Thoughts?

Your level of self awareness is really impressive.

What position do you see yourself playing at the next level?

Probably catcher with possibly closing if my velocity keeps rising.

My son's a 2016 too, Mets. He's primarily a power hitter. Plays OF. He used to catch, but he never LOVED it. Smart guys in baseball have steered him away from catching, for a couple reasons:

- Your body takes a beating

- To be a successful catcher, you have to love it, they say

Still, great catchers are always looked at. So you have to decide.

I would tell you this: You need to improve your pop time - aiming for under 2.0. You probably can, with the right instruction. You're YOUNG, and the window is opening now. This summer and the next, are huge. So now's the time to get yourself with qualified coaches who can help you get where you want to go. If you need names, people here who know the NY market will help.

And yes - you have to get great at blocking. Calling a game is important - and it's good that you can do that. But any college, whatever level, will want to see the full package behind the plate - if that's the direction you choose.

Also: Spend as much time as you can on becoming a great hitter. Sounds like you have real potential. THAT can be the ticket.

Where do you play during the summer?  Do you play on a decent summer team that will get you looks?

Based on stats and your assessment, while it may be astute, doesn't really give us anything to go on.  I ask about summer ball because that is USUALLY where college coaches see players for the first time.  They usually see them against better competition than the average HS game, so it gives them a better gauge of your abilities.  So, you need to be able to catch a coach's eye by doing something very well - have a great AB against a top pitcher, throw out a fast runner, etc.  This will get you on their radar screen.  Consistently doing it while they are there will keep you on the radar.   

As I tell our players, recruiting is just like dating.  College coaches find different things attractive (much like the girls in your high school).  Some will like you for what you do well and others won't.  For you, that could be a D-I coach or a D-III.  There is no magic formula.

I haven't been playing summer for the last few years but I guess i have to this year if I want to get really serious about playing at the next level, I have gotten invitations to showcases/camps from a few ACC schools but I don't read into that much because they were very impersonal emails. I haven't attended any so I haven't had any personal contact with college coaches. 

another question: 

what do you think about my HS coach moving me to first base from a recruiting perspective, catcher is a premium position and first basemen are a dime a dozen, but it defiantly makes our team better and lets me pitch more with less stress on my body.

1) If you haven't played baseball the last few summers, what have you been doing?

2) You are correct...invitations to camps are not recruiting.

3) I don't read much into your coach's positioning of you.  Most HS programs are rarely 2-3 players deep at positions so they will play guys at their "secondary" position to keep a quality guy there.  I don't know whether you fall into that category or not.  I also don't really subscribe to the "don't pitch your catcher" philosophy in HS because you usually only play 2 games per week.  Either way, from a recruiting standpoint, I don't think it matters.  College coaches aren't coming to HS games to "discover" kids as much as they are coming to validate their previous observations.  Given that you haven't played summer ball, they most likely haven't found you yet.  

Why haven't you played in the summer?  You are wondering about a trip to the Dominican and you haven't played in the summer?  That is a bit confusing.  You need to play, even if it is not at a high level. HS ball is great, but by itself it is not enough baseball.

i stopped playing summers when my friends did but I played a lot of basketball to stay in shape which has been great so its not like doing nothing over the summers. And I don't think I said anything about a trip to the Dominican. 

mets316,

I apologize, got this thread confused with another one.  I'm not very smart!

I love basketball, but summer is baseball season.

Anyway, best of luck to you.

LOL - PG - Thought you confused that with my thread

FWIW - everyday son/parents hasn't had a summer off/vacation in 8 years

Mets - people here are zeroing in on your desire to play at the next level. If that's true, you need to get on a summer team so you can be seen.

As you've heard, that's more important that what happens in HS.

mets316, in which area of NY are you located?  NY City area?  Long Island?  Hudson Valley?  Upstate?

LI

Ok.  It's a little late in the game for this year, but you do have some very good travelball programs on Long Island:

LI Titans: http://www.lititansbaseball.com/

LI Whalers: http://www.northatlanticbaseball.com/

LI Tigers: http://www.tcteams.com/litigers/

LI Storm: http://www.stormtravelbaseball...=baseball&p=home

Hank's Yanks: http://www.hanksjryanks.com/

There is a variety of talent in these organizations.  Contact them and see if you can find a home for this summer.

Best of luck to you.