Scout Talk?

I had hoped that you would begin a thread like that, similar to the one at the PG.org site.

X-

I never posted on the PG Forum, but I visited the board often and enjoyed your scouting insight. There are a number of websters on here that have kids playing pro ball, and no doubt there will be more in the future. Hopefully a Scout Talk Forum will be considered.

quote:

Originally posted by bsbl247:
X-

I never posted on the PG Forum, but I visited the board often and enjoyed your scouting insight. There are a number of websters on here that have kids playing pro ball, and no doubt there will be more in the future. Hopefully a Scout Talk Forum will be considered.

That would be awesome to have a forum, with as many parents, coaches, players, scouts and former players/scouts/coaches would love to read or add their info to as well.

I came across a young man from Marathon HS, Wisconsin that I saw only on video tape, but got all angles on him named Cody Hanke, he's playing football this fall and is a 2011, was All-State this spring, Div 3 in Wisconsin State High School Athletics, he was lights out, upper 80's, hard curve ball and a nice level stroke with power and bat speed, 6'4 plus and 200, seems to be still growing, I was told he was 5'9 entering HS frosh year. Very little info on him and I'm anxious to track his progress, but I won't get out to Wisconsin probably until mid to late May 2011.

If anyone has info on Cody, that would be great to see/hear. He seems very projectible to me and as I mentioned, he's very low on the radar screen from what I know at present.

Thanks for the replies!!

X

Definitely consider it.

I realize that some of you are new to the HSBBW, but one thing very different here than from other sites is that amatuer players are rarely discussed.

This really was never meant to be a scouting site, or the original intended purpose for it, IMO anyway.

I to have followed X on the pg website. He's very well respected and he can be an asset for this site if used the right way. He doesn't throw players under the bus, his many connections could help many parents and players and his cult following would generate more eyeballs which could equal more ad dollars for Julie and the site.

Last winter I sent X a video to view of my son. I was worried. My son didn't have an offer and I was looking for an honest opinion. X responded quickly and told us to hang in there. He even send a couple e-mails to some coaches he knew. We have corresponded since then and I consider him a friend. If he can guide just one more parent thru the recruiting process, then he should be welcomed aboard.

By all means there should be more experienced to help in the recruiting process!

But my understanding from what was the original post is that it would be more of a site for reporting players for the MLB draft.

Again, as stated this is not an MLB scouting site.

One thing we don't do here is post negative comments regarding amateur ballplayers as TPM mentioned. Even with pro ballplayers who are generally fair game, we try not to disparage if we know their family are members here (e.g., Zack Duke son of OPP).

That said, I kind of like the idea but not sure we need a separate forum. Why not just start a thread (like this one) in this forum and keep bumping it as you or others have new scouting ideas to post?

No problem with people posting comments or mentioning names with comments like...

Player XYZ has a nice fluid arm action and cruises mid to upper 80's. Looks like a good athlete who can definitely play at the next level.

We hope not to see comments like this however...

Player ABC appears too slow to ever play past the high school level. Also, he appears lazy and may have problems being coached. Not sure he is all that good of a student...

I think you get the idea. I think positive and constructive comments can work but I think you get the idea of what we don't want to see. Use the golden rule and assume it was your kid being talked about. If you don't have something positive to say then we prefer it be left unsaid. You can always discuss "issues" with someone (another scout) behind the scenes via PM.

All that said, I think I like the idea but again, I don't think a separate forum is warranted.

Would like to hear PGStaff's, MN-Mom and other's comments on the subject....

We have not reopened our message board because someone brought something to my attention.

There is at least one site that uses information gathered from other sites. I saw that there were several references to Perfect Game. They were not actually all directly from us, but also some things that others had posted on our message board. Some comments we actually totally disagreed with and yes there were some negative comments about players that we felt were untrue and would never have written.

What we have come to realize is that many of the people who post this expert scouting information are people we do not see at any of our events. Some reference players that we have seen play many times.

I feel that if you're going to report on players they should be players you really have seen and know a lot about, rather than use second hand information. I guess it's possible to run around the country seeing these players everywhere, but why would anyone spend the time and money doing that when they pretty much all are at one or two places each year. Even at that, we spend millions each year scouting amateur players and still make some mistakes.

Why aren't these experts in Jupiter Florida right now? Every MLB club has a bunch of scouts here. The Blue Jays alone have 34 scouts here. Most of the top colleges are here. If those people are here where are the message board scouting experts? Sitting at home waiting for information to be released? It's very expensive and time consuming to actually see them.

Personally I think they post a lot on what they read or see on television. If that is the case we already have many people who post here that can be experts.

We also got tired of being used (free of charge) to promote activities. After all, we don't know what anyone's motives are or what they even do for a living.

Example... Let's say one of these expert posters claims player A is the best thing since sliced bread and player B who we believe to be much better is mentioned as having all kinds of weaknesses. What if the person posting this message worked for the sports agency that represented player A. What if he were the father of player A or a paid instructor or the head of the travel program for Player A. These things would cause serious credibility concerns wouldn't they?

Once again, our biggest problem was having our name attached to comments made by others on our message board. This puts our credibility at risk. At least, that is the way I see things.

That said, we know that some people like XMLB have experience and knowledge. They have a lot to offer on this website. What is the need to post player reports?

I will flat guarantee that we will see or hear about posts being taken from here and posted at other sites labeled as coming from hsbaseballweb.com. And it will not be mentioned as coming from any specific poster on a message board.

If need be I can provide proof of this.

Regarding the positive example that "TheBigNasty" provided. That truly is something that pertains to this site. Anyone who can help guide people through the recruiting process will be welcome here.

I could say more, but I have to get back to work actually trying to "watch" all these talented kids here in Jupiter this week. There are well over 600 scouts and college coaches here and we have about 70 of our own staff here.

That's all, but if others here want this sort of thing, I will not stop it. I was able to stop ours though and seriously thinking about not bringing it back.

After reading PG's comments and the troubles it can cause, I would recommend we don't have a scout talk forum or thread on our site. I can see just too much mischief going on there. Either someone is going to be over-hyped, unfairly criticized, or other anomoly and none of us will actully know if we are actually hearing from a scout who has actually seen someone play. TPM was right. This is a recruiting site - not a scouting site.

I say no.

I like having perspective from a scouts view on scouting in general, what they like, what they are looking for, etc.

Naming individuals and scouting reports on individuals I can see as spiraling downward.

quote:

Originally posted by floridafan:
I like having perspective from a scouts view on scouting in general, what they like, what they are looking for, etc.

Naming individuals and scouting reports on individuals I can see as spiraling downward.

Good points. A general scouting type blog would work but we need to leave the names out imho.

quote:

That's all, but if others here want this sort of thing, I will not stop it. I was able to stop ours though and seriously thinking about not bringing it back.

-PG Jerry

Don't blame you Jerry because when the truth comes out of the mouths of the actual players on what "really happened" it kinda makes others look foolish, and deceptive.

I followed many of XMLBScout's posts on the PG message board and enjoyed them although I did not contribute myself . In light of hearing all the problems from PGStaff that many of us didn't know about, I now see some of the problems that can arise.
As there was an esteemed poster on HSBBW that was a major league scout before his untimely passing, I still feel there could be value in hearing about baseball from the perspective of a scout in general terms. Stories of interactions with players, parents, other scouts, the MLB organizations, travel tales, what a scout truly looks for, present pro players stories from a scouting perspective--all this could be interesting from a scout's viewpoint--without specific names of amateurs. How often a scout sees an 80 arm in the outfield or infield, What's truly a 70 runner?--all this would be interesting to hear from a scout or ex scout.

I like both Three Bagger's and jerseydad's points of view. They don't seem at all incompatible with each other imho.

We had a poster here who we've dedicated a forum to - bbscout. He was as close as you can get to hsbbweb royalty or superstardom and I would put PGStaff in the same category. Everyone cared what he had to say. His style was to just participate in those threads and topics he was interested in. XMLBScout - if you are a pro scout or college scout, start posting in our forums and people will be able to figure that out. It just takes time to establish credibility. Parents and players indeed want to know what the professionls think.

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:
We have not reopened our message board because someone brought something to my attention.

What we have come to realize is that many of the people who post this expert scouting information are people we do not see at any of our events. Some reference players that we have seen play many times.

I feel that if you're going to report on players they should be players you really have seen and know a lot about, rather than use second hand information. I guess it's possible to run around the country seeing these players everywhere, but why would anyone spend the time and money doing that when they pretty much all are at one or two places each year. Even at that, we spend millions each year scouting amateur players and still make some mistakes.

Why aren't these experts in Jupiter Florida right now? Every MLB club has a bunch of scouts here. The Blue Jays alone have 34 scouts here. Most of the top colleges are here. If those people are here where are the message board scouting experts? Sitting at home waiting for information to be released? It's very expensive and time consuming to actually see them.

Personally I think they post a lot on what they read or see on television. If that is the case we already have many people who post here that can be experts.

We also got tired of being used (free of charge) to promote activities. After all, we don't know what anyone's motives are or what they even do for a living.

That said, we know that some people like XMLB have experience and knowledge. They have a lot to offer on this website. What is the need to post player reports?

I could say more, but I have to get back to work actually trying to "watch" all these talented kids here in Jupiter this week. There are well over 600 scouts and college coaches here and we have about 70 of our own staff here.

That's all, but if others here want this sort of thing, I will not stop it. I was able to stop ours though and seriously thinking about not bringing it back.

PG - with all due respect, are you insinuating that I post information from sites and do not attend games and come up with reports from 2nd hand information? I find those comments totally out of line and it's very humorous to see things I wrote in your forum which I truly enjoyed doing for the time it was up, end up being posted on other publications' websites and other blogs, etc., well after the fact after I published that info on your "SCOUT FORUM" under whichever thread I started or commented on at the time.

I can not help that the names I post are from my own viewing, again, either by first hand on the site evaluation in which I have ran into your scouts many times PG, and I know who your scouts and PG X-Checker scouts are, and I know who BA scouts are, as well as the coaches, etc. I haven't been to a PG event other than to AFLAC in the past few years, first time when I saw Nick Adenhart a few years back and right now I'm building a new restaurant so I don't have time to be in Jupiter. I do have contacts there however and get very reliable video's on the spot and notes from parents of prospective players. I can not be in two places at one time, LOL, I only get out to games where my travels and jobs take me and most of it has to do in North Carolina, South Carolina, huge Metroplexes, like Dallas, Houston, New York City, Philly, LA, Seattle, Chicago and St. Louis and sometimes Cleveland. I know the Wood Bat tourneys in Florida are a scouts haven!! No DOUBT!! One day I will attend those and personally PG, I will say "HELLO" if I'm there, because I know alot of the PG remarks are not truly from Jerry only!!

My question was to see if a forum could be started here, but if it's going to cause that many problems, I will not start a thread for the upcoming and future drafts and keep my posts to my personal site. I don't charge for my services or for what I write about and If I do help players get a chance at a scholarship or professional baseball, because of something I passed onto a club or school, or what they saw that I wrote, that's fantastic.

I know you have to make a living at what you do PG and I enjoy what you all do. What others post on their blogs and how other competitors are out there charging for their services and copying and pasting, or whatever they are doing, that's their business and you can shout about that, but don't shout about what I do on my own time and money. Life is too short to get all up in arms about starting a forum or just talk about the upcoming drafts.

I'm sorry I brought it all up and will keep the info I find on players on my own site and you can go there too PG and see if I copied and pasted it from your site if you think my integrity is so low as to do such a thing!

Thanks for everyone's kind remarks and discussion on the topic and I'm sorry to have ruffled any feathers, so to speak, if I did, I'm truly sorry to have brought the discussion about the "SCOUT FORUM" thread up!

Take care and find those hidden gems for tomorrows diamonds!!

X

I think this site is for sharing information not promoting players. I can see every parent/scout posting reports on their son.

xmlb scout

understandable to be on the defensive if your innocent.

but maybe you should hang around, contribute a few things. you may find you'll like it here.

we all have to crawl before we walk.

For 17 years as "founder" of the Area Code games
and 26 years as "founder" of the Goodwill International Series, I have discuss the evaluation of players with hundred's of pro scouts, player agents and college coaches.

For many years, we averaged $35 million in signing bonus to the AC and GWS players.

There is not a 100% consistency in player evaluations, except for the grading and recognizing of the six tools.

WE had the opportunity to provide a forum for our summary of the player's skills, I refused for the simple reason. "I did not desire to harm a player's future". One day tournament, one week of AC games cannot provide sufficient information to effect a young man's future.

Several years ago in a meeting with Mark Newman, Senior VP of the Yankees, we discussed the two difficulties of pro scouts. "Scouting the bat and scouting the heart".

During two weeks [44 games] in Australia this year with 60 players and 10 pro scouts, I believe we can arrive at 90% evaluation of a player's bat and his heart.

This information will be available to the player for his future development and improvement as a baseball player and as a person.

Bob Williams

quote:

Originally posted by Bob Williams:
For 17 years as "founder" of the Area Code games
and 26 years as "founder" of the Goodwill International Series, I have discuss the evaluation of players with hundred's of pro scouts, player agents and college coaches.

For many years, we averaged $35 million in signing bonus to the AC and GWS players.

There is not a 100% consistency in player evaluations, except for the grading and recognizing of the six tools.

WE had the opportunity to provide a forum for our summary of the player's skills, I refused for the simple reason. "I did not desire to harm a player's future". One day tournament, one week of AC games cannot provide sufficient information to effect a young man's future.

Several years ago in a meeting with Mark Newman, Senior VP of the Yankees, we discussed the two difficulties of pro scouts. "Scouting the bat and scouting the heart".

During two weeks [44 games] in Australia this year with 60 players and 10 pro scouts, I believe we can arrive at 90% evaluation of a player's bat and his heart.

This information will be available to the player for his future development and improvement as a baseball player and as a person.

Bob Williams

Thanks for sharing your information Bob! What you, John Young (Founder of RBI) and PG have done to promote baseball and young men is remarkable!

All I was asking in this thread was to see what people thought of a folder for "Scout Talk", but I can see that caused too much trouble and accusations brought up about folks cutting and pasting information or having a draft site/blog, etc.

I understand how player's parents might post info or their coach may post info, etc., but from what I've seen in threads in scout forums is that most of the people posting are in fact those who work in the field as bird dogs, some may even be ML scouts which I'm sure they shall remain anonymous and some parents just want info on their son or wish to defend a report/evaluation a scout may have made or wrote about and there is nothing wrong with that.

Scouts are only wrong 94% of the time which means for every player drafted only 6% of those ever reach the major leagues. So scouting is proven to be an inexact science but scouts who learn their area, know what a player is capable of doing and how coaching/development might be able to help develop that player further in pro ball and projecting that player's body 3, 4 and even 5 years down the road is all part of being a "good scout" or having "good judgement" and that scout will be around for a long long time, eg., those who worked in the game and signed many former All-Stars, Hall of Famers, etc., like a "MAC", "Jerry S", "Tony L", "Buck O", etc.

It's not easy to "hide away" players as in years past with the bureaucratic system in place and the amount of showcases, huge complex tourneys etc., but let me say this, there are still some good "finds" out there of prospects that a lot of scouts don't know much about at all. That's the part of baseball I really love and enjoy, but sharing info on players that basically everyone has seen isn't a bad thing is it?

Working for free, making evaluations, and helping players get exposure to scholarship offers and/or pro interest, is what I enjoy and if I were to work for a club again of course I wouldn't be able to post in a forum, LOL, but this has been fun and I just wanted to see what the moderators of the HS baseball forums thought.

Thanks for letting me vent!

Later taters!

X

XLMBScout,

I have a couple of questions about ML scouting.
A) How is bat speed measured by a scout when you see multiple guys at a tryout who hit well. I know its not just turning on the ball. Is it the ability to let the ball get deep and still be able to square it up? Could you give a little info on this.

B) On outfielders arms, how much do you weigh in accuracy, carry, good mechanics as opposed to sheer velocity. Are throw's "carry" totally related to the throw's velocity, are do some guys throws just carry further for other reasons.

X,
FYI, we have (and had) current, as well as former scouts who post here and do not post of players ability or inability.

My opinion is that this is what professionals in this business do (not talk about players to the general population), and I pretty much would think that most have other things to do than post on message boards about players. I am not sure being a current or former scout has anything to do with it.

I think that what has happened is that you lost your audience, and you came here looking for one.

It's not going to happen, so you might want to try looking for another place to hang out.

BTW, what former team (s) did you scout for? Mind sharing your personal info with us, as to what team, who you have drafted, years in professional scouting, etc?

X I read your posts for years and enjoyed them. Your knowledge of players and your insight on their ability and potential always struck me as being very very good. I hope you can continue to do what you do best and I hope you stick around this site.

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
X,
FYI, we have (and had) current, as well as former scouts who post here and do not post of players ability or inability.

My opinion is that this is what professionals in this business do (not talk about players to the general population), and I pretty much would think that most have other things to do than post on message boards about players. I am not sure being a current or former scout has anything to do with it.

I think that what has happened is that you lost your audience, and you came here looking for one.

It's not going to happen, so you might want to try looking for another place to hang out.

BTW, what former team (s) did you scout for? Mind sharing your personal info with us, as to what team, who you have drafted, years in professional scouting, etc?

Hi TPM and thanks for your reply.

I guess I must not be clear enough to what my proposition was for the moderators/forum. That's ok though.

As far as who I worked for, I worked for many organizations including the MLSB. I started in 1983 as a bird dog and currently work for no one by choice since 2001 when I moved. I hope this clarifies. As far as who've I've signed, that is no one. Who I recommended, that's irrelevant because only the signing scout ever gets credit anymore, only scouts who were passionate about the people that helped them ever gave credit where credit was due. I can say I recommended a pitcher who's battled arm trouble the last couple of years and he ended up pitching in the World Series a few years back, but you'd have to ask his parents, Chuck and Georgene in Brighton, Illinois (hint).

I appreciate the question.

Take care!

X

quote:

Originally posted by Three Bagger:
XLMBScout,

I have a couple of questions about ML scouting.
A) How is bat speed measured by a scout when you see multiple guys at a tryout who hit well. I know its not just turning on the ball. Is it the ability to let the ball get deep and still be able to square it up? Could you give a little info on this. = " I measure bat speed from where the barrel of the bat rests in the hitters' stance, follow that path to where the bat goes to the baseball and finishes thru the zone, I also look at the hitters eyes to see if they are tracking the ball, where the head is at the contact position of the ball to the barrel of the bat and also watch the flight of the ball and see how quickly the ball travels it's path. I also look for the spin of the ball to see if the ball has carry. One hitter that comes to mind from years past would be Jim Thome when he played for Limestone Legion in 1978 in New Ulm, MINN, how his approach and bat speed was or more current, Jonathan Singleton when he last attended the TOS in Cary, I believe it was in 2008 before the Phillies drafted him last year. He was 15 going on 16 at the time too."

B) On outfielders arms, how much do you weigh in accuracy, carry, good mechanics as opposed to sheer velocity. Are throw's "carry" totally related to the throw's velocity, are do some guys throws just carry further for other reasons. - " To me a good throwing arm shows a trajectory with velocity and I also see how the ball skips off the surface of the ground. I was blessed to have seen Ellis Valentine when I was a youth in Omaha before he played for the Montreal Expos as well as Andre Dawson, I got to see Jeff Franceour throw in the minors for the Braves. Sometimes how the player grips the ball will have an effect on the carry, but has minimal effect on the velocity of the baseball. A solid ML arm should touch 90 on the jugs gun. The only way a players throw might carry further is the trajectory of the baseball, flight path leaving the players hand to where the ball was heading. Jayson Werth for me had a 65-70 arm when he was at Glenwood-Chatham, Illinois years ago before the 'Birds took him "

Hi Threebagger, I answered your questions in the quotes above. I appreciate it!

X

Thanks a lot XMLBScout. If you hang around I'll have other questions that I would like the answer to, that are from a scout's perspective. There are many ways in which you can be a valuable resource on this site. Hope you decide to stay.

Did you read these comments from Craig Wallenbrock
and Don Slaught
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/?p=2696

During my 17 years operating the Area Code games, I relied on each of these professionals for their advice. Craig and Don were two of my instructors at a Area Code 5 day camp at UCSB.

Don coached our American team to Japan in 1995.

They have studied the "art of hitting"and from the interview you can learn their evaluations on young hitters.
"I miss the friendship from Don and Craig"

Bob

Interesting, Mr. Williams, especially about the one guy whose fundamentals had declined apparently due to changes in his setup and swing. Kind of shows how a player might have to take care on tweaking certain things for whatever reason.

XMLB Scout,

One player that intrigued me that you mentioned on the other board was Capps who I do believe is a 2011 Draft candidate. How's this pitcher doing?

"RHP, Carter Capps, Mount Olive, 6'4 215, playing for Fayetteville this summer, will be draft eligible next year, from what the press at BA stated, he bumped some 94-95 on the gun, but I haven't seen that, he started this spring 13 games for MOC and the game I was at before the tourney he was 87-89 consistently, topped out at 91, he's got pretty good tilt to the breaking ball but it's still a work in progress, his asset is he's tall and he comes down hill and throws strikes, he won't beat himself. He's got some left in his tank and will probably be one of those guys who comes on next spring after a good fall this fall. He's still 19 and will turn 20 soon. In HS at tourney he was mid to upper 80's so there is progression in his velocity and arm strength and he's learning to be very effective at developing his breaking ball."-(Quote by XMLBS)

quote:

Originally posted by fathertime71:
XMLB Scout,

One player that intrigued me that you mentioned on the other board was Capps who I do believe is a 2011 Draft candidate. How's this pitcher doing?

"RHP, Carter Capps, Mount Olive, 6'4 215, playing for Fayetteville this summer, will be draft eligible next year, from what the press at BA stated, he bumped some 94-95 on the gun, but I haven't seen that, he started this spring 13 games for MOC and the game I was at before the tourney he was 87-89 consistently, topped out at 91, he's got pretty good tilt to the breaking ball but it's still a work in progress, his asset is he's tall and he comes down hill and throws strikes, he won't beat himself. He's got some left in his tank and will probably be one of those guys who comes on next spring after a good fall this fall. He's still 19 and will turn 20 soon. In HS at tourney he was mid to upper 80's so there is progression in his velocity and arm strength and he's learning to be very effective at developing his breaking ball."-(Quote by XMLBS)

Hey Fathertime, thanks for asking. Carter Capps is a tall drink of water who converted from being a catcher in HS to a decent college pitcher and he had a good summer in the Coastal Plain League. This fall I was not able to see him for the Mocs, but based on how he improved velocity wise in the summer, added up to 4-5, was a blessing for him. He's improved his balance point some as well as his downward plane to the hitter. He doesn't have the prettiest of arm actions, but he has decent movement and finish on his pitches. He will be highly scouted early come spring. Pitchers like Romo & Sanchez going late to the Giants may have helped smaller college programs with exposure. There is another DII pitcher at UNO-Omaha named Holtmeyer who's better on paper than Carter is overall, especially his yellow hammer and command, but there is a good chance that both of these young men could be 4-7 round type picks in 2011.

I have Mount Olive on my itinerary to see early next spring along with Louisburg College who had a lefty taken before the 7th rounder in 2010 named Ackerman and now they have two to three kids that could be potential picks in 2011.

Take it easy!

X

Check out Micheal Knox at Mount Olive when you go to see them play. Transfer from UNC who lit it up at the plate for the Mocs last year. Big strong RHP 6-4 who can mash. He broke the school record for home runs last year. Kid can flat out bang it. Great kid hard worker solid defensive 1b. The bat will play.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach_May:
Check out Micheal Knox at Mount Olive when you go to see them play. Transfer from UNC who lit it up at the plate for the Mocs last year. Big strong RHP 6-4 who can mash. He broke the school record for home runs last year. Kid can flat out bang it. Great kid hard worker solid defensive 1b. The bat will play.

Hey Coach May. I saw him too and I couldn't believe he wasn't drafted by anyone. He makes solid contact, has good eye and hand coordination, doesn't have the quickest bat but as you said, it works and he has arm strength, know how at the bag and quite honestly if Casey Kotchman can play in the bigs, albeit he's a lefty hitter, then this kid can as well. He transfered in to MOC from UNCH and I believe he's listed as a junior. Hopefully someone gives him a chance, however, I've seen many a senior at the small college level get passed up and end up signing with an indy league club only to get picked up by a ML team during/after their indy seasons, one was Matty Johnson from Bellevue U who's a pipsqueak at 5'7 170 but can hit both sides of the plate, legit 4.05 from LHH and 4.1 from RHH and 6.4, 60, playable arm, better than Juan Pierre's and the RedSox signed him. Don't be surprised to hear about his name in 3 years if Ellsbury keeps getting hurt.

Take care!

X

A few other players I know of at small colleges got passed over too. Hope Matty, and Michael will at least get an opportunity. Sometimes, that's all it takes is a chance to open the eyes that can see the future.

Three 2011 late-bloomers who have made recent jumps and haven't verbally committed to a college that are all interesting are Christian Lopes/Edison H.S., Larry Greene/Barrien Co. H.S., and DeShorn Lake/Charlotte Amalie Menchville H.S. in Newport News(I played there in N.N!). You can include a fourth college candidate in that above group; a pint size SS from Ga, in that group too; Julius Gaines.

I also noticed Shawon Dunston (Jr.) and Dwight Smith (Jr?) haven't committed either.

Derek Starling/OF-RHP 6'4"/180 at Gardner Edgerton has committed to Nebraska. He may be the one!!!!

Good info. Coach May. Thank you. How's your boy doing? Please give us an update. Hopefully, he is progressing at the next level. I apologize for not making it to your camps a few years back. Gilly asked me to come up for his Dec. camps. Still looking at scheduling. You know how those precious days are primarily spent for educators. Family, family and family That has included my extended baseball family many of those "Thanksgiving and Winter Break(Christmas) holidays in my life. I'm sure you can relate.

Best Regards,
Fathertime71

One more that might be the "Popper" this June. The one biggest surprise in Jupiter this year, 2010. He was downright nasty with late-movement, and run with command. We're only talking mostly 94-95fBs with even a touch of 96&97fBs to seal the deal for a coming out party for every scout in the business, very early this spring! And the young gentleman's name is..............Nick Burdi RHP-Downers Grove South HS(2011)Downers Grove, IL Happy Trails guys

Coach May,

You are an humble person, I am working on that. I should've known better than to ask you to toot either of your sons' whistles.

I did a lil' cking. It's amazing when "everything is just a google search away"-LOL

A .500 batting average for a redshirt freshman's limited playing time ain't half bad if it's with the Tar Heels!

Let Jeff know I asked about him, and I will continue to lift all of you up in prayer.

Respectfully,
Fathertime71

quote:

Originally posted by fathertime71:
Coach May,

You are an humble person, I am working on that. I should've known better than to ask you to toot either of your sons' whistles.

I did a lil' cking. It's amazing when "everything is just a google search away"-LOL

A .500 batting average for a redshirt freshman's limited playing time ain't half bad if it's with the Tar Heels!

Let Jeff know I asked about him, and I will continue to lift all of you up in prayer.

Respectfully,
Fathertime71

I saw Jeff work out last fall for UNC and first saw him as an underclassmen at South Granville with Luck & Maynard there. Luck is a good looking pitcher that flew under the radar for a bit in HS. I believe Matt Harrison went to the same high school didn't he?

Good luck this coming spring! I'm predicting 10-15 HR's and more playing time!! UNC had a down year last year, they should be much much better for 2011 with Goodie, Munnelly, Michael all back and a good recruiting class even with the loss of a couple of arms notably Allie.

X

Jeff is doing great. He decided to transfer after last season and is now at Lander University in Greenwood SC. His new coaches are oustanding guys HC Kermit Smith and AHC Chris Anderson are just super folks. It was a good move for him for many reasons.

From all accounts he is having a great fall season and he really loves the school and the area. I will certainly let Jeff know you asked about him the next time I talk to him. I am sure we will cross paths sometime next season!

Luck was a tremendous pitcher and player for that matter. He signed with Surry CC but went to Tampa in the 07 draft. He had two outstanding seasons and was on the fast track. Then he up and decides he would rather not play anymore. Chris was so talented but he didnt love it enough to go through the grind it was going to take.

Maynard is at NC State and has really done well. He is a Jr this year and should be a nice draft pick. They got him at Catcher , corner infield but its his bat from the left side that plays. I think he will end up in LF at the pro level.

UNC was just not a good fit for Jeff. He is a decent student works very hard but the academics were killing him. The smaller class size and the smaller campus situation seems to be a great fit for him. He is excited about the upcoming season and feels they will have a very good team this year at Lander.

Matt did in fact play for me at South Granville. He graduated the year before Luck arrived. And then the next year Jeff and Pratt were freshman when Luck was a Soph. We had a nice run with those three bats and those arms around.

Nice to have you around here. Keep in touch.