quote:
I was just wondering how reliable these ratings are.
The most reliable reporting there is, especially for college recruiting and professional scouting. People sometimes get too caught up in grades and rankings. Unreliable reporting would be telling people that someone who topped out at 79 was throwing upper 80s. If someone reads the information completely they will get an accurate description of the player and what we saw. The rating is nothing more than our opinion as to the potential of a given player.
Seeing that I know which event you’re referring to, I have no problem explaining the grades. First of all, the “key” word in the grades is the first word in the description “POTENTIAL” Nearly all the various grade descriptions start with the word “potential” or “possible”.
The event in question had the following results (grades) for the pitchers in attendance. From a talent standpoint it was a very high level event.
Grade 10 – Two pitchers who are very good draft prospects and highest level DI prospects. Both topped out in the 90s at this event and we have seen both even higher in the past.
Grade 9 – Five pitchers were graded a 9 or 9.5. All but one were upper 80s with outstanding pitching ability and potential. The other was a big lefty we have seen up to 87 in the past and he has 4 pitches he throws for strikes and he would be a prospect as a hitter as well.
Grade 8 – Twelve pitchers were graded 8 with two of them graded 8.5. Their velocity ranged from low 80s to 88 mph.
Grade 7 – Thirteen pitchers were graded 7 with four of them a 7.5. There were five who did not touch 80. Two of those are 6’7” tall and their arms work real well. We have seen many times over the years where tall pitchers have dramatic velocity jumps in a year or two. Another who topped out at 79, we have seen much better before and he is 6’5/176 and projects very nicely. One of the others is a 6’2” lefty that we kind of liked. Another one is 6’1”/185 and can really pitch. He showed three pitches he could throw in any count. His curve ball and change up were quality pitches. His fastball was a sinker and he could spot it where he wanted. He’s at least a DII pitcher who if he gains some more velocity over the next year, he can pitch and win at a higher level. The last pitcher is 6’3/165 with a lot of room to grow stronger. His fastball moves very well, he throws a split change that is an out pitch at the DI level and he throws it at any count. His breaking ball shows the most promise of all.
Some might say we graded these guys too high. Odds are we will turn out right about a few of them and wrong about a few. We have no control over which of these kids will do what is necessary to improve and develop. But when you have seen what we have over the years, you realize that anyone who has something going for them, can develop greatly. That is why we use words like “potential” and “possible” in the grading system.
Hope that helps explain it from our perspective.
Note: We are going to change our grading system for next year. This old one does seem to confuse people, except Pro Scouts and College Coaches, so we’re going to try to redefine our grading system.
