Qualities of a good MLB Scout

Frank I took a scouting job a few month back. I agree with most of your post. But whats the point of the post? Who are you talking to? Scouts?

The #1 most important thing that seperates great scouts from bad scouts is very well known.

Its a matter of how hard they work at their job.

The same thing holds true for college recruiters.

The best scouts don't overlook heart, attitude, intelligence, and anything else that is not graded on a numerical scale

My plan it to get out and see as many younger kids as possible. I know the 08 class and Im learning the 09 class. My goal is to get a great view and understanding of the 10's and 11's. This will give me an idea of who I need to follow and make sure I see. To me its about not sitting back and waiting to hear about a kid. Because this means everyone else has as well. I want to be out there finding them first and then tracking them hard. My main focus will be Central and Eastern NC. I agree with PG. The harder you work the more luck you have.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach May:
Frank I took a scouting job a few month back.

Coach May,
Heard that. Cool!

I was wondering the purpose of this post myself.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach May:
Frank I took a scouting job a few month back.

Let me tell you about a righty down in the Louisiana swamps.....

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:
The #1 most important thing that seperates great scouts from bad scouts is very well known.

Its a matter of how hard they work at their job.

The same thing holds true for college recruiters.

I have a story about a lazy scout, but that is history.

Good scouts back up what they say. If they don't, or can't, then they shouldn't be scouts.

Just because a MLB scout works hard or sees alot of games does mean they are any good at their job.

A good scout will not only scout the player but do the research like talk to the family and college or high school coach, about the players intentions.

Good example,a few years ago, a projected high draft pick was in a HS tournament. The player was a legit 2 way pro prospect. Just about ever MLB scout assume WRONGLY he wanted to pitch in pro ball or in college. About none bothered to ask him Directly this question or the HS coach. Only one of 40 mlb scouts in attendance even bothered
to talk to the player or his family that day.

Turns out he wanted to play infield. HS Coach said the same thing. The MLB scouts would know this if they did their job and stop socializing with each other about a players intentions. Go straight to the source.

The mentioned player was drafted , went to college, a college all american and is draft eligible this year. He thrown one inning in college.Expected to go very high in the 2008 draft.

Ok, so there are good and bad scouts.

What's the point?

Who is the player? Who projected him as a high draft pick? I am assuming that if he was REALLY good and seriously projected high, every MLB team and their scouting director and cross checkers would want to speak with him.

Where do you come up with half this stuff?

This thread.

Sorry, I feel the need to reply (in red)

quote:

Just because a MLB scout works hard or sees alot of games does mean they are any good at their job.

No it doesn't mean they are good, but if they don't work hard and see lots of players, they for absolutely sure will be bad at their job! Other than that, scouts are like players, some have more talent than others.

A good scout will not only scout the player but do the research like talk to the family and college or high school coach, about the players intentions.

Even the "bad" scouts do this. It is one of the very most important duties they perform. If they don't do this, they don't have a job. Some just "work harder" and are more thorough than others.
Good example,a few years ago, a projected high draft pick was in a HS tournament. The player was a legit 2 way pro prospect. Just about ever MLB scout assume WRONGLY he wanted to pitch in pro ball or in college. About none bothered to ask him Directly this question or the HS coach. Only one of 40 mlb scouts in attendance even bothered
to talk to the player or his family that day.

Pretty sure I know who this player is. MLB clubs determine what they draft a player as. If they were extra serious they would have and surely did talk to him. Just because they didn't talk to him "that day" doesn't mean anything. I've seen the first pick of the draft not have a single scout talk to him at a tournament.

Turns out he wanted to play infield. HS Coach said the same thing. The MLB scouts would know this if they did their job and stop socializing with each other about a players intentions. Go straight to the source.

Believe me, they do go right to the source. It sounds like you have very little respect for those in the scouting profession. You would be surprised what is learned about players during a lot of that socializing. BTW, Did that player play the infield last year?
The mentioned player was drafted , went to college, a college all american and is draft eligible this year. He thrown one inning in college.Expected to go very high in the 2008 draft.

And it's still possible he could end up being a pitcher before it's all said and done. If this is not the Florida State player who was an Aflac All American in high school, I apoligize and would ask who it is?

First of all MLB scouts should not be sharing information with others teams. Do you think GM shares its secrets with Honda? Do your job and ask the player yourself does he want to sign and how many $$$ it takes to sign you.

It is amazing what you can learn about a prospect just by talking to them directly. ESP about their makeup.

FRANK/ANDY

Since you are such an "expert", I think I spelled it correctly, on scouting, tell us this: WHO DO YOU SCOUT FOR?

quote:

First of all MLB scouts should not be sharing information with others teams.

No kidding Frank.

"Good scouts" throw out more dis-information to other scouts (especially inexperienced ones)then you can shake a stick at. "Good scouts" dont tip their hand to other scouts, parents, agents, or Frank Martin's.

I wouldnt expect you to tell the difference between disinfo and real info, but it would be great if you would stop making assumptions on something you obviously know nothing about.

quote:

First of all MLB scouts should not be sharing information with others teams. Do you think GM shares its secrets with Honda?
This is true, but there are lots of things to pick up for the "accurate" listener. As in most things, listening is more important than speaking. Knowing what to keep quiet and what to talk about is an art in itself.

Do your job and ask the player yourself does he want to sign and how many $$$ it takes to sign you.
You sound like the boss here! You do understand about the "home visits" don't you? You do understand the "signability" questions, don't you. This job is done in most every case.

It is amazing what you can learn about a prospect just by talking to them directly. ESP about their makeup.

Of course this is true! And its something that nearly every scout does. Maybe it just doesn't happen while you're around. It takes much more than talking to a player to evaluate his makeup! This is another area where the hardest worker does the best job.

Why are you trying to cut down the job that so many good scouts do and have done for so many years? There is a reason why there is such a large turnover in scouts. Those who don't do the "simple" things you have mentioned are replaced by those who will do that.

You simply don't have the credentials or knowleadge to talk about this stuff. My bet is that there are a lot of scouts who just don't talk to you! Because you are talking about some very basic stuff here that everyone should know. Problem is, you don't even know that what you're complaining about is some of the very most basic things that any "full time amateur" scout does.

I appreciate your passion for the game, stick to topics you know more about.

I know what a good scout is.
I know how a good scout treated my family.
I've seen some of the qualities in the way this scout carried himself.
I'm glad that this scout was willing to take a chance, Know matter what happened.
Yes I Do know the qualities of a good MLB scout.
EH

Scouts that doesn't work fallow the players that they heard are good, and they will be credit to sign some players without not real credit at all.
Scout that works find players where nonbody go and some times don't get the credit because any lazy scout at the service of a rich team is the one that sign such player.
The real good scout, is the one that can project the ability of an actual player to the future. Epifanio Guerrero, famous dominican scout for the Blue Jays in the 70's and 80's, saw a young kid catching ground balls in San Pedro de Macoris, but unfortunately the kid had a congenital deformation problem in a leg that doesn't allow him to run. He took the kid home, that was 13 years old at the time, one year later the leg was surgically repaired and eventually Guerrero signed him for the Blue Jays. That player is Tony Fernandez, gold glove at SS, who held for a while the record of more hits in a season (213) for a short Stop.

Racab - I always enjoy your posts!

For starters, Tony Fernandez was indeed an excellent ball player. I'll never forget the homerun he hit in the top of the 11th inning against Baltimore to put the Indians in the 1997 World Series. BTW - Most people probably do not follow the Indians all that closely but they are now tied for the best record in baseball!

Back on topic....

I had a conversation with a college coach yesterday. He said one pro team drafted one of his players after seeing him pitch one inning on fall pro scout day and one mop-up inning last spring. He said it was no wonder that club never wins. I mentioned some of the top draft choices that were currently producing in that organization and he made the comment "My wife could have picked those guys" He said a good scout is someone who can also find players in the lower rounds who could potentially make it to the big leagues. That takes a lot of hardwork in addition to having an eye for talent. I have heard many old-timers say or through their writings that Branch Rickey was one of the best at identifying major-league talent.

Describe the perfect scout.
Please describe the job of a scout from starting with meeting a player until he signs him. Explain 'signability'
Thank you.

wow, this is a good discussion (or turned into one).

I think the scouts that sign the top ranked players have the easiest job, those players has been identified by every MLB scout working for an organization. And sometimes he just lucks out because that player is in his area.

The better scout, IMO, is the one who convinces his team to go for the less known player, who might not have played at the top schools or been on everyone's fav list, etc.

A really good example is the pick before my son for the Cards, Mortenson from Gonzaga, a senior. That scout did a good job, my son says he is awesome, one of the best he's seen with one of the biggest pitcher upsides he has seen this past summer. If he stays healthy he'll be a winner.

Signability means how much a player think he is worth to sign and how much the team who is drafting him thinks he is worth.

Player make think he is worth 1 million and the team
thinks 50,000.

quote:

Originally posted by Frank Martin:
Signability means how much a player think he is worth to sign and how much the team who is drafting him thinks he is worth.

Player make think he is worth 1 million and the team
thinks 50,000.

That's not right.

I will give my son as an example. Coming out of HS my son had a very strong college commitment (lots of scholarship $$). Due to that, and depending where he was drafted, he might not sign based on bonus money. His commitment was stronger to playing in college than going pro out of HS. That becomes a wasted pick for the team. If the above was based on signability, no one would be drafted because we and our sons all think they are worth more than they actually are and scouts know that.

iheartbb,
I can give you my thoughts on what makes a good scout based only on our HS experience. Drafted out of college, we spoke to three scouts, one called here because he thought it was son's phone and two we met at a hotel right before teh draft at regionals. Discussions had nothing to do with son at all.
In HS we had one scout come to our home who spent most of the time talking about himself. That scout has been on several teams in the past few years. Most of the scouts we met with explained about their organization, how they handle rookies out of HS and asked son and us lots of questions. Even with his signability issues we still saw them at many games writing reports on son, so he wasn't passed over. No one spoke about any money or where he would fall in the draft. I considered them doing their job because they were doing their fact finding, the first step in scouting a potential draftee. We alosd made it pretty clear, as college graduatesm we prefered him to go to college first. I don't think my son really knew what he wanted.

One scout never came to our home but we met up with his often at the field and he would call me all the time to find out his schedule. He watched him alot in the bullpen as did most of the scouts. Not with the gun, but just his preparation because that I hear tells alot about a player, (this year I saw one scout come over to watch and take notes on son's entire pre game warmup to bullpen, about an hour). Anyway the scout in HS offered him a chance to play for his team, and son declined and his answer was, I think you made a wise decision. He never once tried to change son's mind. We found that to be the norm for most of the scouts, and one top scout (I will not mention his name) called the night before the draft just to ask if what he heard was true, that Dave wanted to go to college first (yes they do talk) and we said yes and he said, if it was mine, he'd go to Clemson first. That scout has drafted many from Clemson so he understood where son was coming from. The most difficult visit was with the scout who was a former player of my son's soon to be pitching coach. I am sure he was on the phone to you know who as soon as he left the house.

As far as this past draft year, I have learned, once your son is in college he is on his own, but at 20-21, they usually can tell who is doing a good job and who isn't. And all of the scouts respected his wishes and his coaches wishes, all questions were funneled through KO. That was very professional. And this time a lot easier, he was ready and he let them know it and they conveyed that to their bosses. He treated them honestly and they did the same.