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2017 has been invited to some work outs by various different MLB scouts in the next few months. In searching hsbaseball web it looks like other people have mentioned being invited to these right before the draft. Is this the same thing?  Any thoughts about attending one of these in January or February as opposed to near the end of the high school season? He has shut down for a while but will be throwing again by the time these roll around in January. 

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My son went to a few. Was NOT highly sought after. Made a trip to Seattle and he had a blast. Was 1 of 2 HS kids there and the other went as their #1 pick in 2nd round. Attended Padres and missed Braves due to Seattle because of earlier invite/in house visit. I think they all happen right around the draft and if you miss it you miss it. Others can clarify that. 

Even though we figured he would not be drafted for anything worth signing for, we went to Seattle for the experience. The Braves would have been great too being in Atlanta but they waited to long to ask him. He looked good on that mound at Safeco.

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We have not made a decision on an advisor yet.  And he is planning to attend (great picture, Shoveit4Ks!).  We were just a little taken aback by the timing as we had read of these happening right before the draft, not in January or February.  It seems like most players would be just starting up again after shutting down for a while and we wondered if anyone says no to the earlier work outs.  Or is that just not done by those who are not predicted to be first round picks?

Do you know if there will be anybody there besides the area scout?  If so, the Jan/Feb workouts are your son's chance to be seen by folks who will be "in the room" during next year's draft.  He doesn't have to wow them in Jan/Feb, but it's always good for the big brass to put a face (and a body) to the name.  If it's not too much of a financial hassle and he's physically ready to throw, I would suggest you go.  As SHOVE says, it's a great experience, if nothing else.

1) There were more than a few group workouts for specific teams during the winter, e.g., Dodgers held one outside of Philadelphia. Many others as well. They are attended by many within the scouting organization, including Player Development decision makers. If he's not 100%, don't go. I've often heard the adage "it can't hurt" but the reality is that it can! 

2) Indeed there are workouts before the draft, about 7-10 days beforehand. The teams have their planning meetings, then there's a call for potential draftees to attend. Many of these workouts overlap, so choose wisely.

3) Get an adviser!

4) SUGGESTION: invite area scouts to your son's workouts. That's what we did. Granted joemktgson is a position player, so it's a bit easier, but we always invites scouts to attend the winter indoor hitting sessions he had (he hit everyday), as well as his physical conditioning (yeah, that was attended as well). And when the field was available, we'd hit outside and invite the scouts. In fact, we published online the workout schedule, and scouts would just show up. BUT AGAIN: don't do this until he's ready.

Also, many of these events are less about seeing the kid workout and more about meeting and getting to know him, particularly the Dec-Feb workouts.  Some of the workouts are "all-inclusive" in that they run through all the showcase exercises (IF, OF, 60, pops, hitting) and others may be a subset of those or just hitting.  You'll also see kids sitting out certain things if they're nursing an injury or not in season condition to perform without higher risk of injury.

This weekend we were at one where they hit groundballs to IF at SS who tossed balls in bucket (no throwing at all) and then everyone hit.  Had PO's there who were invited to hit if they wanted.  THere were no throwing activities at all.  Most focus was on the Asst. GM and Scouting Director along with National Cross Checkers talking with the players throughout the afternoon.  None of these Nov-Feb workouts has had any pitchers throw whatsoever.

The true "Pre-draft" workouts that occur in the few weeks before the draft, players are expected to perform everything, which shouldn't be an issue as everyone is in HS/College season form.  Son did a couple of those last season and they were pretty much the standard showcase activities.

2016 Son committed to D1 program as a LHP Junior year in HS . He had been seen by MLB team scouts at Area code games, HS games and other events. Spoke w/ local and regional guy from 1 MLB team . But basically heard nothing SR year from any MLB Clubs .

14 days before the draft , His HS coach received a call from a senior scout at MLB scouting bureau. Asked for son's phone number. Called and asked him to do a pre-draft workout as a HITTER.

Son and 3 local NCAA players were worked out ( 60, fielding drills, BP ) for several hours quietly at local university.

Afterwards, the scout explained what he does.  MLB scouting bureau employs scouts and has a data base of players that all 30 teams have access to. Scout explained that inquiries about him were made by several teams but they had no data. Scout also asked about his college commitment and what his interest would be as a ' lower round pick' w/ guaranteed full college scholarship fund and minimal money.

It was a really cool experience for him and I highly recommend it if is truly a 'Legit' workout by an MLB team or MLB scouting bureau

So to add on StrainedOblique's comments, the MLB Scouting Bureau is no more (at least what remains no longer resembles what it did prior to this year.  So there are basically workouts that will be invite only and hosted by one or more MLB teams OR the new USA Baseball/MLB Prospect Development Pipeline which is just beginning and will eventually host workouts in 17 locations throughout the year.  Right now, there are 5 locations hosting workouts between now and early February.

None of these have any cost to the player.  If you get an invite and there is a fee associated with it (other than you covering your own expenses to get to and from and any hotel that may be necessary), then it's very unlikely to be a legitimate team workout.

Last edited by Nuke83

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