Top 14 year olds

We'll be watching.  :-)

13U is having friends over to watch tonight.  He played against a couple of these kids.  This is his "goal" for the upcoming year.  We shall see.  It will help getting him to go to his workouts, yoga, etc.........."I bet so and so is working today".....

Good stuff.  Great talent.  A few random thoughts:

I'll be fascinated to watch these players over the next several years to see which ones remain the best of their age group and which get passed by

it is a little skewed as some of the kids are 2021's and some are 2020's.

it is crazy how many of these players are throwing 87-92 mph at the age of 14 or 15.  Old school "conventional wisdom" would say there is no way most of their elbows will hold up.  Again will be fascinating to watch play out.

I'm extremely impressed with the athleticism and Baseball skills on display.  Amazing

3and2Fastball posted:

I'll be fascinated to watch these players over the next several years to see which ones remain the best of their age group and which get passed by

 

Here's the 2007 USA 14U roster linked below.  Our younger son was in the final tryouts for this team, having played on an earlier version that went to Guatemala.  There are/were certainly some good players on here at that time - don't have time to go through it though and figure out where they are today.  Several that I know about today, aren't playing baseball anymore (they would be 23/24 years old now).  One, who was considered the cream of the crop in our area at the time - I don't think he even played college baseball, nor pro.  Another, played parts of three years of pro ball, 'retiring' after reaching high-A.  The third played some JC ball.  And a fourth is indeed in the big leagues, doing well with the Brewers.  I only looked up the four I know.

In any case, I don't think its a list of 'who's who' of 24 year old baseball players today.  All of them were really, really good at age 14, but I think its hard to predict at age 14 how this will go down the line.

2007 USA Baseball 14U Roster

JUSTBASEBALL - very interesting.  Yes, Zach Davies of the Brewers is the only name that stands out on that list as an MLB player.

Oh, "Reinaldo" Almora is Albert Almora Jr. of the Chicago Cubs.... 

Matt Crownover is currently pitching in AA ball

Rio Ruiz made his MLB debut with the Braves this year

I think that we will see the current lists / teams "stick" more than in the past, as I think that the Perfect Game/ National teams are "starting" to get more "national".  On the National team there certainly was (could still be) a California/Southeast bias.

At this young of an age, there probably still is some bias with regards to Perfect Game, as there are a lot more chances to be seen in the SE than here in Texas (and anywhere else I may add). I heard them say on the telecast that the 14 age group showcases would start expanding next year. 

Just my 2 cents, but I did stay at a Holiday in Express this past summer while in Marrietta.

I agree Russ, it will get better - but I could give you some examples within that 2007 team where they had future 1st rounders not selected, within in the same lens as others they did select that never even made it to college baseball.

Its just not that easy to figure it out for many of them.  But this is the good news for the masses - there is still a lot to change and time for themselves to catch up or pass those that are tapped as elite as 14-year olds.

Manny Machado, Taijuan Walker, and Delino DeShields are notable 1st Round Picks that were not on that 14U 2007 team.

I'll assume that Bryce Harper either played up or turned down a spot on that team and that Javier Baez had not yet moved from Puerto Rico to the USA.

Link to roster? 

russinfortworth posted:

I think that we will see the current lists / teams "stick" more than in the past, as I think that the Perfect Game/ National teams are "starting" to get more "national".  On the National team there certainly was (could still be) a California/Southeast bias.

At this young of an age, there probably still is some bias with regards to Perfect Game, as there are a lot more chances to be seen in the SE than here in Texas (and anywhere else I may add). I heard them say on the telecast that the 14 age group showcases would start expanding next year. 

Just my 2 cents, but I did stay at a Holiday in Express this past summer while in Marrietta.

I dunno. I think PG gets much more national as it gets to 16U, 17U, etc. At 14, PG is really more focused on the Southeast. In this year's game, the "West" roster has kids from Michigan, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, etc. -- and no one from Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, etc. -- and only three from California. 

P.S. -- the same thing shows up in travel team rankings at the younger ages.

Goblue33 posted:

Link to roster? 

Down near the bottom: www.perfectgame.org/SelectBaseballFestival/2017.aspx

There is not doubt that some of those players are future studs. However, as others have already discussed, difficult to predict the future of most 14-year old athletes. I can tell you that my son, at 14,  would not have even been selected to keep the score book for a team of that caliber but a lot has changed for him in the last 3 1/2 years. My son and I were just laughing this morning when looking at his 14U stats on gamechanger. He hit better then most on his team with .385 AVG but had 2nd worst fpct (they were trying to teach him how to play 3B...plays OF now). and pitched 6 innings with 12K's and....drum roll please....34BB. My 2018 is now considered a D1 RHP. Who would have thunk?  Was planning on sharing his story later this week. I know a similar story would have helped me as recently as this past summer, let alone 14. I think there is a thread some where where others have shared similar stories.

Keep in mind that the only players invited were players that Perfect Game has seen, often multiple times each.

There are a lot of 14U great players that have never been seen by Perfect Game yet.

Having said that, I watched the game closely and didn't see anyone who looked like they didn't belong there.  And some of the players were astounding.

I'm sure there are 14 year olds that we haven't seen yet that could have been selected.  However, every player in the game definitely belonged. A few parents of the players I talked to and told them it will be very interesting to follow these kids to see how many will still be among the best in three or four years.  I feel sure that some will and unfortunately some won't.

I really enjoy watching 13-15 year olds and understand that they won't all be among the best as time goes on.  People like to talk about all those kids that end up being MLB players, but I actually get a bigger kick out of those that end up having things like this be their biggest achievement. I feel the same way about young kids that play in the LL world series.  You see this is just a small thing in the life of a MLB player.  But to those that don't make it, things like this become a life long memory and a great achievement.

BTW, here is a link to watch the game if you missed it live or want to see it again. 

https://www.mlb.com/video/perf...-14-asg/c-1808371383

The Baseball journey is a fascinating thing to watch unfold.  As PG Staff says, for some players an event like this will be their greatest achievement in Baseball. For others who went to a PG Showcase and/or Tournament but weren't selected it can help stoke the fire inside to get better.  A talented young player with a chip on their shoulder and a huge work ethic is a dangerous thing.

For still others in that age group who haven't stepped foot in a Perfect Game event yet, either because they weren't early developers or they didn't have enough money, they can look and see the bar that has been set and work while they wait for their physical growth to kick in.

There seemed to be two different guns in operation. Once a pitcher came in, a bio came on the screen noting top velo and other info. The announcers were seeing a gun display somewhere and giving out the pitch speeds. It was not being put on the screen.

However, somewhere along the 4th or 5th inning a display appeared in the area where the number of pitches were being tracked. For one pitcher, the velos were popping up after each pitch. It was only up for about 2 batters and then never appeared again.

The display was about 3 mph less than what the announcers were stating.

coachld posted:

There is not doubt that some of those players are future studs. However, as others have already discussed, difficult to predict the future of most 14-year old athletes. I can tell you that my son, at 14,  would not have even been selected to keep the score book for a team of that caliber but a lot has changed for him in the last 3 1/2 years. My son and I were just laughing this morning when looking at his 14U stats on gamechanger. He hit better then most on his team with .385 AVG but had 2nd worst fpct (they were trying to teach him how to play 3B...plays OF now). and pitched 6 innings with 12K's and....drum roll please....34BB. My 2018 is now considered a D1 RHP. Who would have thunk?  Was planning on sharing his story later this week. I know a similar story would have helped me as recently as this past summer, let alone 14. I think there is a thread some where where others have shared similar stories.

I'd like to read that, please post it.

PGStaff posted:

I'm sure there are 14 year olds that we haven't seen yet that could have been selected.  However, every player in the game definitely belonged. A few parents of the players I talked to and told them it will be very interesting to follow these kids to see how many will still be among the best in three or four years.  I feel sure that some will and unfortunately some won't.

I really enjoy watching 13-15 year olds and understand that they won't all be among the best as time goes on.  People like to talk about all those kids that end up being MLB players, but I actually get a bigger kick out of those that end up having things like this be their biggest achievement. I feel the same way about young kids that play in the LL world series.  You see this is just a small thing in the life of a MLB player.  But to those that don't make it, things like this become a life long memory and a great achievement.

BTW, here is a link to watch the game if you missed it live or want to see it again. 

https://www.mlb.com/video/perf...-14-asg/c-1808371383

The link is not working for me. Anyone else? It takes me to website but no video available.

If anyone wants to video the game I think it's replaying at midnight (EDT) tonight on FCS and the FoxGo Sports app.

coachld posted:

PGStaff posted:

I'm sure there are 14 year olds that we haven't seen yet that could have been selected.  However, every player in the game definitely belonged. A few parents of the players I talked to and told them it will be very interesting to follow these kids to see how many will still be among the best in three or four years.  I feel sure that some will and unfortunately some won't.

I really enjoy watching 13-15 year olds and understand that they won't all be among the best as time goes on.  People like to talk about all those kids that end up being MLB players, but I actually get a bigger kick out of those that end up having things like this be their biggest achievement. I feel the same way about young kids that play in the LL world series.  You see this is just a small thing in the life of a MLB player.  But to those that don't make it, things like this become a life long memory and a great achievement.

BTW, here is a link to watch the game if you missed it live or want to see it again. 

https://www.mlb.com/video/perf...-14-asg/c-1808371383

The link is not working for me. Anyone else? It takes me to website but no video available.

Worked for me yesterday... took a few minutes to load and it didn't show any indication of loading.

coachld posted:

There is not doubt that some of those players are future studs. However, as others have already discussed, difficult to predict the future of most 14-year old athletes. I can tell you that my son, at 14,  would not have even been selected to keep the score book for a team of that caliber but a lot has changed for him in the last 3 1/2 years. My son and I were just laughing this morning when looking at his 14U stats on gamechanger. He hit better then most on his team with .385 AVG but had 2nd worst fpct (they were trying to teach him how to play 3B...plays OF now). and pitched 6 innings with 12K's and....drum roll please....34BB. My 2018 is now considered a D1 RHP. Who would have thunk?  Was planning on sharing his story later this week. I know a similar story would have helped me as recently as this past summer, let alone 14. I think there is a thread some where where others have shared similar stories.

coachld's kid was good at 14 and on a very good team. In our area, the studs at 14 are still the studs in high school, though. It's been pretty consistent. His 14yo team included more than one current D1 commit. 

Thanks Root. Yeah...he was a good OF and had strong arm but his command was terrible and he was definitely not a 3B. It has kept him from getting better over the years as a RHP because HS coaches would not let him throw in game situations. Until his JR year he had never thrown more then 5% of total innings. Guess my point, when sharing his experience, should have been that very few coaches outside of his team had any idea he was a pitcher and those who did were definitely telling their players to wait for a strike.  All good now and makes both him and I appreciate his recent success even more!!!! 

Thanks again Root!!!

3and2Fastball posted:

Manny Machado, Taijuan Walker, and Delino DeShields are notable 1st Round Picks that were not on that 14U 2007 team.

I'll assume that Bryce Harper either played up or turned down a spot on that team and that Javier Baez had not yet moved from Puerto Rico to the USA.

Delino DeShields was, likewise, the Baseball America #1 12u player and Harper was #2 during their 12u season. 

BA ranks 12 year olds.  Really? 

Goblue33 posted:

BA ranks 12 year olds.  Really? 

They used to rank every class 12u up to 23u, but I think 2005 was the last time they did 12's. The A/A team for 12's that year (not an order - actually by poisition):

1. Delino Deshields, Jr. (1st round draft pick..$2.15M signing bonus)
2. Michael Memea - played through JC
3. Turner Gill - played at U of Portland and now in Indy ball
4. Justin Hedges - played for Northwood University
5. AJ Cole - 4th round pick has been back and forth AAA-Nationals
6. Josh Anderson - played U of SD and never made it out of A ball as a pro
7. Bryce Harper (#1 pick in draft, $6m+ signing bonus)
8. Erick Cruz - not all that highly rated by high school
9. Michael Gill - 
10. Christian Lopes - 7th round pick, made it to AAA. Still in minors
11. Kalen Pimentel - 

Karen Pimental was a big, hard throwing kid in LL. He cruised in the mid 70's. He pitched an 18K no hitter in the LLWS. He was a 5'9" 170 high school catcher.