PBR “preseason” showcase

I think PBR varies by region. Ours is very good. The timing of ours is end of Feb. Both my sons won't be at 100% but can throw effective bullpens. Both mine did it last year.

We did one before the kid's freshman year. It was kind of a joke but not because of timing, more because it had little to do with baseball. It's not about how well you field the ball, or how accurate you are with your throws. Just how hard you can throw/hit it. So you have kids missing the guy receiving the throw badly, kids swinging out of their shoes. It was eye opening. On the other hand the pitching part was worthwhile and you get to post a 60 time.

That all said it does get you in front of the PBR people. If your kid can play that can set him up for other PBR events like their Futures Games. My son eventually got invited and had a good couple of days in front of a lot of scouts/RC's. That lead to a lot of interest and eventually an offer from the school he's at now.

My 2020 is doing it again this year because it's a qualifier for the NYS games which he wants to do, and has a good amount of college coaches attend.

Look at most of the pitchers results, they're much lower in February than the summer.  First time my son went as a Soph, he threw 76 in Feb/March and I said, "I just screwed my son" because now that low number was public info.  Went back in July and threw mid-80.  It was his July outing that got him invited to Future Games.

If I were to do it again, I would skip the early workout.  In fact, he's invited to their Procase next month, and I haven't signed him up yet, as he's just starting flatground throws and I doubt he'll have much velo in 4 weeks.

I'm not sure how it's run in NC but in our state PBR is really only good if the kid is looking at local and just-outside-the-state schools. For my son's situation there was very little value to it (he's only looking at one in-state school) but it does seem to me that the more PBR events a player participates in the higher they get ranked; for whatever that's worth. I've seen posted several times out here that this varies quite a bit from state to state depending upon how the program is run.

I appreciate everyone’s feedback.  PBR is fairly new to us as we’ve typically competed in PG events.    

For the record, I'm a fan of PBR.  I know they called many schools on my son's behalf during his recruiting and helped him get multiple offers.  My response was to the early year workout, if you're son is a pitcher and not yet in game shape.

My son is a pitcher and he's been on pre-season throwing break until just now. So we are not doing pre-season showcases; only a couple of select unofficial visits with schools that have seen him before. If you're a position player, this type of showcase can be a good opportunity to get updated measurables. PBR is fairly new in our state (Arizona) but we have been pleased with the events my son has attended. 

Unless you are a position player who has been getting a decent amount of reps, early showcases like this are usually not advantageous, especially for pitchers coming off a shut down period.

Good feedback.   He’s a primary short stop and secondary pitcher.  He’s been throwing “moderately” for a few weeks as his team started indoor workouts. But I usually notice an increase in his pitching and infield velo as we get later in the season.  That’s my only drawback.  He hits year around and works on fielding but I just can’t decide if say a 2-3mph difference should make us wait or just go for it.  It’s a tricky time of year.  

IMO any scout/RC has to know to take position/exit velo with a grain of salt for the reason I stated above. So as long as he's in the neighborhood velocity wise I'd go if he can post a good/great 60 time. It's my opinion 60 time will carry the most weight of any of the measurables. 

What is the purpose; to get in front of college coaches or to just experience a showcase?

I wouldn't worry about it if you're fairly sure his velo is only2-3 mph off.  In fact, that issue worked out great for my son.  He went to a winter showcase the winter before his junior year.  Two kids who had been 84-85 the previous summer  threw 79-81 at the showcase.  He threw 82.   Worked out great, assuming the coaches thought that all the guys were in "preseason" form and were down on velo.  He got his first D1 notice and several emails from that showcase.  Ended up staying in contact and visiting 2 of those schools before eventually commiting elsewhere the following summer

Generally pleased with PBR however when our 2019 catcher did their invite only 2018 NJ State Games, they subsequently did updated rankings for everyone except the catchers..that didnt sit well with us as our guys metrics should have moved him up several spots over others...sent emails requesting updated rankings but received a reply that they will do it at some point...have been receiving numerous emails recently inviting our son to their preseason February 2019 showcase and have replied that why would we do this one if they didn't update the rankings from the last one..think wisely before writing a check...

tequila posted:

I'm not sure how it's run in NC but in our state PBR is really only good if the kid is looking at local and just-outside-the-state schools. For my son's situation there was very little value to it (he's only looking at one in-state school) but it does seem to me that the more PBR events a player participates in the higher they get ranked; for whatever that's worth. I've seen posted several times out here that this varies quite a bit from state to state depending upon how the program is run.

Not if they get invited to future's game.  Most scouted event in the US in my opinion and I have done them all.  There may be more scouts at WWBA but not in one four field complex with no more than 2 games being played at one time.  The Future's game is worth going to a PBR event to be eligible.

My 2020 RHP is doing the pre-season event in Feb to get the NYS games invite in June. He did it last year, and got the invite, but couldn't attend. This year there will be schools there he has interest/has had contact with.

How old is your son?  If he is a 2021 or younger, he has to attend an event to be invited to the Future Games.  I would look at their schedule and see if there are opportunities later that you could get to.  I believe the Futures Games is the best event for an uncommitted kid and would work hard to get the invite. We just did one event in the Fall of my son's sophomore year and were invited for the following summer.  I agree with what was said above. We  went to most of the big "invite only" things last year and the Futures was hands down the best. There aren't really any schools I looked for that were absent and they were all on two side by side fields.  My son got multiple offers from that weekend and ended up committing to a school that offered at the event.  Several of his state teammates at the event also committed just after to very big name schools.

Mine is 14.  I know he’s young and it’s a little early to be concerned with recruiting but his measurables are very competitive and he’s performed extremely well in big tourneys.  Right now the big mystery with him is where he stops growing.  He still has quite a bit of growth in him and we’ve been told he’s a good prospect for his class.   He’s played in several team showcases but this is our first year dabbling into individual showcases.  So the information this site provides has been extremely helpful.  There’s so much information out there and it can get overwhelming.  And I know we are just scratching the surface with him being young.   

Ok, that clears it up a bit.  Unless his measurables are ridiculous, there is no reason to do this when he isn’t loose from a season. With the push for new recruiting rules, you may have a long time to develop before recruiting. Hold off until he is at peak performance, do one to get on the board.  You don’t need to do much this early.

4arms posted:

Mine is 14.  I know he’s young and it’s a little early to be concerned with recruiting but his measurables are very competitive and he’s performed extremely well in big tourneys.  Right now the big mystery with him is where he stops growing.  He still has quite a bit of growth in him and we’ve been told he’s a good prospect for his class.   He’s played in several team showcases but this is our first year dabbling into individual showcases.  So the information this site provides has been extremely helpful.  There’s so much information out there and it can get overwhelming.  And I know we are just scratching the surface with him being young.   

The thing with PBR events is that they aren't real expensive, and if it's close enough that you don't have a lot of travel expense, I'd say go for it....if for no other reason than to get your son familiarized with how a showcase is going to work and let him see some older kids and how he measures up compared to them.  Keep in mind, most of the kids are going to be in the same boat....meaning "preseason" form...so it's kind of keeps things "even" if that makes sense.  My son went to his first showcase/camp event the summer after 8th grade.  We were the first ones there...it was at a D1 stadium. My son (and his friend, also an 8th grader) thought they were the coolest kids in the world...they were the only 2 eighth graders there.....THEN, the big boys started walking in   T-shirts and jerseys with all of the big name HS's in the state on the front.  Next thing I knew the boys were standing in the back against the wall, looking scared to death.   Fortunately once things started, an assistant from an SEC school, pulled them aside, talked to them for a few minutes and threw them into the fire.  Had them at SS taking infield against whoever stepped up to the plate.  They both did fantastic.  The coach came over to me after the event and complimented the kids and said he thought it was great that they were there at such a young age and commented that unless they are a senior in HS or a senior in college that they will always be competing against older kids....might as well get used to it.  I really think that that event is what convinced my son that he had a shot at being a D1 player.  He still talks about that day.  Some of you guys may recognize the coach, Jeremy Sheetinger, better known in the baseball world as "Sheets".  He was an assistant at UK at the time, and is now the director of ABCA. 

One of my regrets from last summer was that we didn't do a few PBR events instead of more tournaments.

2020-RHP-Dad posted:

One of my regrets from last summer was that we didn't do a few PBR events instead of more tournaments.

Your son is a 2020, so it's not too late.  I'm not familiar with PBR TX, but others on this site have said it's well run in TX.  Your son has very good measurables, so I'd map out a plan for this year, schools he's interested in and plans to be seen by them, whether it be PBR, camps, travel tournaments, etc.

Good luck!

I agree on the PBR Futures Games.  Best event my son attended by far. 

PBR is good around here. Not only do they do official measurables, but they take film of the player fielding balls, at the plate, pitching, etc.. Tends to be reasonably priced. Video can be exported to schools.

The only issue around here,  is that the workouts are almost always on turf, and not always the best turf. It sort of homogenizes the fielding, making the bad ones look better than they are, and the good ones more ordinary. Also can be a bit funky for getting a good 60. My eldest always runs faster on grass, and in competition with another runner(PBR is solo)...never ran under 7.0 at a PBR event, but ran 6.8-6.9 at other legit events. 

Minor quibbles, though. Pro outfit, no BS. Relatively inexpensive. Son had to get wisdom teeth removed, causing a last minute cancellation, and they refunded money w/o a hassle.