PBR

I wouldn't call or write them with complaints.  Doing so likely wouldn't change anything, and at worst could label you as a "problem parent".  Recruiters scout the parents, too

To answer your question, I don't know.  I do know that many scouts look more at where a kid plays Travel Ball, and how they do in scouted tournaments as opposed to who is on Varsity or JV in a random high school.   Scouts like to judge talent their own way, they are much less interested in a high school coach's ability or inability to judge talent.

While the measureables matter, they aren't the be all and end all.  You can get a high velocity score without ever throwing a strike.  You can get a high exit velo taking a swing that would never work in a game against good pitching.  Some players have more projectable body types that others...

Hope that helps.  And yes, be happy with a good Perfect Game ranking, most definitely.  Ultimately I will always care more about how Perfect Game views my kid than PBR, but PBR does carry some weight and can be helpful in the process.

What"s the saying, accept the things I can't control, change the things I can, and know the difference. Also realize they are projecting. So it's not about the here and now. So don't stress this. Have your player take care of business on the field, in the classroom, and social media wise (they are watching). Things will work out as they should.

By the time 2020 rolls around, all of the various rankings will be fairly consistent. 

Be happy with your PG ranking (assuming you are) and move on.  

What I have observed in my state is that the early PBR ratings (when a kid is freshman and sophomore) are skewed towards insiders...i.e. kids who are connected to the local baseball infrastructure.  As they become juniors and seniors that tends to fall away and the PBR and PG rankings converge.

We never really paid attention to rankings from PG or PBR. To me, the only reason to do those showcases was to be seen by coaches and to get measurable numbers that we could then share with coaches.

I don't think you can compare a ranking to where you play in HS or travel. That seems like comparing apples to oranges — a kid who plays on a bad HS team may start varsity as a freshman, but have bad numbers at a showcase, or have great showcase numbers while playing JV for a great HS program.

True solid numbers — FB speed, exit velocity, etc. — seem more apples to apples.

I would go with a reliable scouting service's rating over a ranking. 

Rating as in skills. 

Then I would make sure son is seen enough by those who will make their own conclusions.

PBR rankings are meaningless.  My son wasn't happy with his PBR ranking compared to some other kids.  He used that are a motivation to keep working harder and getting better.  He would be happy to move up a spot or two when new rankings came out, but would laugh about some of the guys who were above him.  It's kind of fun to go back now and look at the last rankings his senior year.  He had a great senior year and was a D1 commit.  He jumped a lot from his junior to senior year.  Even in the final ranking some of the kids ahead of him made him laugh.  Heck, not that he's finishing his 3rd year of college it's obvious that those rankings meant ZERO.  Kids ahead of him are long out of baseball....and some kids that were behind him have turned into really good college players.   As someone else mentioned....the rankings do seem to come around as the kids get older.  PBR can only rank kids they have seen or know about. ....and in the case of sophomores, that's not a big number.  I wouldn't worry about it. 

Buckeye 2015 posted:

PBR rankings are meaningless.  My son wasn't happy with his PBR ranking compared to some other kids.  He used that are a motivation to keep working harder and getting better.  He would be happy to move up a spot or two when new rankings came out, but would laugh about some of the guys who were above him.  It's kind of fun to go back now and look at the last rankings his senior year.  He had a great senior year and was a D1 commit.  He jumped a lot from his junior to senior year.  Even in the final ranking some of the kids ahead of him made him laugh.  Heck, not that he's finishing his 3rd year of college it's obvious that those rankings meant ZERO.  Kids ahead of him are long out of baseball....and some kids that were behind him have turned into really good college players.   As someone else mentioned....the rankings do seem to come around as the kids get older.  PBR can only rank kids they have seen or know about. ....and in the case of sophomores, that's not a big number.  I wouldn't worry about it. 

PBR rankings carry the same weight as PG or any other scouting service.  None of them really mean anything.  Anybody that is chasing a high ranking is not properly utilizing their time and their resources.  The credibility of PBR varies widely from state to state, as each state is an individually owned franchise.  In Texas PBR is well respected, as the owner is former RC at Air Force and Kentucky.  He knows what he is looking at. Unfortunately that is not the case in every state. 

I think PG and PBR do a good job on the whole. But certainly there are mistakes. With any of these rankings, I think we have to remember that we have A LOT more information about some of the kids than PBR, PG, or anyone else. I'm not even talking about our own kids -- there are teammates and friends of my son who I have literally seen play hundreds and hundreds of games. A one-day showcase can't provide the same information (for example, can this kid hit a breaking ball?). This falls under the "it is what it is" category. 

I do think the scouting services would be wise to look at high school and summer ball stats (I know PG keeps the latter), not for confirmation (I don't think positive stats tell you much) and filter them for red flags. In other words, they would be a "negative check." If PG has a position player ranked in the Top 100 and he flat out can't hit in high school -- say he strikes out in 25% of his plate appearances, and hits under .200 across a couple hundred plate appearances -- and can't hit in the summer (say, he hits .150), there ought to be an algorithm that flags it so the scouts can double-check and make sure that they think he'll hit in college or the pros, despite not being able to hit now.

PBR is only as good as person scouting and how many times they have seen you.  They are like everybody.  They take the numbers and the predictions and do just that.  Predict.  Some they get right and others they get wrong.  The more they see you the better their predictions. 

PBR in Oklahoma is run very well.  The head is a walking encyclopedia of players and teams in the state.  There's probably not much to do about an immediate ranking...but use it as a positive...motivation to work harder and get better.

Measureables are the key to getting in the door at any level.  Most recruiters & scouts will write you off as being a non-prospect if you can't run fast for your position, throw the ball hard or hit the ball hard (preferably all 3).   At least at a Perfect Game showcase you can play some Baseball after your measureables are recorded.  At PBR,  their showcases are almost always entirely about the measureables. 

My son has faced highly ranked pitchers by our state PBR who walked him on 4 or 5 pitches, repeatedly, because they literally....cannot...throw...consistent...strikes

All of that is meaningless to my Kid, who is just focused on improving his own measureables (because without them there is no foot in the door) and improving his own game.