pro contact

Bob - Welcome to the hsbaseballweb!

Its ok to talk to pro teams. Be very careful before venturing into the advisor arena...nothing wrong with it, but get yourself familiar with NCAA rules. Just to get your son cleared (NCAA Clearinghouse) to play college ball, you will have to answer some questions re/ advisors/agents and pro sports honestly...don't go down a road too fast that you cannot back out of.

My guess with little information on your son is that it will become clear over the next 6 months whether an advisor is of any use. Don't rush it!

For recruiting, start at this link and read it all.

Recruiting Tips

Here's another link on agents/advisors:

Agents vs. Advisors

...and a more general link on pro scouting:

Pro Scouting

My son is 17 years old. 6'2" tall and 185 pounds. Runs the 60 in 6.62. Junior stats were batting average of 415, rbi's 58, homeruns 18, stolen bases 38. How can I find out the rules about agents and advisors. Is it normal for pro teams to contact a high school junior personally.

Read the stuff I linked above.

Yes, its normal for very good baseball players to get contacted by pro teams at this stage.

Basic rule for advisors: Don't sign anything and don't let them 'negotiate' anything with a pro team on behalf of your son. All contact with pro teams should be your son and you, face-to-face. An "advisor" should be simply that, someone who gives you and your son advice based on their experience/expertise and nothing more.

(BTW, the stats don't really matter much to pro scouts. More important for mom and dad).

bob- Pro teams contacting players is quite common if the player is on their radar. Your son is obviously a very talented player who has a bright future in the game.

Firstly, the Recruiting Timeline here on HSBBWeb is a quality guideline to the ins and outs of how to go about playing at the next level. Despite whatever various levels of professional interest a player might be receiving, I would highly recommend not overlooking the collegiate aspect of the game.


As a general rule of thumb, a player can have a person or persons who act as an advisor or advisors as long as there is no money being exchanged, or no official documents being signed. A non-binding (often referred to as verbal) commitment to an advisor that involves neither of the aforementioned things would qualify as legal in the sense of an advisor.

As justbaseball mentioned, an advisor isn't completely necessary, and I would err on the side of caution when choosing one. Make sure that you and your son feel very comfortable with this person and that they have a good and trustworthy track record. Sports agency is an incredibly cutthroat business and in this particular case, knowledge is most certainly not ignorance.

In terms of rules pertaining to college, I would suggest looking up the Eligibility guidelines through the NCAA.

If you have any more questions or are looking for assistance, there are many people here on this website that have gone through this kind of thing. I would urge you to contact those people directly, as I'm sure many would be delighted to help you in whatever ways they can. As a college player, I can provide you with as much insight as I presently know, but I cannot comment on the aspect of an advisor/agent from the professional point of view because I have not directly experienced it other than observing what my friends and peers have experienced in their professional baseball experiences.

quote:

(BTW, the stats don't really matter much to pro scouts. More important for mom and dad).

justbaseball is very right in the above statement as well. Scouts base their evaluation on many things, but put very little weight on the player's stats, especially in high school. You listed your son's height, weight and 60 yard dash time...those are some things scouts evaluate.

quote:

Again he has only finished his junior year of high school and still has one year left. Is it ok to talk to professional teams? When will the draft process for him start?

You will probably know when the process starts for your son, but the draft process has already started for many his age. As soon as the draft ends (about a week ago) the 2012 class is the focus.

MLB and NCAA

Read the comments here, from a few MLB executives.
Next year's draft

quote:

BTW, the stats don't really matter much to pro scouts. More important for mom and dad

This is true. However, I do think that the stat of 18 HR's in a high school season will mean something to scouts.