Perfect Game event questions

Those measureables are all very good.  By Perfect Game "event" do you mean a Showcase?  Or a Tournament?

I assume he means the Rocky Mountain Showcase. COACHGATO, I'm Coloardo myself. I'll shoot you a PM.

The PG events that attract the most coaches and scouts are the tournaments where the travel teams play.  The national events have lots and lots of top level programs scouting the events, and many recruit heavily at them.

My 2017 attended two PG showcases in Southern California where there is tons of talent and schools looking to recruit.  However, there were very few schools and scouts beyond PG's own scouts who assign the player ratings at the showcase events.  We saw some local JCs and a few D3's in the area, but not much beyond that.

I would not got to a showcase looking to get scouted by schools, so it does not matter where you attend one.  It is a great idea to attend one and get your son into the PG system with the skills metrics (assuming he is ready to be measured and have strong results to post).  But it would be more valuable to find a travel team that is invited to play in one of the top PG events around the country if you hope to get exposure to major college programs.  And of course, to know for sure that there will be coaches at a showcase, look to Showball, Headfirst, Top96 and others who will specifically list the schools and coaches who will attend (which PG does not).

I'm in Iowa, so Perfect Game is right down the street (okay, interstate). 2018 was invited to a showcase, but I know his travel team plans to play a tournament there this fall. We really want to get him to a PG event — sounds like the recommendation would be the tournament over the showcase?

Iowamom23 posted:

I'm in Iowa, so Perfect Game is right down the street (okay, interstate). 2018 was invited to a showcase, but I know his travel team plans to play a tournament there this fall. We really want to get him to a PG event — sounds like the recommendation would be the tournament over the showcase?

That depends. If he is a known player, meaning you're in contact with schools that have shown an interest, then a tournament is optimal assuming you can get his pitching/playing schedule to the coaches who have expressed an interest. If you happen to be playing against a team with a lot of heavily recruited players and your kid shows something spectacular at the right time, you might draw some interest that way, but the don't have a bunch of recruiters wondering around without a purpose just hoping to discover someone. 

So, if not a known entity, but has the measurable skills, a showcase may be just the answer to start that interest.

He has a couple of offers, and we actually will be en route to a campus visit with another school he's talking to. He seems pretty happy with the schools he is talking to, I just wondered if the spring showcase would be better timing than a fall tournament as far as timing for getting interest from any schools that he hasn't been talking with yet? But as I write that, it feels like a lot of money for a not very specific goal.

Iowamom23 posted:

He has a couple of offers, and we actually will be en route to a campus visit with another school he's talking to. He seems pretty happy with the schools he is talking to, I just wondered if the spring showcase would be better timing than a fall tournament as far as timing for getting interest from any schools that he hasn't been talking with yet? But as I write that, it feels like a lot of money for a not very specific goal.

There is no doubt that schools use PG showcase write ups and stats for exactly that reason - to find players they haven't noticed before.

Correct. It's the Rocky Mountain Showcase.  Thanks for the input.  He had been staying  with his high school team over the summers, but it sounds like this year we may need to evaluate that (assuming its not too late).  As the youth and high school landscape has changed, the model of staying with your high school team over the summer seems to be going the way of the dinosaur.  His coach is trying to get to more showcase tournaments to sort of combat that trend, but I think for higher talent that may still not be enough.  The recruiting needs to be less haphazard than that.   They have no Perfect Game tourneys slated, but do have a PBR tourney on the schedule that is pretty huge here.  Figuring out the right path is quite a head-scratcher (not wanting to overestimate or undercut where his best fit would be adds to it all).

I hear you Coach.  The process has changed a lot in recent years, and my biggest regret on my 2017 was not seeking a stronger travel ball team for him to give him a chance to be in these bigger tournament events.  That said, you do want the Summer leading into Senior year to be where he can get the most exposure to the most schools, so attending some of the showcases is also a great way to go if he has something to show.  The HS coaches in our area around SoCal are usually reasonable in letting kids who are going to be on Varsity anyway and heading into Senior year play elsewhere and attend showcases and camps if they hope to play college baseball.  The kids need to go where the coaches are recruiting to be seen.

P.S. If you are in Colorado, then by all means try to find a travel team that is invited to go to the Arizona Senior Fall Classic in October.  It is one of the best exposure events in the nation, especially if a kid has the academics and can make the All Academic game.  The CO teams that were there in 2016 were MBA Colorado, the Rockies Scout team, and Cherry Creek.  http://azfallclassic.com/az-senior-fall-classic/

We do not list coaches and scouts because we don't pay them to be there.  It means a lot more when they actually want to be there to see the players and spend money to be there.  Seeing that we never pay them, it is impossible to know who will be at any event for sure.

All showcases are not the same, including ours.  We will be doing some June showcases that have few scouts and colleges attend.  We will also be doing some that will have scouts from every MLB club and most all the top college programs in the country in attendance.  We have had specific plays at showcases that have made ESPN Sports Center top 10.  We have streamed entire showcases. Most of the very best players in the country, those drafted in the first round or going to top college programs have played in these showcases. It's been that way for a long time.

I think playing in the tournaments can be great for many players.  But everyone, including us, is going to know a lot more about an individual from a showcase.  We can see a player at an event with zero scouts and zero college coaches and if he is talented enough he is going to create a lot of interest.  We have earned a great reputation for knowing what level a player is capable of contributing and which colleges would be interested.  Once in awhile we make mistakes, but not very often.

It is all about talent, though I read where some think it is about size, speed, power, velocity, etc.  Talent can't be defined by one or two things.  You could have a player that is big and strong and runs like a deer, but he can't play baseball, because he lacks the necessary skills.  He might develop them later on, but for now he is well behind the little guy that can really play.  Those that can really play and have the necessary tools really standout.

I know some say... All things being equal, they always take the big guy.  I understand that and it kind of makes sense.  However, all things being equal hardly ever happens.

Thank you, BACKSTOP22!  Information to put to good use!  We will check out those teams for sure.  The back up catcher for my son's team was on a younger Rockies Scout team, and understand these teams can be costly (justifiably).  Cost is a factor for my family, but understand this could be an important investment for him.  I appreciate your help!

PGStaff posted:

We do not list coaches and scouts because we don't pay them to be there.  It means a lot more when they actually want to be there to see the players and spend money to be there.  Seeing that we never pay them, it is impossible to know who will be at any event for sure.

All showcases are not the same, including ours.  We will be doing some June showcases that have few scouts and colleges attend.  We will also be doing some that will have scouts from every MLB club and most all the top college programs in the country in attendance.  We have had specific plays at showcases that have made ESPN Sports Center top 10.  We have streamed entire showcases. Most of the very best players in the country, those drafted in the first round or going to top college programs have played in these showcases. It's been that way for a long time.

I think playing in the tournaments can be great for many players.  But everyone, including us, is going to know a lot more about an individual from a showcase.  We can see a player at an event with zero scouts and zero college coaches and if he is talented enough he is going to create a lot of interest.  We have earned a great reputation for knowing what level a player is capable of contributing and which colleges would be interested.  Once in awhile we make mistakes, but not very often.

It is all about talent, though I read where some think it is about size, speed, power, velocity, etc.  Talent can't be defined by one or two things.  You could have a player that is big and strong and runs like a deer, but he can't play baseball, because he lacks the necessary skills.  He might develop them later on, but for now he is well behind the little guy that can really play.  Those that can really play and have the necessary tools really standout.

I know some say... All things being equal, they always take the big guy.  I understand that and it kind of makes sense.  However, all things being equal hardly ever happens.

 

Thanks, PGStaff!  Again the recruiting landscape is foreign to us (as a parent), so your input is invaluable!  Regarding the evaluations, will Mike be given a good idea of the level of play he is best suited for in those evaluations?  Or, is it strictly an objective recitation of the skills he displayed?  Does that make sense?  His list of colleges is not even close to being narrowed down (other than by desired major, architecture).  And as a parent, we want to balance dreams and realities.  As a coach for 34 years, I'd like to think I have a good idea of where he belongs, but...well...I am his dad.  His catching instructor believes he has D1 ability, but it would all depend on program and fit.  The PG "voice" would be helpful.

Our son has attended 3 PG events ..

1. 2016 PG/Evoshield National Championship (Underclass) was made the tourney team  .. we seen lots of scouts there it was a huge event  The competition was at a very strong..

2. We also had him attended 2016 California Underclass Showcase.. where he got  and evaluation of his skills , and there,  he was 2nd In pop time and second in exit velo 82 mph . And did well during the game part of the showcase ..  this scout gave him a thorough evaluation .. with a 7 rating ..  I took evaluation as a tool to help him prep him for the next showcase .. we seen a few scouts there also 

3. 2017 PG Super25 2019 Grad or 16U Four Corners Regional. And there we did not see any scouts .. just a score keeper who was inputing for the event .. Our team won that tourney .. but I did not see any scouts there , but like all PG tourneys it was well run and very  organized.. 

just wanted to shake our expectancies between the 2 showcase Vs tourneys 

COACHGATTO,

The most difficult player for any father to accurately evaluate is his own son.  I have seen MLB Scouting Directors and crosscheckers that make their living being expert evaluators, but they can't accurately evaluate their sons.

One thing people don't always understand is that there are many more kids with DI skills or potential than there are DI roster spots.  So if DI is the goal,  or maybe the highest level of DI,  or even the MLB draft, you should see what is out there and compete with it.  If a player doesn't get that DI scholarship,  but he has proven ability, the lower levels will be there waiting with open arms.  Remember that academics can always enhance interest in many cases.

Showcases can be good but also very expensive. I recomend attending some Prospect camps at schools in your area or at schools he is interested in.My son got alot of instruction, feedback and offers from attending school specific Prospect camp. I would recomend asking what the maximum number of players is. If kept under 50 that works.