Should JUCO players showcase?

I'm no expert in the field, but the JUCOs we've looked at all have several Scout days, Exposure tournaments and Showcase tournaments.

I'm not sure how you would go about showcasing other than contacting the schools you were interested in. Would be interested in hearing more though....

quote:

Originally posted by Fungo:
I don't hear much about JUCO players needing to showcase. If the showcase philosophy is sound it seems as if they could greatly improve their options by doing so. Most JUCOs are feeder programs to very limited number of D-1s and if the "need" or the "fit" isn't as it should be for the limited programs the JUCO supplys, a player could find themselves handicapped.
Your thoughts.
Fungo

I am not sure there is a need in CA. The CA JC coaches have a fall showcase in NorCal and another in SoCal, in addition to playing a lot of fall ball games that are viewed by scouts and other college coaches. Additionally, my son found that playing good in a decent JC league will get a player plenty of looks and referrals. In CA I had heard certain schools were feeder schools but I am not sold on it. What we found was that most of the opposing coaches and scouts that see games have buddies at particular 4 year schools that know exactly what the school is looking for (i.e. catcher) and don't hesitate to call their buddy about players in the opposite dugout.

My understanding is that there are many scouts out there that are the eyes and ears for 4 year college coaches.

A few things to keep in mind about JUCO players

01--Many were studs in HS and most D-I programs know who they are
02--Many of the JUCO players are their striving to maintain their draft eligibility
03--Many are in JUCO to improve their academic standing
04--The majority of JUCO programs have ties to Division I programs and pro scouts

Bottom line is that the majority of JUCO players are being followed while playing JUCO ball---they are not strangers to Division I coaches or pro scouts

Most JUCO players are being followed by schools that also recruited them out of HS. JUCO games and tournaments act as their own showcase. In addition, it's not unusual for scouts to attend JUCO practices. I think most kids that choose this route obtain a lot of exposure. For a JUCO player, I don't think exposure is one of the challenges... at least not on a routine basis.

quote:

Originally posted by lafmom:
Most JUCO players are being followed by schools that also recruited them out of HS.

I am not sure I agree with that statement. I am sure its true to a certain extent but I don't know any JC kid falling into this catagory.

I made two games at our local JUCO last season and there seemed to be no shortage of scouts there. One of the games had 20 or more.

quote:

there seemed to be no shortage of scouts there

Scouts --- as in pro scouts? I think if it were my son at a JUCO I would want to see more college coaches. We have a JUCO in our town and VERY VERY FEW players advance into the pro ranks. Very little press coverage as to where these players end up but I would guess that many go on to a 4 year college but I don't hear about them playing baseball at a 4 year college.
Fungo

Here is a Texas Junior College player who came from a Southern California high school. He was unknown to most every scouting department until he attended this event. He is now a Major League pitcher. Scroll down the page and read the report. It is a big mistake to think they will always find the best players. BTW, this player was the #3/#4 pitcher on his high school team. In fact, he had a HS teammate who was drafted in the 1st round, yet this player still wasn't very highly thought of by MLB scouting departments and ended up at a Texas JC.
Junior College Player

Jerry

I would bet this guy never really even got looked at by MLB scouts, chances are if he was the 3/4 pitcher in his high school he never pitched on the same day as the #1 pick. At the high schools here in Florida what I have seen is the scouts typically only show up when the guy they have interest in is pitching so unless this guy came on in relief he was never seen.

The local JUCO here, PBCC , gets a lot of scout interest, mainly MLB. There is typically 10-20 scouts at almost every game. In the past three years they have had many guys drafted and the ones that aren't have been feeding into a lot of D1 programs.

I have always thought that there was an untapped market for showcase companies for JUCO players. From what I have seen these guys exceed the age limit for the typical showcase circuit so if they attend a JUCO that doesn't get much scout exposure they run a good chance of being missed.

quote:

Originally posted by Fungo:

quote:

there seemed to be no shortage of scouts there

Scouts --- as in pro scouts? I think if it were my son at a JUCO I would want to see more college coaches. We have a JUCO in our town and VERY VERY FEW players advance into the pro ranks. Very little press coverage as to where these players end up but I would guess that many go on to a 4 year college but I don't hear about them playing baseball at a 4 year college.
Fungo

I noticed that after the college season started the only time college coaches would come to watch was Monday or Weds in So Cal, so if one attended a Friday or Saturday game one would only see pro scouts. Plus some college coaches will attend a practice rather than a game which might conflict with their schedule.

I would speculate if there are a lot of pro scouts watching a team/game, a local D1, D2, D3 coach also knows about the player/(s). Many of the pro scouts and opposing JC coaches make solid referrals to 4 year programs.

From my son's JC team there are at least 3 kids transfering and one kid playing professionally, however you'd never know that by looking at the schools website or casually reading the local paper.

Sorry Fungo. I should have said Recruiters and Scouts. There were far more schools than scouts.

I believe the State of FL has an All-Star game that somewhat doubles as a showcase. It used to be in Kissimmee. There were always plenty of coaches and scouts...but that was back when there was draft-and-follow.