Should you attend an underclassman showcase

Dibble

An underclassmen showcase is just that--an underclassmen showcase-- people know that going in and I would think understand it--- they want to get on radar screens and be noticed before the summer between junior and senior years.

Keep in mind any exposure is good exposure---

By the way how did you get in to this "event"--I thought you have been barred from most in your area

no one barred me from anything, as usuall wrong info

Not from what I hear or perhaps this showcase wasn't on a college campus

By the way--please work on your spelling and typing-- it isnt right that a "baseball guy" who has all the connections you have cannot spell or type--makes us all look bad

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
they want to get on radar screens and be noticed before the summer between junior and senior years.

Keep in mind any exposure is good exposure---

But to whom are they being exposed if no scouts are in attendance?

Any exposure is good exposure, a good statement on the face of it. But doesn't there need to be some economic justification for the exposure? {Not talking in terms of scholarships, of course.} Could the same $300-$400 be spent elsewhere to get better exposure?

Texan

There are many events where the promotors evaluate the players and list the results on their site for coaches to see

TRhit, hopefully I'm not coming across as negative as I'm seeking info from which to base future decisions. And at times I may play the "devil's advocate", as here.

I wonder how many coaches take the time to view the results which the promoters spend so much effort to collect & post. Do you have any idea?

I will send you a pm with a scenario, as I would like to have your advice if you have time to share it.

send the scenario

I can tell you this--we do not post evaluations from our events but many schools contact us for info on players

For 2007 and 2008,answer is no, no matter who is there or not there, not necessary, unless you got bucks to burn. JMO.

TPM

I totally disagree---many things can happen right now for the 07 and 08 kids--- we saw a number of them this summer and we have a good number of them playing for us this fall and already they have created interest among colleges--- they are now on radar screens and coaches are following them

Nothing is necessary but many times it is the right thing to do

TR,
The question asked was for attending individual 07,08 showcase, I still stand by no. Especially if there is no one in attendance to watch, which I always assumed was the purpose of a showcase.
By all means one should get in as many tournaments as possible throughout high school.

I have stated that on several occassions.

While there is no one formula for success I suggest the following:
9th,10th..play as many GAMES as you can, as is affordable.
11th...fall, winter tournies bring great attention,
11th..spring, maybe a showcase but not necessary
senior summer...a must for travel summer ball or any summer ball
senior fall...tournies and showcases
senior spring...showcases if not signed

I have left out other ways to get noticed, but to me, this can work, it's a simple plan, which requires funds that don't have to be spent unneccesarily.

TPM

I know full well what the question was---to begin with you never know who is there despite someone saying nobody was there. It could be the guy who looks like somebodies Grandfather sitting in the stands who gets the word out.

We have a boy who was contacted by a major Division I program and when the college was asked how they got info on the boy they said " OH we had someone there who saw him at the such and such showcase"--the guy never signed in or talked with us--but they had the info--

If you do not start somewhere where do you start ? That is the question--it is also a great way for the player and his parents to "get their feet wet" regarding showcases and showcase formats. The next one wont be as nerve racking for the player and parent(s).

And last but not least if the player doesnt attend a showcase early on perhaps he does not get an invite(s)to play on a travel team

It is all part of the process--yes the process entails $$$ but so does everything that is worthwhile. One has to weigh the pros and cons of each situation and event.


And by the way we do not run underclass showcases so I am not hyping our events here--just stating a philosophy that I believe in and what I would do if my sons were now starting out

One of the advantages is exposure. Not exposing the player to scouts but exposing the player to showcases. I wouldn't budget much for underclass showcases but they can be useful in preparing a player for future showcases.

TR sorry, with exception of a few tournaments,
WWBA 18 U PG at East Cobb
WWBA 17 U PG at East Cobb
WWBA woodbat championship in jupiter
senior fall classic

there are hardly any college coaches and MLBS Scouts at most travel ball games. Mostly parents complaining how much money they are spending on travel ball

I saw one of the top travel teams in the USA this past weekend.

amount of colleges and MLB scouts attending, ZERO.

HS Showcases are WAY BETTER for exposure. The only one that gonna tell you different are travel team coaches. Everyone is playing travel ball now. Try asking college coaches and MLb scouts what is the best way to exposure your kid to colleges and mlb scouts

TPM, thanks for the input.

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
And last but not least if the player doesnt attend a showcase early on perhaps he does not get an invite(s)to play on a travel team

That certainly is not the case at all around here.

Attending a showcase as an underclassman freshman or sophomore is not necessary. My opinion, period. Things haven't really changed, by the time my son was a sophomore he had invitations to showcases by the dozens. He wasn't interested. He worked on improving his game, grew up a little and his velocity and his stuff to get better. He went from a HS player ranked in the top 250 to as low as 29 his senior year.
When do you begin. Begin by playing in meaningful tournaments and games that are well attended. There is plenty at exposure at these events for a young player. Get your son on the radar screen early by exposure in a game situation, and if he is good by his junior year, when it really begins to become important, they will be there to see him.
Let your sons grow physically and mentally and let them get their stuff together. Find out what's going on in your state of importance, if not, team should travel out of state. I am just trying to help parents understand that this is a process, make a plan to spend money wisely.

I think the mindset some parents have is the earlier my son starts, the earlier he will get an offer, not so. There is a lot more that goes into it. I suggest to a parent, the first two years of HS, importance should be placed upon school, tutoring to get teh grades up, learning to play the game to get to a higher level and private instruction if there are things to improve upon. As stated before, their isn't really any one way to go that is better than the other, that's apersonal decision. But the decisions should be well thought out and meaningful.
TR,
I do not disagree with you about you never know who is watching. It happens all of the time. I know plenty of players who didn't attend any showcases at all, parents spent their money on good and meaningful summer ball, a good camp possibly, hitting lessons, pitching lessons and they were committed by summer. If not, they extended their plan to senior fall and spring and committed by the spring.
What year was the player in? Your young players were seen in game situations?
Texan,
You are welcome.

TPM

Our travel team does nothing but play in games during the fall--thus the underclassmen get seen and seen often

The player I made note of is a current senior but that is not the point--the point is that you never know who is watching you

As for the parent mindset we try to make them aware that they won't get offers until after the junior year but they will be on the radar screens of many college way before then

Seeing that Perfect Game holds more Underclass Showcases than anyone, thought I would give my perspective.

We started doing Underclass events several years ago. The main purpose was to scout younger players. After all we were responsible for ranking them in Baseball America.

We didn’t think it would be a big deal or get a ton of interest. Since then we have had thousands of underclassmen attend these events including many who ended up being first round draft picks and/or college All Americans.

Also our best showcase for rising seniors each year is held earlier (in June) than all others. We want to know who the best players are before they are juniors or seniors. Otherwise we would be inviting the wrong players to our National. Anyone who cares to look at the players who have participated in past PG Nationals will see the talent level.

A large number of these players were found at PG Underclass Showcases. By the way (it can be checked) most all PG National Players are then invited to East Coast Pro or Area Codes held later in the summer. Truth is, it all started for many of them at Underclass events.

We knew scouts and college recruiters were always going to be most interested in the current class. They would spend their money covering the current class. In the meantime our goal was to start a file on young players. This way these players would have a history. We could monitor progress and watch players develop.

I talked to Dan Jennings (Florida Marlins VP) who was then the Scouting Director for the D’Rays. I told him about these underclass events. He said “Jerry, why would a scouting department or college recruiter even care about sophomores and freshman?”

I was ready for this question and had an example prepared. Here is how the conversation went. Fairly close to the exact words!

“Dan, when you draft a player and consider paying him $2,000,000 don’t you want to know as much as possible about that player? He answered “Of course” but what’s that have to do with a sophomore or freshman in high school?

What if you were deciding between two identical pitchers, both very good, both 6-2/185, both with 92 mph fastballs. Now you look at these two over the last 4 years.

You noticed that pitcher “A” was throwing 88 mph as a 6-1/175 9th grader and pitcher “B” was throwing 78 mph as a 5-8/145 9th grader.

Then you see that pitcher “A” was throwing 90 mph as a 6-2/180 Soph. and Pitcher “B” was throwing 83 mph as a 5-10/160 Soph.

Then you see that Pitcher “A” as a Junior was throwing 92 mph and was 6-2/180 and Pitcher “B” was throwing 88 mph and was 6-0/175.

Now it’s the draft eligible year and they’re both 6-2/185 and both throwing 92. Which one would you project to be better NEXT YEAR? Which one is more likely to grow some more? Is the history of these players very important.

He said, Jerry you’re really on to something here!

Chris Lubanski, Lastings Milledge, Delmon Young, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Ryan Sweeney, BJ Upton, Zach Greinke, Prince Fielder, Jay Rainville, Justin Upton, Jeff Clement, Andrew McCutchen, and many, many more were all players who attended PG Underclass Events. I could mention hundreds of high draft picks and college stars. All had a long history with lots of information. This info would often show year by year improvement. This improvement would give clues regarding work ethic and dedication among other things. Not only could a player’s progress be followed, but valuable clues regarding that all important “make up”! Most importantly, it would give added data to the projection issue.

Please understand!.... I am not saying that the underclassmen events were the reason for these players success. However, the Underclassmen Showcases were the first time we saw them play and it was the first of many reports we had on them. Here is a link that could shed some light on the subject.
Chris Lubanski

At the risk of sounding like PG is extra special, may I say this? If we (PG) see a good underclassmen prospect… The entire scouting world will soon know this player. One could say… that is as good of exposure as an underclassmen can get!

TPM,

Just this week a recruiting coordinator at a top DI college (one you are extremely familiar with and very close to) called with a request.

He wanted a contact list of who we thought were top 2007 and 2008 high school players. He does not attend underclass showcases. Of course, I was able to provide that list because we do so many underclassmen showcases among other things.

Most every player on that very long list of 07s and 08s had attended a PG underclass showcase. A couple hundred of them are now part of this recruiters follow list.

TPM, I believe you, above all others, would say “this” college’s follow list is a great one to be on, despite the fact the recruiter never attended the events.

Another point, we try to help USA Baseball as much as possible. We discuss top players for their Youth and Junior National teams. There have been many players we first saw at our Underclass Events who were then invited to Junior Olympics or Joplin because of their ability. There is no way of knowing how many would have been Team USA players had they not attended a PG Underclass Showcase. I imagine some would – some wouldn’t have.

Bottom line: I would like to think a player being seen by people on our staff can be very beneficial. Is it better to be seen by 10 college coaches and no one else know your name or would it be better to be seen by a creditable source who will tell nearly everyone about you? If we see a good player, everyone in baseball will know who he is.

Please, don’t anyone think this is any type of marketing ploy. I could care less what young players and parents decide. We sure don’t hold it against anyone who does not wish to attend underclass or any PG events. Everyone should make their own decision as to the value of such events. I just think people should know as many facts as possible and sometimes that goes much further than someone’s opinion.

Sorry for the length. It’s kind of hard to explain it in few words.

Some parts of the country are considered baseball hot beds,attending an underclassmans showcase may not be necessary in those areas. For the rest of the country a player may benefit from a showcase, sure can't hurt.

It seems to me that current trend exhibited by colleges is to search out top recruits early. By way of example there were a number of 2006 kids in southern California who verbally committed in their junior year. In my mind this trend will become more popular as time goes on.

I would venture to say that most top D1 programs have there 2007 'wish lists' prepared. There have been a number of high profile national events held this summmer and recruiters have had an opportunity to watch these kids play at showcases and tournaments such as WWBA National Championships in East Cobb. This fall there are a few major events that most colleges will be attending Arizona Senior Fall Classic and PG National Championship.

I think a lot of parents don't realize that college guys really do not cover HS season as they {colleges} are playing and practicing at that time. It is soooo important to play on travel team that attends the right events and to attend showcases. Remember the competition is fierce for the 11.7 scholarships.

I agree that college recruiters are already getting their ducks in a row for the '07 class.

I still believe that the best exposure for younger players (freshman and sophomores) is by way of travel team play, as mentioned for example the WWBA championships, followed by a showcase or two as the player gets into their junior/senior year.

The question originally asked was should a 2007,2008 player attend a showcase. I may not know all the facts because I am not in the business of baseball, but as a parent, in my opinion , no.

Of course it has become more competitive, coaches searching out top talent earlier and earlier, why not? It's that way because the Jones' think the Smiths' are doing more than they are to get their kid an athletic scholarship. Demand has become such that parents want more to show off their kids (not just in baseball), competitions, showcases galore. In baseball, after one committs in the fall, the kids are now playing in front of scouts for the draft, and begin more showcases for the possibility of NOT going to college (after they worked so hard for that scholarship). By the time some of them reach their goal, whatever it might be,they are burned out, hurt.
This of course is JMO.

Here is another take on this. My youngest son is an 08. He is a pretty good player and wants to play at the college level. At some point and time he is going to want to go to a showcase and (showcase his skills). I did not want his first showcase experience to be the one or ones that counted. I took him to the underclass event PG at Duke University. To me it was more about him seeing what it was all about and getting the experience of the event itself before he was a JR so to speak. One bat can cost as much as attending a showcase event. I personally think it is money well spent to get these underclassman the experience. How many kids go to their first showcase as a JR and have no clue what to expect? JMHO

Our son went to the PG Underclassmen World Showcase the winter of his Sophomore year. It was his (and ours) first big showcase and he had a great time! Did we go hoping for college and pro scouts to be in attendance .... Nope. We went to give him an opportunity to match up with kids his age from around the country! Great experience for a sophomore, no regrets!

Coach May,
I understand your post and your intention of sending your younger son to get a feel for what a showcase is all about before it really counts.
I have an interesting story. When son was 15 he was invited to tryouts for team USA in Houston. It was so exciting to be given a free plane ticket and all expenses paid for a week. He was very young, an 04 trying out against 03's many of them mentioned in PG's post. Needless to say he didn't make the team.
When he came home he seemed to be ok with it, we figured it was a great learning experience. Little did we know he went to the field every day for two weeks to practice a screwball pitch one of the 03 pitchers had taught him. Anyway he took his new pitch with him to a tournament in Atlanta, and continued to practice it before fall ball. Two weeks into fall ball he had excrutiationg pain in his elbow, went immediately to the ortho and diagnosed with tricep tendinitous which put him out of commission for months. During the visit he admitted to the doctor in front of us, that he picked up the pitch. "Why" , because he didn't make the team, they were better than him and he was not going to let that happen to him again. He looks back at it now, being a bit more mature and realizes his stuff was just as good as theirs was, he and most of the 04's were just not mature enough to make the team.
I often wonder whether the experience was worth the numerous doctor visits, MRI and months of PT and a specialized pitching program to get him back in time to play in the spring.
I told this story because I feel we don't realize the pressure we place on our young boys,when we think that we are helping them out, we often fuel the fire within too early to be the best.

tpm, while there's a good lesson in the story you relate,
it's in no way even similar to coach May "taking his son down" the road to get his feet wet -
I'd agree the early experience for an underclassman is valuable

my son attended his first showcase at 15 in August before his freshman yr -
there was no such thing as underclass showcases at the time - tho he did ok, the difference was apparent between him & the other 17/18 yr old young men -
along with him we took a rising sr catcher from our hs who was NO DOUBT "alot" better than my son if you had seen the kid play during hs & summer - it was his FIRST and also would be his ONLY opportunity to showcase before graduation -
he reached his "comfort zone" when it was over and any local interest fizzled

Bee,
I didn't mean for it to have nanything to do with Coach May bringing his son to a showcase.

Just trying to illustrate how not doing well , if not prepared, could have negative effects when you have a son who strives to be the best at all times and doesn't take being sceond best well. Thankfully, we've gotten over that with growing up and realizing what can happen when you become disappointed in yourself. Just a story.

15yo in August before his freshman year? Wow! Mine is still 13 and a freshman. The difference between him and the 17/18yo is really apparent. It won't be by the time he is a 15yo rising junior.