Summer College Leagues-- Worth it?

Good article. Without a doubt pitchers have to be very careful, overuse can hurt a pitcher anytime in his career.  some guys have rubber arms, most do not.

Son did very well at the cape so that helped him in the draft, but that fall he was unable to have instruction, which he probably needed (pitchers always need instruction). It was a long season, then onto Omaha then onto the cape. 

FWIW son did not play his sophmore season, he had put in 70 innings his first college season and the coach said that was enough.

As far as instruction, I beleive that instruction at the higher level college programs are better than some milb systems, both for pitchers and hitters.  If you are a HS pitching prospect that decides to go to college, make sure that you are aware of expectations for innings.  If you are a prospect expecting to be drafted and sign, keep in mind that unless a team spends mega bucks on you, your innings may not be as controlled as the guy they expect to have a long ML career.

JMO

I love Cressey's material and his points in this article are valid. However, the argument (understandably so) is completely one sided.

I know of literally dozens of instances in which a player excelled to an extreme degree in summer ball and improved himself on the field. This may not necessarily refer to draft stock...it may refer to simply improving his competitive state through repetition.

There are certainly many good points that Cressey made here. But I would err on the side of caution when analyzing the material. He is one of the preeminent sources for strength and conditioning in the sport. But, he's a strength and conditioning coach- that's where his focus is. There needs to be a balance.

JH,

I agree, for most pitchers it is definetly worth the experience but I do relate to what he said regarding top prospects expected to go onto the next level being careful.

I also do believe that there is a change in attitude, more and more college coaches are asking pitchers to take summer off before their first college fall after a long HS season.

I find this a bit timely as my son decided this year to not play summer ball. Last year was such a grind for him he felt he was not able to work on some things he wanted to work as well as strength and conditioning.  He plans to maybe play in a league that has one game on Sunday (or maybe not) just to stay fresh and workout and do hitting and pitching on his own on the side.

If you are a top flight Sophmore looking to go into the draft after your Jr year and you get an invite to the Cape you must do it IMO. For many others it just depends. Personally a player should do it but it should not be considered mandatory like it has been in the past.

BOF

Mandatory by whom? Coaches, the player, the parent, pro scouts.

The desire to improve should be important to the player.

Bob

Bob, for D1 players not playing summer ball could be a big disadvantage for players as it is more or less expected by most college coaches from my experience. If you are a draft prospect it is where you will be seen by scouts.

BOF

We have placed 3 HS Seniors in a California Collegiate League. The specific players  played on our Scout Teams in Goodwill Series/Australia. Each will enter College in the Fall.

The College League will provide a "jump" start for the players to have a successful transition to College baseball. A player' objective is to improve and develop his skills for his future career.

When a player is in College and he is a pitcher, the Coach and Player can discuss the benefits of playing in the Summer. Hitters need to learn how to "read" pitchers, learn to make adjustments and self teach.

Bob

Summer baseball is great!! My son goes to a small D3 school, but has played summer ball in NY and NC. This opportunity has gotten him in front of a lot of scouts. He wouldn't have been seen by many at his college. Now he has been invited to a pre-draft workout!!! I think the summer baseball has really helped him.

Susan,

I have to agree for D3 players that summer ball is very important if they hope to move on. If they are a pitcher it shows they can get other prospects out. If they are position players it shows they can hit with the big boys.

For players that are already prospects though, I can see what the article is saying. If you already on the radar, then this is a viable alternative.

But would a D3 pitcher benefit from for going the summer and get stronger if it would mean it would help get his velocity up to the magic number (90)?