SEC vs ACC - draft opportunities

You might want to check last year's draft tracker. I think more were drafted from ACC than SEC. Not 100% sure.

Most ACC and SEC conference games are well attended by almost every mlb team.

I have attended both conference games over the years and think the SEC is just brutal, fans included.

When you say middle of SEC, I would wonder who you are talking about?  Last year, the middle teams at the end of the season would have been Florida, LSU, and Georgia.  There is not an ACC team that has that strong of a reach when it comes to fans other than maybe FSU.  But that is not the question.  The scouts are at every game in SEC and ACC and they are at practices and scrimmages.  Some of the guys that are transferring have said top SEC teams get them more opportunities consistently against higher profile teams but I don't know that anyone in the SEC or ACC is getting more or less exposure to scouts.

86 SEC vs 58 ACC players were drafted last season.

Players are transfering to SEC/ACC programs because better competition brings players more draft $$$.

Begin where you will play and as your draft stock rises so  will better opportunities.  I know many don't like that but it's the new reality.

Do a search on which programs have more players drafted and how many have actually reached MLB.

I agree that scout exposure would be the same for both conferences.

Based on the 2021 opening day MLB rosters, there were 38 ACC alum and 77 SEC alum. Divide that by the number of teams in the conference and you’ve got 3.2 MLB players per ACC team and 5.5 MLB players per SEC teams. But these number are skewed by top teams, see below.

I’m not sure what a middle team is from the SEC conference – I saw Tennessee in 2017 and would have said they were a bottom third SEC team, but last year they were arguably the best team in college baseball.

I was ignorant to the draft process, but my kid had his path well defined. He turned down the draft twice before signing (I was wrongly disappointed both times). He knew odds of getting to the mlb are very small, but after the 5^thround they’re much smaller – unless they invest in a significant signing bonus. As emotional as the draft process is, it’s important to understand the business and the odds.  

Good luck in the Journey, and remember that amateur ball is way more fun for the parents (imo).

Number of players on 2021 MLB opening day roster (ACC / SEC):

I suspect that many of these players from both conferences had draft opportunities out of high school.  My sense is those opportunities are fairly aligned with the resulting SEC/ACC draft data above. I believe there is more than enough exposure in both conferences to maximize potential draft status with scouts.  While I believe the advice that "if your son is good enough to play professional ball the scouts will find him", I also believe some programs/conferences enable players to maximize potential outcomes. 

We had 10 go to pro ball from last year's team at UT.  Every fielder from the final starting lineup was drafted except 1 who has a degree in aeronautical engineering along with a trio of pitchers.  Several transfer guys said on the podcast they came because of better opportunities to be drafted higher as suggested by their advisors.  We have the 1st or second overall pick next year, according to who you read, and 3 of the top 23 college picks.  I do not say that to brag but to say that if you are strictly looking at numbers it makes sense to go SEC.  But I also believe that every SEC or ACC team gets to play some tough competition.  I feel like some college coaches do a great job of promoting their players to pro scouts and making it easier to get information.  Our coaching staff does a great job of giving the pro scouts all kinds of info on players according to a few of my scout buddies.  The analytics are the thing now and some college coaches are not willing to share their analytics on their own players with anyone.  I know they can still get them but it makes it a little harder for pro teams and some times later in the process.

Son is filling out MLB questionairre right now and one of the questions is what % describes how committed you are to playing pro ball next year.  Son put 100% but that has not been there before.  I thought it was interesting.

I believe if you’re a top ten round pick you’re going to be found regardless of where you play. After the tenth round the odds of making MLB diminish greatly. Where getting a shot because of your conference may matter more is in rounds 11-20.

@PitchingFan posted:

Son is filling out MLB questionairre right now and one of the questions is what % describes how committed you are to playing pro ball next year.  Son put 100% but that has not been there before.  I thought it was interesting.

Do you think there is a considerable enough percentage of players drafted in late rounds that simply believe they have no real shot, are happy to just be drafted, maybe get to play short season low A or something and are happy to go home and start their careers and are just proud they were drafted? (as they should be proud).  Maybe that's creeping up into the higher rounds, considering there are fewer?

Where teams would like a little more effort to stick?  Ie the player is making the decision to leave rather than their play or the team making the decision?  Or maybe with all the attention on MiLB pay and conditions that the shine is a bit less than it used to be?

I find it interesting it's asked as well from a layman perpspective, considering most people would think that of course the answer is 100%.  many probably never had the shot nor understand the grind it took to get it.  But the fact that it's on the questionnaire certainly begs the question what's going on.

I think they at least make the player think about it even if they lie.  They make them question am I really 100% willing to give up whatever else to give it a shot.  I'm sure no one puts less than 100% but it is thought provoking.  Son said why would anyone put less than 100%.  There are several questions on there that are very thought provoking.  I love the one that asks what you would do with your shopping cart when you are done with it?  A.  Leave it where it is.  B.  Move it to the side  C.  Take it to the shopping cart area in the parking lot  D.  Take it back to the front of the store and put back in the rack where you got it from.

Thanks to all for your perspectives.  It feels like this thread may be moving in a different direction now.  My son had been told something about the scouts in the SEC vs. the scouts in the ACC - my original question was designed to see if what he was told was common knowledge (i.e. many of you might bring it up) or just part of a sales pitch.

Because HSBBW is about trying to get kids to play after high school I didn't want to throw what he was told out there and have it become a rabbit hole...

Thanks again

The same scouts cover areas not particular conferences.  Some scouts will cover higher level teams but there is no difference between ACC and SEC.  IE.  The same scouts will cover South Carolina and Clemson but they may not cover the smaller jucos in SC.  Maybe that answers your ultimate question.

@HSDad22 posted:

Do you think there is a considerable enough percentage of players drafted in late rounds that simply believe they have no real shot, are happy to just be drafted, maybe get to play short season low A or something and are happy to go home and start their careers and are just proud they were drafted? (as they should be proud).  Maybe that's creeping up into the higher rounds, considering there are fewer?

Where teams would like a little more effort to stick?  Ie the player is making the decision to leave rather than their play or the team making the decision?  Or maybe with all the attention on MiLB pay and conditions that the shine is a bit less than it used to be?

I find it interesting it's asked as well from a layman perpspective, considering most people would think that of course the answer is 100%.  many probably never had the shot nor understand the grind it took to get it.  But the fact that it's on the questionnaire certainly begs the question what's going on.

About eight years ago I read 84% of American MLBers come from the first ten rounds of the draft. It’s why it’s where there’s slot money. Another 10% come from rounds 11-20. At the time there were 40 rounds.

At that time I would say anyone drafted after round twenty was likely to be signing up as Single A roster filler so the real prospects could play and a real long shot to make the majors.

I would say player selected in rounds 11-20 show some likable skills making them a prospect. But not enough to give signing money. **

** exceptions being top prospect, late draftees MLB organizations hope to convince to skip college

@PitchingFan that question might be about leverage as well…

OP I would say there is an advantage in the SEC because of the depth of the conference. But you only get seen if you are playing! It’s also not always apples to apples. Top of the ACC school vs. bottom of the SEC and the balance tips ACC. All of this also assumes baseball is the only consideration. Finally, I agree they will find you.

@ALF648 posted:

Good afternoon.  I am interested to get perspectives on the following questions:  is there a difference between scout exposure playing for a mid-SEC program vs. a middle to top ACC program?  At that level, assuming the player is draft-worthy,  is there any reason to believe that the one conference is more favorable than another?  Thanks

Said to us/my son by a man who is now Director of Scouting for a MLB team, "no matter where you go, if you rise to that level, we will find you".

ALF648

"no matter where you go, if you rise to that level, we will find you".

True statement and it reminds me of the stories the scouts tell behind the screen.

While watching a game in Reno, famous pro scout decide to play a game on his friends.

He left a note on the dashboard of his car. " Winnemucca tomorrow to see a LHP at Legion Tournament"!!!

The result was a stream of cars departing into the desert.

Bob

@Consultant posted:

"no matter where you go, if you rise to that level, we will find you".

While I have always agreed, there is a lot more developed HS, college talent out there now than there was years ago.

Now that the draft rounds have shortened, transfer rules have changed, it's a different game.

Are scouts really out there searching for the diamond in the rough, or are they concentrating more on the top arms, top hitters?

For the draft, a lot does matter where you will attend, where you do attend, where you transfer to or if your dad played the game at the highest level and most of all as mentioned by PTWood, are you playing or sitting on the bench.

The player has to decide what's best. I know of a player that is projected top 3 rounds, decided to remain at the mid D1 where he began. Unlike others that transferred to better conferences to improve their draft position, it will be interesting to see where he falls in the draft.

As far as the discussion about Brown, who cares. Really. One doesn't attend and play baseball at Brown to get drafted.

JMO

As far as the discussion about Brown, who cares. Really. One doesn't attend and play baseball at Brown to get drafted.

The conversation about Brown is in another thread that wasn’t about the draft. The conversation had nothing to do with the draft. My response had nothing had nothing to do with the draft. So why did you make a know it all, antagonizing, put down post about no one from Brown is going to get drafted? Why are you butting in where your comment is irrelevant to the exchange and the involved thread?

@RJM posted:

As far as the discussion about Brown, who cares. Really. One doesn't attend and play baseball at Brown to get drafted.

The conversation about Brown is in another thread that wasn’t about the draft. The conversation had nothing to do with the draft. My response had nothing had nothing to do with the draft. So why did you make a know it all, antagonizing, put down post about no one from Brown is going to get drafted? Why are you butting in where your comment is irrelevant to the exchange and the involved thread?

I put it here on purpose. There are a few here whose sons have had opportunities there.

What has been brought up several times, "who wants to play for a losing program". People use sports or anything else for different reasons to get an education and are very successful. My point is, does it matter? No! Give it a rest.

You either use your smarts or use your athletic talents to get you an education.  It should have very little to do with winning, losing or getting drafted.

The draft is an improbable opportunity to have a multi-year job interview for a dream job where 90% of the applicants are rejected.

I’m going to echo the sentiment that if a kid projects to have MLB skills, he will be found if playing just about anywhere. Case in point, my son was not on anybody’s radar in HS, 12 not very good innings as juco freshman and the Padres called in late rounds.  

It makes sense to leverage an athletic ability for both a shot at the brass ring and a marketable lifetime skill. The better the college and major that can be handled, the better positioned for the future.