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17 replies

Up the middle

floridafanfloridafan5,000+ posts
I have heard that teams recruit up the middle. Catchers, Pitchers, MIF, and Center.
When does this breakout occur? In other words, if a player is recruited by a college to play left field, how does that impact him in the pro draft process. Are the pro's looking only up the middle? If the player can hit, does it matter where he plays defensively on a H.S. or Scout Travel team? Is a player at a disadvantage if he is not playing up the middle?

The Journey Continues!

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Dad04Dad045,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by floridafan:
And is hitting for power extra base hits, or home runs? As a H.S. player, how many home runs in a 22 game season would constitute hitting for power?


Around a dozen or more bombs would be considered draftable power. Plenty of corner players from around here have been drafted in the money rounds out of high school. Billy Butler comes to mind.
Last edited by Dad04
floridafanfloridafan5,000+ posts
Thanks Guys -
We have always trained our Son up the middle but in H.S. it looks like he found a home at 3rd base, at least last year his sophomore season. On his travel team he has found a home in left field. We spend most of our energy improving his hitting with an emphisis on learning to hit for power. He already hits quite well, but will need to do more than he has ever done before to hit 12 dingers in a season.
B baseballpapa100+ posts
Power is difficult to translate. If a high school (or college) player plays on a short field, it is difficult to look at it from a home run standpoint. A ball travels around 10% less off wood AND there is a smaller hitting area on the bat. The scouts say it is difficult to evaluate and try to translate marginal power.

In high school a kid in a weak district, on a short field could hit a slew of home runs and really not have the bat to play at a higher level.

How he hits for power has become important, more so than at any time in history. Must be rotational with little head movement.

All the advice is correct. Corners with no power seldom can advance.
W worrymom10+ posts
My son hit 16 homeruns last season. He plays on big fields. He is in a 4a high school. He is a switch hitter so 4 of the 16 were left handed. He also works year around on rotational hitting. He is only 6" and 160 pounds. So I know for a fact rotational hitting works. Do scouts pick up on these guys if they hit for power? He still has one more high school season to play he graduates 2007. Also another note, when he works out on hitting he always uses his wood bat. Try to have your son do that.
P PGStaff10,000+ posts
worrymom,

Sounds like you have a talented son. The 16 homeruns sounds very intriguing. Especially as a switch hitter!

Are you sure you have the part about 4 left hand HRs correct. Almost always switch hitters hit more home runs from the left side. That's because they usually get many more ABs from that side. (See more RHPs than LHPs)

Or does he sometimes hit right handed against RHPs? At any rate, 16 is a lot! Best of luck to him. If you want to PM me or email me his name and where he's from, I'll check and see what we have on him. jerry@perfectgame.org
FungoFungoHighly Regarded and Beloved Old Timer
I'm drawn to part of this post that discusses hitting with power and how many home runs a player should hit in high school to be draft eligible. Here is a situation where we are trying to apply high school stats to the pro draft or the college scholarship. It doesn’t work that way. 10 home runs in high school with an aluminum bat are 10 home runs in high school with an aluminum bat ---- That alone will get very little attention. Projectability factors in here just as it does with pitchers. Hit a few 450 ft “shots” or line drive one through the second baseman AND the outfield fence and scouts will notice. High school power is not measured in home runs and power hitters do not always put up big home run numbers in high school. (although they might) I personally think watching a few rounds of BP will show you who the best power hitters on the team are.
Fungo
Last edited by Fungo
OLDSLUGGER8OLDSLUGGER81,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by Fungo:
I'm drawn to part of this post that discusses hitting with power and how many home runs a player should hit in high school to be draft eligible. Here is a situation where we are trying to apply high school stats to the pro draft or the college scholarship. It doesn’t work that way. 10 home runs in high school with an aluminum bat are 10 home runs in high school with an aluminum bat ---- That alone will get very little attention. Projectability factors in here just as it does with pitchers. Hit a few 450 ft “shots” or line drive one through the second baseman AND the outfield fence and scouts will notice. High school power is not measured in home runs and power hitters do not always put up big home run numbers in high school. (although they might) I personally think watching a few rounds of BP will show you who the best power hitters on the team are.
Fungo



From the mouth of a scout..............

It only matters what we think!!
FungoFungoHighly Regarded and Beloved Old Timer
quote:
From the mouth of a scout..............

It only matters what we think!!


That’s a scout talking. What really matters is a player’s talent. A scout's job is to evaluate and manufacture opinions and once he manufactures an opinion that opinion is passed on to quality control to evaluate the legitimacy of his opinion. Scouting is a tough job and perfection never be reached. There is a lot more goes into being successful than a scouting report. I think it was you that posted in another thread --- Less than 10% of the HS kids drafted in 2003 were re-drafted in 2006! Just another example that there is much more to it than what a scout thinks. Wink
Fungo
Last edited by Fungo

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