Showcase as a Freshman?

The tournaments that 2020 teams are attending will not have a huge turnout of college coaches. The coaches in attendance seriously evaluating 2020's will be the top powerhouse programs in the country who are far along in their recruiting cycle with 2019's.  Nearly all other schools will be focused on 2018&19 classes.  That being said, don't attend a showcase unless he is getting some SERIOUS interest from colleges.  Otherwise you are tossing the money out the window.  

Attending a camp, however, could be a good use of time.  If you pick a camp at a school he is interested in, that is realistic from a recruiting standpoint, then he could get a lot out of it.  You get on campus, work with a staff, and get some exposure.  

Do not stress over the exposure for a 2020.  If he is among the top % of players that could get a potential offer as a 2020 you'll know it. If not, focus on getting better. Improve, improve, improve.  

kio,

At this stage, I wouldn't try to do a whole lot this next summer, especially in term of college camps; just playing with a good travel team this coming summer against good completion and he'll be seen enough.  Then the summer after this one is a key time to attend camps like Stanford's or HeadFirst's and just a showcase or two.  From what you describe about your son, it just doesn't sound like you need to go overboard and spend a lot as to do so will probably be unnecessary.   If he happens to get invited to Area Codes at that point, that would be huge and be one of two you might include for showcases. 

Good luck, and enjoy the ride!

kio posted:

I have a 2020, 150lb 5'11'' CF/SS who plays for a top MD travel team.  Last year they played in 2 PG tournaments in VA and he was All-Tournament in both.  This qualified him to play in the 13U PG series classic.  There in Ft. Myers, he made the top prospect team and batted .500 and received 2 MVPs in 7 games.  At the end of the year he played in a total of 101 games and batted .440 with 64 steals.  This year his team is playing in 3 PG25s plus the 14U National Championships in Atlanta and 3 PBR tournaments in MD.  Shouldn't that be enough exposure for a 2020?  When should we attend showcases or college camps? Next summer?

Your son is getting about the best exposure he can by playing on a top team participating in those events.  Keep him healthy.  Think about his summer tourney schedule where you may be able to have 5 days of planned downtime...no baseball, so he can reenergize and prepare for his fall tourney schedule.  

At some point in the spring or summer, it would be worthwhile to benchmark his measurables.  This can be done with his club coach or instructor, before you commit to any showcase or camp.  Having an idea of 60 time, position velo, exit velo could give you an idea where he's at prior to going to any showcase.  If he's exceptional in one category and decent in the rest he could have something to showcase.  What doesn't change, if you're going to a showcase you have to have something to show.  As a position player it's hard to be noticed at a showcase or camp, especially as a Soph unless you're running 6.6, throwing 86, or having 86-90 exit velo, or throwing 86 off the mound.  Easier for a position player to get noticed at a PG Tourney with his play, and with results like you posted - well done. 

Only real exception to going to a camp or showcase early is for the experience.  You will be able to benchmark your skills which is great, but those numbers will be posted until the time you're able to go back and show how you've improved.  Lots of people do it.  We did it August Soph year for the experience; son is MIF, played well, good player, and that was all noted.  BUT he ran a 7.4, hit 79, threw 76.... not much attention was going to occur.  But he had fun, now, 18 months later, he runs half a second faster, hits 14 better, throws 12 better, and weighs 30 lbs more.  He'll be going to his second PG Showcase soon.  (didn't mean to deviate from your post, but probably gives you a sense of what happened with another SS).  Son played in key PG events with good performances, but nothing like what you've posted.

Good Luck!

I've told this story before, but I will tell it again.  Two VERY talented 9th graders, on a very top team, went to a showcase winter of their 9th grade year.  One got a PG grade of 7.0 and one got a 7.5.  While they were great players there wasn't enough yet to project them.  Fast forward one year, now they are in the middle of 10th grade, and they went back to the same showcase.  Now both have a PG grade of 9.0, which is a really great number.

The only time I have seen above a 7.5 grade for a 9th grader is if the kid was doing something like throwing 85+, or had a pop-time of 1.8...which if you think about it makes sense.  Those numbers would stack up with Juniors and Seniors, which makes me conclude that until the kid can stack up against the current Juniors and Seniors it might be best to hold off on showcasing. At least that is my plan.

my 2020 son just showcased last Saturday...and I 100% agree with what you just said.

CaCO3Girl posted:

I've told this story before, but I will tell it again.  Two VERY talented 9th graders, on a very top team, went to a showcase winter of their 9th grade year.  One got a PG grade of 7.0 and one got a 7.5.  While they were great players there wasn't enough yet to project them.  Fast forward one year, now they are in the middle of 10th grade, and they went back to the same showcase.  Now both have a PG grade of 9.0, which is a really great number.

The only time I have seen above a 7.5 grade for a 9th grader is if the kid was doing something like throwing 85+, or had a pop-time of 1.8...which if you think about it makes sense.  Those numbers would stack up with Juniors and Seniors, which makes me conclude that until the kid can stack up against the current Juniors and Seniors it might be best to hold off on showcasing. At least that is my plan.

Bingo

edcoach posted:

my 2020 son just showcased last Saturday...and I 100% agree with what you just said.

Ed, who are you agreeing with?

Does he have anything to showcase?  The stats you provide pretty much mean nothing to the college guys.  The exception being size, and he still needs to grow before his size will impress.  They are looking at the measurables on his tools.  If he has a couple of above average tools then it might be worth showcasing.

For the most part the college guys concentrate on the kids who have just finished up their Jr HS season. They will give a passing look to those who have finished up the Soph season, but unless you have something totally off the charts they are not going to pay attention to those kids.  Anything lower then that pretty much gets ignored.  There are exceptions to this but in general those that garner earlier attention are the outliers.

Correct me if I'm wrong. It appears he played 13u as an 8th grader last year. Just moving to 14u is cranking it up a notch. 13u is adapting to the 60/90. 14u is amping up the speed of the game. 

By middle school a kid should at the least be playing grade appropriate rather than age appropriate. Once a kid adapts to the speed of the 14u game it's time to start playing talent appropriate regardless of age or grade. 

My son played 13u when he could have played another year of LL when he was a 7th grader even though he was 5'2" 100. Over the next two years he played 14u and 16u. He moved up to 17/18u showcase ball when he could have been 15u.

It's great for your son he had great stats last year. But they are meaningless to college recruiters. They want to look at mechanics, measure sixty time, throwing velocity, bat speed and exit velocity. They're looking relative to projecting physical growth, baseball development and potential collegiate success. They want to know high school GPA and SAT (or PSAT for early prospects) scores. 

I've seen plenty of kids with awesome 13u and 14u numbers who weren't much of college prospects.  Right now I would recommend finding a local D1 camp that is run like a showcase. They're not expensive. It will give your son and you a picture at what is expected in the future. 

When my son was fourteen I watched an afternoon of a local D1 camp. It was near our home. I saw 36 players who thought they were D1 prospects. I knew one of the kids on the team. He walked over and asked what I thought. 

I told him all 36 showed good hands and adequate to strong arms. But only four have D1 quality swings. He told me the four I pointed out were invited to the camp following being discovered at a PG event. The other 32 were donating to the spring trip fund. 

Just a little perspective. Good luck!

Thanks for all the replies.  They have been very helpful.

Caco i agree with all these posts!  :-)

This should be a sticky.