Hello Everyone:
I've posted some other topics ever the last couple of years about a kid who has never played an inning of Varsity baseball. I'm happy to say after a solid work ethic and hard work for last 3 years he has two solid offers to play in college, and has some serious interest from others. He is committed to showcasing himself to a couple of D1s before he makes a final decision. He also had some the honor of being approached by pro scouts at different times throughout the last year once for his OF arm and twice for his base running and hitting. In a nutshell he hung in there and continued to improve and came a long way.
The reason for this post is once again asking for some advice from others on the board. He has been playing OF and does best in CF as he likes the "be in charge" mode and loves to cover lots of ground. However, many coaches and scouts as well, keep mentioning he looks like a second baseman and it appears has natural MIF skills and quickness. I tend to agree, but unfortunately he has little experience in the infield. He's been jumping in at showcases and games playing MIF and doing well other than needing reps to develop the arm action of IF and fluidity, but its certainly late in process since folks are really recruiting him as an OF. His size plays a factor. He is not tall, but has the basic build to hold some good size when he fills in. I suspect he will someday end up 5'9" to 5'10" and maybe 190 easy. He's quick twitch and makes it up the line consistently around 4.0. The college coaches he has visited all say he needs to put on at least 20-30 lbs and then they see him as a potential starter as a freshman (mostly upper body thickness i'm guessing, cause his legs are no joke).
So the questions:
1. Should he put the MIF thing aside for now and solidify his OF skills?
2. Should I talk to him about the idea of Redshirting to have a year to develop himself physically (Just turned 17) and skill-wise, while he meanwhile establishes his classroom habits?
3. How much do college coaches normally pack on a kid in the first year?
4. What kind of power does 20-30 lbs add? Right now he is capable one hopping the fence with wood. (this may be impossible to answer since there is more to hitting than pure physical strength)
I'm no expert on any of this so please be kind with your answers. Just looking for ideas and advice.
