PG Sunshine West Showcase

Great showcase. Son did this event twice. As with all PG events, well run, lots of real good talent. Lucas Giolito and Max Freid, both attended and now in the MLB. 

Picked Off posted:

Great showcase. Son did this event twice. As with all PG events, well run, lots of real good talent. Lucas Giolito and Max Freid, both attended and now in the MLB. 

 

Thank you!

As many of you know, PickedOff son and mine ended up playing together at one point in college (and it was a blast).  Another irony is that we later found out that both had attended this event on the same days years earlier.

OSKISD, it has been quite a while but that has always been a solid event with lots of talent and the usual well-run PG showcase.  The schedule will be clearly laid out but the player has to take it upon himself to make sure he is properly warmed up and prepared for each segment.  If your son doesn't already know, this event will give him a pretty clear picture of what the competitive landscape is.

2017 son also attended in 2016 as dual player-C/RHP and he got a chance to do both in games catching the first day and pitching the next.  The talent level was better than what we saw at most showcases.  Tons of great players in the SD and south Orange County areas attended, and we definitely saw future MLB draftees there.

There were coaches at all divisions in attendance at both the skills test and at games, but they tended to be very low key and kept to themselves with their guns and notepads (unlike the showcases where they participate).  So it is possible your son may not see or talk to any of them, but rest assured they are there. They go where the talent is, and it was there, so if your son is talking to any of the area school coaches be sure he lets the coaches know his schedule.  It is also a great place for your son to assess how they stand against the competition.

Ironically, this was the first time my son heard from a coach at the university he eventually wound up at, so we will always hold this PG event as a very fond memory.

Question for the group: what difference does it make which PG showcase you attend? Isn't your rating dependent on your metrics, not the event?

Full disclosure: my son (who has never done a showcase, though he is signed up for one this summer with another organization) got an invitation to Sunshine West this year but I just dismissed it as "just another showcase." Which could be just further proof that I don't know what I'm doing!

It depends on what you are trying to accomplish.  Some go to get metrics in PG because it is the go-to and trusted source.  Some go for exposure to either specific or non-specific college targets.  Some go to see where they stack up, some for the opportunity to play against better competition, many go for a combination of reasons.  

As PG continues to add events and include more and more lower age groups, I think it becomes more important to recognize the make-up of each individual event.  Logic would tell me that the new events with more lower age group would be watered down a bit just from the standpoint of present skill set.  That said, I haven't been to any of these newer events so this is just my deduction.  This particular event is described well by others above.  Sunshine West has always been a strong event although not a true "invite only" event.

cabbagedad posted:

It depends on what you are trying to accomplish.  Some go to get metrics in PG because it is the go-to and trusted source.  Some go for exposure to either specific or non-specific college targets.  Some go to see where they stack up, some for the opportunity to play against better competition, many go for a combination of reasons.  

As PG continues to add events and include more and more lower age groups, I think it becomes more important to recognize the make-up of each individual event.  Logic would tell me that the new events with more lower age group would be watered down a bit just from the standpoint of present skill set.  That said, I haven't been to any of these newer events so this is just my deduction.  This particular event is described well by others above.  Sunshine West has always been a strong event although not a true "invite only" event.

Thanks to you and all who have chimed in here.  My son is interested in metrics, and in sizing up the competition.  Way too early for the other stuff - at least, I hope it is.

2019Dad posted:

Question for the group: what difference does it make which PG showcase you attend? Isn't your rating dependent on your metrics, not the event?

I'm guessing, in part, but in some parts of the country a PG Showcase will offer better competition that in others.  A chance to stand out against excellent players in the game portion of the event?

I don't understand, in this day and age, why someone would attend a showcase in order to get metrics.  You can find out your 60 time, Exit Velo, and Throwing Velo on your own very easily, for free or almost free.  Why pay $600 plus travel expenses for that?

I'm a big fan of Perfect Game, and when/if my kid is ready to get on the recruiting radar we plan on attending multiple PG events, but in the meantime I could recite for you his Exit Velo & 60 time from last week, last month, last year etc etc all of which we easily found out on our own.

You only get one chance to make a first impression.  Make it count.

3and2Fastball posted:

2019Dad posted:

Question for the group: what difference does it make which PG showcase you attend? Isn't your rating dependent on your metrics, not the event?

I don't understand, in this day and age, why someone would attend a showcase in order to get metrics.  You can find out your 60 time, Exit Velo, and Throwing Velo on your own very easily, for free or almost free.  Why pay $600 plus travel expenses for that?

I'm a big fan of Perfect Game, and when/if my kid is ready to get on the recruiting radar we plan on attending multiple PG events, but in the meantime I could recite for you his Exit Velo & 60 time from last week, last month, last year etc etc all of which we easily found out on our own.

Along my sons recruiting journey, several college coaches talked specifically about getting metrics from PG or PBR (we preferred PG), because they are independant numbers and not “Dad numbers.”  I can tell you all day long that my kid throws 90 mph, but that doesn’t mean jack.  PG says he throws 90, and the antennae are up.

FFXFIREMAN - well, yeah, that's kind of my point.  I wouldn't have my kid Showcase until he can put up some meaningful numbers.  You don't have to go to a Showcase to find out if he's ready to Showcase.

3and2Fastball posted:

FFXFIREMAN - well, yeah, that's kind of my point.  I wouldn't have my kid Showcase until he can put up some meaningful numbers.  You don't have to go to a Showcase to find out if he's ready to Showcase.

I guess I misinterpreted your post then. I understood your post to mean, “I can time my kids 60 and gun his arm. I’ll save my money on the Showcase.”

FFXfireman posted:

3and2Fastball posted:

FFXFIREMAN - well, yeah, that's kind of my point.  I wouldn't have my kid Showcase until he can put up some meaningful numbers.  You don't have to go to a Showcase to find out if he's ready to Showcase.

I guess I misinterpreted your post then. I understood your post to mean, “I can time my kids 60 and gun his arm. I’ll save my money on the Showcase.”

Nope.  Once he reaches a certain measureable or set of measureables that is competitive for his position, we plan on going to plenty of Showcases.  The OP mentioned "wanting to get metrics" as one of the reasons why his kid would Showcase, thus my response.

3and2Fastball posted:

FFXfireman posted:

3and2Fastball posted:

FFXFIREMAN - well, yeah, that's kind of my point.  I wouldn't have my kid Showcase until he can put up some meaningful numbers.  You don't have to go to a Showcase to find out if he's ready to Showcase.

I guess I misinterpreted your post then. I understood your post to mean, “I can time my kids 60 and gun his arm. I’ll save my money on the Showcase.”

Nope.  Once he reaches a certain measureable or set of measureables that is competitive for his position, we plan on going to plenty of Showcases.  The OP mentioned "wanting to get metrics" as one of the reasons why his kid would Showcase, thus my response.

I should have been clearer - my reference to 'metrics' should have been '3rd party metrics.'   Agree with 3and2 that there are lots of places to check velo/pop times/etc.

One other point to add about why going to one particular showcase over another matters--timing.  The OP noted that Sunshine West is June 9-10.  That is really important, as it comes before many of the larger showcases and camps like Headfirst and Stanford.  My son was fortunate to have a good showcase with PG to be named to the showcase team, scored in the top 10 in metrics like pop time and FB velocity, and then was able to cite those in his outreach e-mails subject lines to coaches he wanted to meet at HF and Stanford.  I also think there may have been more coaches at Sunshine West because it was before they all got involved with working camps and showcases.  And of course being in San Diego never hurts when coaches decide what showcases they want to scout.

I fully agree with 3and2 that a kid needs to showcase well before he goes to one of these.  There was a 15 year old on my son's team for the games and the poor kid never made contact all weekend.  It was ridiculous his parents paid that kind of money when he clearly did not belong.  But if a kid is ready to show what he has got and wants to secure reliable metrics from a legitimate organization, going to a PG event early in the Summer is definitely worth the investment.