Some musings....

Let me start by saying that I don't know much, but the other young man is 2 inches taller, almost a second faster in the 60, a little better pop time, and it sounds like he has more power.  My guess would be projectability. 

....  hopefully this thread will get some more attention as I would like to discuss this

I think ryno pretty much hit it......the stats that you listed pretty much lay out the reason why the second kid would get more attention..taller, stronger, faster, more power and quicker release.  They will take that all day with the thought that they can work with him on receiving the ball and adding a few more points to his batting avg.

There are lots of very good players at every level of baseball. What separates them is a very thin line and the difference maker today may not account for much tomorrow. Best of lucktoyour son. I hope he plays to the level his ability can carry him. Already, that is pretty high.

I don't see what there is to discuss. Many coaches recruit on what they see as future potential and yes the good ones can teach those skills.
You do sound disappointed however this isn't your journey ( its not over) so sit back and relax.  He has got a whole lot of baseball to play.

Agree with others and will add that much of the advantage of switch hitting is negated by lack of speed and average power.  Also, a college coach has no assurance that his good OPS will translate against top pitching.  And that is a strength that pretty much every good player coming out of HS has.  The extra speed and power is not.

Had you described as you did and not told us who landed where, I think we would have all guessed the outcome correctly.  Although, I will give you that most of the position players I see go into the top programs have the extra tools AND are more of a finished product.

 

Congrats and best wishes to your son. 

thanks for the postings... a million thoughts continue to go through my mind...  one thing is crystal, however, and that is if you arent a physical specimen you will be told you cannot play at the highest level. I have to bring up a couple of instances that flash upon my mind having read the responses.

 

 I watched a special on MLB TV ysterday where they were picking the all time players for each position for each organization.  The all time player for the Braves at SS was Rabbit Maranville.  He is listed at 5ft5.  Is it possible that a player of this caliber would not even be looked at in today's game?

 

Last summer at East Cobb we played a team from a different part of the country who had a lefty in the 6ft5 + range.  He couldnt break a window pane.  And even my untrained eye could see he had limited athleticism.  Yet a number of D1 schools from his area had come to watch him..  this was not at the main complex.

 

If it doesnt matter what kind of baseball player you are why not recuit pitching at  a basketball camp and your middle infielders and outfielders at a track meet?

 

 

I wish that folks would stop comparing the pro game of today to the pro game "back then".  It's not the same.

 

6'5" is a desired pitchers height, because of the downward plane and shorter distance to the plate, especially at 95+ per hour.

 

You can teach someone to pitch, you cannot teach velocity or height.

 

There are many players out there that don't fit the typical stud hitter or pitcher.  They stopped listening to the naysayers a long time and did what they had to move forward.

 

Congrats to your son, but most of all stop worrying about stuff you cannot control and enjoy the college game!

Also remember that recruiters will see your son play, and then offer, in the summer of his junior year of HS.  Nearly two years will pass before that player is even eligible for his first college game.  However, it is more likely that the player won't contribute measurably to his college team in three or more years from the time he was recruited.  The coach has to guess at "potential" from two years away!  "Receiving" is one of the last things he has to worry about over that time frame.

You can't coach speed. You have me sold on player #2...

Bothsports, when I saw your post, I had so many questions, I moved on. But what the heck:

 

- He has a legit pop time of 2.0 +/-.  A lot of good catchers hover around 2.0. Aren't the exceptional ones below 2.0?

- He is not fast ...  about 7.8 in the 60. Absent a power bat, this seems pretty consequential.

-  He is 6ft/180, the other guy is 6ft 1 or 2, 185. Doesn't seem like a huge difference.

 

Then you go on about eye candy, and conclude scouts are recuiting solely on that. I think there are too many examples of stud players making it who are 6ft, 185, to suggest otherwise. Your son is not small.

 

Was he evaluated by PG? Did he have a grade? Who are the 'baseball people' you refer to who say he had what it takes to move to a higher level?

 

But most importantly, HE IS MOVING ON!! That is a good thing, no matter how you cut it. He will be assessed honestly now, and if he is a stud, will keep going.

 

Best to your son.

Both sports Dad;

In my final year 2004 of the Area Code games, I approached Student Sports who operated the Nike Football camps. I requested the names from their computer of the football players in USA, who had played baseball in High School.

 

I invited 20 players to join our tryout camps at no cost.

Watching the Tigers/Braves game on ESPN. We had over 40% of the players on the two teams in the Area Code games and Goodwill Series events.

 

Torii Hunter and Austin Jackson both played HS football and basketball as did Doug Fister.

 

"Play the game and "no worries" mate. Slang from Australia.

 

Bob

Goodwill Series 1983-2013

"But most importantly, HE IS MOVING ON!! That is a good thing, no matter how you cut it. He will be assessed honestly now, and if he is a stud, will keep going."

 

....  thanks for this part of your  post.  (emphasis added)

Be thankful for the opportunity.  He is where he is for a reason. When he plays in his first game next year you won't care if it is D1, D2 of D10.   Step back....the opportunity to play, and improve his game is the biggest part of this experience.  Enjoy.

Don't know if this has been posted already elsewhere on the site, but here's a great story about a D2 guy in the bigs now -- He even had size (6'3") and obvious power in H.S. and still had D1 offers that "fell through." Didn't stop him!

 

Adams slipped through cracks until Cardinals again found a gem

bothsportsdad,

At one point quite some time back, I had quite similar thoughts and questions on the process which you are having.In fact, I probably had  an unhealthy message board attitude toward a local D1 coach who somewhat recruited our son, then completely stopped, especially when our son ended up at a D3, even though he was going with a Coach who  seemed(and was it turned out) absolutely ecstatic he was coming. One great thing about this site, at that point, was bbscout, who was so great and clear in describing the difference between scouting for Mlb as contrasted with college scouting. 

The other wonderful aspect is the passage of time.  While our son's might not be D!, if they are in a college which they love, coached by a staff who not only really wants them but can coach them, challenge them, support them, drive them, and most of all, develop them to become the best player their talent level will allow(and even a bit more than that), we cannot ask for too much more. Competing in baseball beyond HS is about improving almost every week. Being coached by a group of coaches who can help our son's accomplish this, provided our son's do all that is expected, and probably more, can create very unexpected results and options in what seems like a short period of time.

. Looking in the rear view mirror, my input would be to attempt to avoid even a single bit of angst about the process and result with your son at a D2, while another is at a D1.  Cherish the opportunity your son has earned for himself and support him in the view this is as good as it can possibly be for him.

If our son's can combine terrific college coaching with a bit of a "chip" on the shoulder, it can be pretty amazing how much we can  at what they prove, over a 3-4 year period, going forward.

Congrats to your son and you.  He has "earned" a chance at an amazing experience.

My son is also 5-11, and I was talking to some pro scouts last week that look for talent in the minor leagues.  They had no reservations based on height, citing to many examples of top catchers under 6'.  I suspect that once the player gets older "projectability" is replaced by "production."  That is especially true as it is most likely easier to gauge talent the older the player.

Aleebaba,

Unfortunately, every experience of our son and so many who matriculated with him seemed to establish baseball above HS, especially for Milb and MLB is very much based on projection, until age and lack of production combine to prove the projection was not correct. Realizing there are the exceptions, projection is what gets players drafted out of HS.  Even in college, it is largely projection but to an extent production can play a role in projection.  By that comment I mean to describe those college players who don't project from a "physical" standpoint but put up better numbers every year in college and also change and become physically stronger and faster, with more upside, so they have some additional projection into Milb.

Mlb scouts have to be able to look at a player and estimate in 4-5 years whether they have the physical strength, speed, and athleticism to play a game which is very different from Rookie, to Low A, to High A, to AA and then AAA.  Make no mistake, the play at each level is noticeably different and better.  In addition, those scouts must project if the current tools project to be better within that same context. Unless production equates with projection, the chances of getting a chance in Milb are pretty tenuous.