PG All-American Classic are the one-percenters. All will probably either get drafted or play very high level DI baseball. Most of them got there through great genetics and working extremely hard at the right things.

 

By "tweener" I guess you mean between DI and DII/DIII/NAIA. If you've read much on this forum you know that most DI schools are not just going to find you, you have to go get them. Has your son contacted any DIs? Has he sent them video? Has he arranged to play in from of them at tournaments?

 

If you're hoping that he can just go to a PG showcase and the phone will start ringing, I think you're going to be disappointed. If your son contacts some schools and arranges for them to see him at the PG showcase, then you may get the results that you're hoping for.

 

I see from another post that your son is also playing football. That means he can't devote himself completely to baseball training, fall tournaments, and attending camps. If his dream is to play DI, then I suggest he try to find one or two realistic options who still need a player at his position, and try to get in front of them over the next couple of months (that will be a challenge). But he also needs to keep working on the NAIA/DIII relationships, because they may be his best options and they won't last forever.

 

Good luck.

Wow, this is a mess to clean up.

 

First off -- to go to the PG All American game, you have to have a track record that demonstrates that you are among the top 50 players, more or less, in your graduating class in the entire country.  Now, any such assessments are subjective and can be disputed here and there, but the reality is, the proportion of aspiring players who get those sorts of opportunities is well under 1%.  These are not kids whose dads promoted them or something.  This is not some PR game you can win or some ticket you can buy.  The player has to produce on the field.  He has to have that rare combination of genetic gifts, competitive fire, and technical mastery.

 

And yes, sometimes the PGAA kids have MLB pedigrees.  But it shouldn't necessarily surprise you that sons of MLB players have good baseball genes, or that they took to baseball at a young age, or that they live in Florida or Southern California and play baseball year round because it became their passion, or that maybe they got consistent and high quality instruction over the past 17 years.  Heck, when you think of it that way, it makes you wonder why those guys make up only a fraction of those invited.

 

Secondly, I don't know the OP and I don't mean to insult him, but talking about a 1.90 pop time is like talking about throwing 95 or running 6.4.  Meaning, it sounds too good to be true, and in my experience, most of the dads who mention such numbers tend to be exaggerating.  Not to mention, any catcher with a 1.90 would be hearing from D1's by this point in the time line, unless the kid has shown misconduct issues, horrible academic numbers, or perhaps a total inability to make contact between bat and ball.

 

If your son is a 2015 (rising senior), then time is running short for D1 offers.  He should have a busy fall planned.  For D3 or NAIA opportunities, things could well continue on through spring or even into next summer perhaps.  Also, those in more northern areas may see less of a rush to sign kids; we see a lot more early commitments in VA than you get in, say, Massachusetts.  I'm not as familiar with Illinois but I'd bet it's more like the northeast than the southeast.

As for showcasing, there are "invitation only" events and there are other events open to anyone with a checkbook who wants to get evaluated.  Typically a good showing at an open event, or some other high level performance record, is how you get into an "invitation only" event.  All these things require devotion of time, effort, and cash, and also you have to make a point of learning how the process works in time not to miss the boat.  If your son is a 2015, I hope he's not just getting started.  If so, he can still succeed, but without question some doors have already closed, so as time passes things will get tougher, not easier.

Thank goodness, this wasn't a prerequisite for success!!

 

On the other hand, years of consistent hard work are for the vast majority.

Guys, Thanks for all the imput and advice on the issue. Midlo Dad,thanks for your imput also and I don't take your criticism of my son's pop time personal. My son has only participated in one showcase ever. And that was a Prep Baseball Report Prospect Identification showcase on 6/17/14. His name is Dan Budde, his stats are listed on the site. I didn't put down his stats,they did,Lool. said his pop time was between 1.9 and 2.0 ?? Which was tops for the event. After the event he started getting quite a few calls from NAIA and D3 schools,even a D2 school, but no D1 schools. That's why I was inquiring if attending a Perfect Game showcase would help him at this stage of the game or is he better just staying on course with the schools that are interested in him.

Milo dad, I can only hope that what you are saying is true about a 1.9 POP really means. My son is a 2016 catcher, he has posted a 1.86 at the National Championships in AZ (used to be the JO's) and recently posted a 1.88 at a Team One Showcase. Son has a 4.0 GPA with AP courses mixed in. He has a good bat and has gap to gap power with an occasional HR. We have had only mild interest to date. Hoping by this time next year it will be a different story. I am not exagerating. Can verify his time on the Team One site.

vikingboy, many years of experience have taught me to suggest that it is far better for a parent to absolutely enjoy what their son can do rather than have any anxiety about the other guys and what our sons and their parents cannot control.

There are not many stories and no media about the tweeners. That does not sell magazines, or other media elements focused on baseball, such as BA. Tweeners don't create $$$$$ for those who depend on $$$$$.

For our tweener, he wanted D1 in the worst way.  In his immediate HS area, 2 guys went to the D1 of our son's dreams. One was 6'4 and the other 6'5. Both had lots of visibility. Both had BA top rankings a few years back.  One of those two ended up at 4 more colleges in 5 years with little playing time along the way except at a stop one year at a local JC. One ended up at our son's dream school where he struggled for playing time, had one year in the Cape where he hit under .100 and his career ended after his senior year.

That 3rd guy, the tweener, went D3. Played every game but one of his 4 year career. Played in top teams in a top Summer Wood bat league and was an All Star each year.

Of the 3 coming out of HS, only one ended up drafted...the tweener.

No one can help you in the choice of  whether your son will benefit from this showcase. It truly is a combination of talent, exposure and performance to the talent level which will eventually decide if the choice was a good one or not. Measuring by D1 or those guys you watched on TV(factors your son cannot control) is just not fair...to your son.

Celebrate the guy you get to watch every day, not the ones on TV. It won't last long.

Nice Post. Enjoy the process. Relax and enjoy watching your son play. There is nothing gained from worrying about things you can not control. He is not what you want him to be. He is not what you perceive him to be. He is what those that make the decisions believe he is. That is the reality of recruiting. If he has the opportunity to play college baseball he is blessed. No matter what level of the game it ends up being. It is a shame that some people get caught up in the D1 fever. Like somehow they have failed if they don't get a D1 opportunity. Or their son has been slighted by not getting the opportunity to play D1. The best place for your son is all that matters. And that place is where he is wanted.

No one here knows your financial situation or your son, so it would be very hard for anyone to give meaningful advice on whether he should attend a specific event.

 

My general observation is that kids who are going to play at D1 colleges (not just get on the roster) are fairly obvious by the time they are rising seniors. They consistently stand out in games and showcases. The really, really good players may get recruited if they fit certain criteria of coaches who see them, which may include size. Many of the perennial all stars on a team may actually fit better in a D3 environment, and have a great time playing.

 

As for the 1.9 pop time - my son is a catcher who attended PG and other events. That time would have put any catcher at or near the top of every event. That being said, I know a D1 catcher with amazing pop times who doesn't get a lot of playing time behind the dish because he doesn't have good lateral movement, so too many balls get past him.

 

Even though my son was a D3 type of player, he enjoyed some of the events where he played alongside future draft picks. So there can be different reasons to attend.

 

Good luck, and enjoy the ride.

Standballdad,

 

Wish your son had been at our recent tryouts! 

 

There is a lot that can be learned from all the info on this site about how a top player needs to get out front of the recruiting process to promote himself properly.  If your son is as advertised, he should follow the path and I would suspect he'll be just fine.  But he does have to work the process.  Don't sit back and assume people will come to you.

 

Pop times are the big eye grabbers for catchers.  You have to be able to control the running game at that position.  But of course that's not all there is to it.  Once you hook a fish you still have to reel it in.  How he receives the ball and blocks balls in the dirt, how he manages the game, how he hits, the attitude he displays, all those factors and more will come into play.  So I'm not suggesting that a pop time alone will get your son recruited.  But it will catch people's eyes so that your son gets to that next step in the process of getting multiple looks and evaluations.  From there he has to close the deal!

 

In my experience, truly talented catchers are the hardest players to find.  You see a lot of guys who play other positions, but who have "baseball smarts," asked to convert because of the shortage.  If you have a middle school son who wants his best shot at making it to college, tell him to devote himself to catching.  It's the toughest position and a lot of players shy away from it -- so that the kid who actually plays that position well is like the gold nugget everyone's panning for.

 

In the meantime, get your son to a PG showcase so that his pop time can be documented by their professional scouts and then publicized on your son's PG web page for all to see.  As with other numbers, anyone can CLAIM to have top skills, but if PG says you do, any doubts about credibility vanish.  And that really can help to open doors.

 

 

The kids we saw on tv the other night in some ways won the gene pool,   they clearly worked hard.  Most of them had the ideal projectible size the scouts are looking for,  all of the pitchers were throwing 95+ and for the most part the hitters were completely overwhelmed.    These kids are getting drafted in less than a year,   if they have committed to a school,  I suspect the coaches know they are likely not getting them on campus.    That being said there are many players that still have room to grow and improve.  Roger Clemons was throwing in the mid 80s and on his way to Junior College at this point in his playing career to only later blossom into the strikeout, power pitcher he became.  

Thank you for the response. We are pro-actively working on his recruitment as much as possible and affordable. I considered a PG event but found the cost to be more than I expected. As far as catching, yes that was kinda what we were thinking, plus he loves to catch even though he played SS most of his young career.         

Tweeners of the World Unite!

 

Seriously vikingboy compared to those guys in that all star game just about everybody is a tweener!  

 

We're in the midst of this recruiting chase now.  It's been a long summer, with lots of ups and downs and, yes, a great deal of expense and lots of travel.   So I feel your pain.

 

My guy still has  some live D1 options -- which is his dream --  but they are dwindling fast.  (Unfortunately, he put up his worst few days of the summer in front of the two colleges that had previously expressed strong interest in him.  Haven't heard from them since. They seem to drop you like a hot potato when they are no longer interested.)  

 

Partly as a consequence NAIA,  DIII, and possibly the JC route are actually looking better and better to the kid  everyday.   We've visited a couple of each -- some with really great facilities, great coaches, and fine places to go to school.   Personally, I'd be thrilled for him if he had a chance to play at some of the places we've visited.  Nor do I think he would regret it in the end at all. 

 

But in terms of keeping hope alive and getting more exposure,  just thought I'd mention that beside a Perfect Game showcase,  apparently the Arizona Senior Fall Classic in early October is good hunting grounds for late in the game offers.  Never been to one, but  we've  just decided to attend, on the strength of  advice of people on this site who have been there and done that in the past and know whereof they speak.  So you might want to check that out too, if you are willing to make the trek to Arizona.  You can't enter as an individual but often, I gather, teams that are going will have roster spots open that maybe you can latch onto.  

 

Happy Hunting!

 

oops sorry vikingdad, didn't realize that your guy was also a football player -- should have read the thread more closely.   that probably leaves out Arizona.

I don't get the idea of labeling a player a tweener because he's not one of the top shelf players. A kid is either a good baseball player or he isn't. If he's a good player there's a place for him in the game somewhere between D1 and D3 to have a positive collegiate baseball experience. Sometimes players move up to the top shelf between the ages of seventeen and twenty-two.

Wow!!! LOL, I have struck a nerve with some of you . Maybe I should of used a different word that " Tweener" . I didnt mean it as a put down of my son's ability or give the impression that I wasnt proud of him. On the contrary, he's accomplished more in his high school career than I ever dreamed of!!  Which makes me believe the UPS man must have been a hell of an athlete. LOL. I guess what I was meaning to convey was why I would love for my son to play D1, i'm certainly not upset that he's getting offers from D3 and NAIA school at all. I was just wondering what it took to break into the D1 or even D2 radar because I believe my son could hold his own with some of these players, probably like every other dad feels. Thanks for all the feedback. And yes he plays football and loves it so I know that puts him behind the 8 ball on exposure, he wont sacrifice playing football his senior year.

"Roger Clemons was throwing in the mid 80s and on his way to Junior College at this point in his playing career to only later blossom into the strikeout, power pitcher he became."

 

I don't know if that's true or not, I'll take your word for it.  In any event, there are always going to be late bloomers.  But fewer and fewer these days.  People are genetically the same, of course, but the availability of high level instruction these days is so great, compared to the early '80's when Clemens was in high school, that you see the kids who are built to throw hard reaching their potential earlier in the time line.  

 

You get some debate on whether that may be part of what's fueling the rise in shoulder and elbow surgeries, but that's another discussion for another day.  The point today is, you don't see so many kids go from 85 to 95 from age 18 to 24 any more, because those who have that in them tend to find their way there much sooner.  They don't have to wait for college or pro ball to have someone instruct them on how to get there.

 

But I'm talking less frequent, not never.  As I said, there will always be late bloomers.

I am not so sure about this, I know my son's D3 program does a good job of finding  "tweeners" and developing them into pretty hard throwers. We had a guy sign this year who hit 97 at his MLB tryout and I don't know what he came in at but it was below 90. Ben Klimesh (drafted two years ago) who is now in AA was a 85-86er out of HS, my son sat 86-87 and now sits 90-92, and I would venture to guess this is pretty common based on what I have seen the last three year. I think this is because of physical development as well as some very cutting edge training techniques that are just now becoming more common place. I agree that kids are now throwing harder at a younger age but I think there are still a lot of late developers out there. 

No nerve hit here!  We are in the middle of the recruiting roller coaster as well, and actually had a college coach tell my son he was a "tweener".  He meant that he was above average in some of the tools, but he wasn't quite a consistent enough power hitter to be securely on a top shelf D1 prospect list.  If son landed a few more balls over the fence this would change quickly, and lots can happen from now through next summer.  We had kids on our summer program get money at D1 powerhouse teams in June and July (after graduation).  It happens, even though they hope to have their spots filled by the early signing period this November, there are lots of shifts that can and do occur.

 

My son may land a D1 offer, or a D11 or D111 or some other school might be a better fit for him.  He is slowly opening up his mind to the possibility that it might be more fun to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond and play a lot, rather than duking it out for a spot on the (possible) bench at a Pac-12 school.  Just looking for the best fit, academically and athletically, the one that feels right with a school that really wants him.  We'll know it when we see it, and right now the journey is exciting if a bit stressful.

 

Best of luck to you and your son.  Side note; Steven Strasbourg was another one that bloomed in college.  That was just a couple of years ago, it happens often with pitchers. He didn't get into a top shelf D1, and attended the local one where his parents went.

=For the LOVE of baseball, its like looking for a soul mate..