Skip to main content

Son may not be able to make a “pre-draft” showcase depending on college playoffs and am wondering if “Sunshine West” (May 30-31) would be too late? Son (6'3'' LHP) is in an odd situation; coming back from TJ surgery with good velocity and movement but still figuring out mechanics so control hasn't been great. Scouts have been hanging around his games and two this week have asked him when he is pitching. He has no idea if or when the coach will have him pitch. In one of the scout conversations he told the scout that his pitching coach (a kid that graduated a few years ago) told him to “throw 80%” for control, scout said no, “we'll teach you control when you get to pro ball”. Son has figured out that he needs to manage what he can and get on a regular bullpen schedule to repeat mechanics, and not 80% mechanics. I told him to focus on May, and if coach isn't getting him seen then go to a showcase.

Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Scouts will be at the college world series regionals and supers.   Scouts will be at college conference playoffs.  They will be at regular and non-conference games.  They will scout right up to the when the draft boards are set.  (well, maybe the day before).

I haven't heard of a pre-draft showcase for college players, unless you are talking about an invite workout  by a MLB team.   Every game a player plays is a "showcase" in college.

There is still a lot of baseball to be played before June.  The scouts will figure out the pitching rotation.

Or, the scouts could ask him to throw a bull-pen before a game if he isn't pitching that day.

FWIW - Son got invited to a workout for XXX  MLB team.  His agent "highly suggested" he not go.....that it would show "favoritism" to that team since he didn't go to the other MLB workouts that he had been invited to due to his college playoffs.  The XXX scout was everywhere and had already seen him play dozens of times. 

In the end, it didn't matter.  Got drafted by YYY team.

 

Last edited by keewart

Every player with a potential MLB tool - at every level, in every division, in every state - will be found and scouted.

While scouts  - to make conversation - will ask a pitcher when he will pitch, the scout doesnt rely on that conversation to base the scout's schedule. The scout - every week - will have communication with every program in his area (might be phone, might be text, might be by a mass emailing from the program to all area scouts) which will cover the players who may have the potential MLB tool and the schedule for pitchers (gets a bit tricky if the pitcher is a closer, however).

For a kid who is recovering from an injury, that player may not be in mid-season form during most of the season. For these guys, the scout has to scramble and evaluate the player on a different schedule. That may take the form of showing up at bullpens and/or inviting the player to a club workout shortly before the draft (club workouts can be anywhere and have large numbers of players present or just a few). 

There are no set "rules" on scouting and drafting injured/recovered players; there was a HS kid in our area who needed TJ and was drafted in the last round. Club gave him the max non-slot bonus, paid for the TJ, and after recovery the kid rocketed up for an MLB cup of coffee - before his career ended. Now, this kid was a LHP who was 90 before the injury and reached 95 on his way up after recovery.

As for taking to the bank anything a scout says to a player, remember this: it is only conversation, it is what the scout does and nothing can be gleaned from most of the pitter-patter. There are some signs of seriousness - like a questionnaire, or cross-checkers watching, or even the sheer number of scouts repeatedly showing up - but it's all tea leaves (except for slot players which have unique issues) until an announcement.

Imo, too many players begin (understandably) focusing on the draft and it adversely affects their play.

 

Last edited by Goosegg
LHP's Roady posted:

Son may not be able to make a “pre-draft” showcase depending on college playoffs and am wondering if “Sunshine West” (May 30-31) would be too late? Son (6'3'' LHP) is in an odd situation; coming back from TJ surgery with good velocity and movement but still figuring out mechanics so control hasn't been great. Scouts have been hanging around his games and two this week have asked him when he is pitching. He has no idea if or when the coach will have him pitch. In one of the scout conversations he told the scout that his pitching coach (a kid that graduated a few years ago) told him to “throw 80%” for control, scout said no, “we'll teach you control when you get to pro ball”. Son has figured out that he needs to manage what he can and get on a regular bullpen schedule to repeat mechanics, and not 80% mechanics. I told him to focus on May, and if coach isn't getting him seen then go to a showcase.

Scouts don't ask players those questions (when are you going to pitch) they call the coaches.

I agree with GOOSEGG, take what a scout says with a grain of salt.

Unless your son has been identified as a top draft prospect, and your son has a solid college committment at a good program,  considering the circumstances, go to college.

TPM posted:
LHP's Roady posted:

Son may not be able to make a “pre-draft” showcase depending on college playoffs and am wondering if “Sunshine West” (May 30-31) would be too late? Son (6'3'' LHP) is in an odd situation; coming back from TJ surgery with good velocity and movement but still figuring out mechanics so control hasn't been great. Scouts have been hanging around his games and two this week have asked him when he is pitching. He has no idea if or when the coach will have him pitch. In one of the scout conversations he told the scout that his pitching coach (a kid that graduated a few years ago) told him to “throw 80%” for control, scout said no, “we'll teach you control when you get to pro ball”. Son has figured out that he needs to manage what he can and get on a regular bullpen schedule to repeat mechanics, and not 80% mechanics. I told him to focus on May, and if coach isn't getting him seen then go to a showcase.

Scouts don't ask players those questions (when are you going to pitch) they call the coaches.

I agree with GOOSEGG, take what a scout says with a grain of salt.

Unless your son has been identified as a top draft prospect, and your son has a solid college committment at a good program,  considering the circumstances, go to college.

They text my son all the time and ask him when he is pitching.

BASEBALLHS,

During HS, not one scout asked that question, during college all questions were directed to pitching coach, and now, those questions are asked of the HC.

Reason being, coaches are concerned about winning games, the draft becomes a distraction to many players.

As a parent, if the draft appears to be a serious thought, I would have son direct all questions to his coaches.

JMO

I know that in our state there is also an email that goes to all of the scouts who subscribe and they ask you to email each week with your pitching schedule.  Some still text to confirm or ask how many pitches you are set to throw.  It hasn’t been a distraction at this point.  I think our coach might be more annoyed if he was asked to handle it.

Last edited by baseballhs

This whole thing was a bit of a head scratcher but is he in HS or college? 

If he's in college he doesn't need to pay for a pre-draft showcase. If he's in HS and isn't getting any attention from scouts a paid showcase would be a waste because he's not on anybody's radar. 

I'm not sure what pitching coach would tell one of his guys to only throw 80%, but "recent grad" gives me a pretty good idea. I'm also not sure what you mean by if his coach isn't getting him seen but it appears your son needs to have a conversation with the HC about a realistic timeline for getting back on the mound and then worry about pro baseball after. 

FWIW there were scouts at 2019s games the week of the draft. Nothing ever came of it, but I would assume they were there for a reason 

The texts to the players is part of the scout's job. He is creating a relationship so that  - when and if the time comes - he is a trusted, close resource. Comes in handy in many situations.

Some texts from the player to the scout  may useful but the schedules upon which the scout rely's are direct with the team  - HC, RC DOps, whoever.

 

Goosegg posted:

The texts to the players is part of the scout's job. He is creating a relationship so that  - when and if the time comes - he is a trusted, close resource. Comes in handy in many situations.

Some texts from the player to the scout  may useful but the schedules upon which the scout rely's are direct with the team  - HC, RC DOps, whoever.

 

I would believe that to be true if the player would really be a consideration.

This doesn't sound to be the situation.

But I can be wrong.

 

Last edited by TPM

Thanks to everyone for the info. What Goosegg said about the backroom conversations makes perfect sense. His coach told him out of the blue this week that he hopes he goes back to college after he is done with pro ball (he is a good student).  He is a juco redshirt freshman closer and was out for over 2 years. He came back with more velocity than expected, was up to 92 by his 3rd scrimmage, and then threw harder over the break. I now believe they are trying to get him to pace himself and are making sure he stays healthy, which makes a lot of sense since he is still maturing. Anything can happen, but I know none of it is in my control. So I will just try to sit quietly in the back of the bus and enjoy the ride.

Goosegg posted:

The texts to the players is part of the scout's job. He is creating a relationship so that  - when and if the time comes - he is a trusted, close resource. Comes in handy in many situations.

Some texts from the player to the scout  may useful but the schedules upon which the scout rely's are direct with the team  - HC, RC DOps, whoever.

 

One of the scouts has become such a resource and has been a big help to my son.

 

LHP's Roady posted:
Goosegg posted:

The texts to the players is part of the scout's job. He is creating a relationship so that  - when and if the time comes - he is a trusted, close resource. Comes in handy in many situations.

Some texts from the player to the scout  may useful but the schedules upon which the scout rely's are direct with the team  - HC, RC DOps, whoever.

 

One of the scouts has become such a resource and has been a big help to my son.

 

Does your son have a commitment to a 4 year program?

TPM posted:
LHP's Roady posted:
Goosegg posted:

The texts to the players is part of the scout's job. He is creating a relationship so that  - when and if the time comes - he is a trusted, close resource. Comes in handy in many situations.

Some texts from the player to the scout  may useful but the schedules upon which the scout rely's are direct with the team  - HC, RC DOps, whoever.

 

One of the scouts has become such a resource and has been a big help to my son.

 

Does your son have a commitment to a 4 year program?

No. He is keeping a handful of the top programs that have expressed interest posted as to his development. Given his age (he will turn 21 before the draft) and desire for development if he gets a fair deal he will probably go, but he is keeping the college option open. One of the clubs asked him about his concerns and he said it was food. He had heard stories about how hard it was to maintain weight in the minors and he eats a ton. The scout told him the club has chefs at every facility. I think my son would have signed for a bus ticket on the spot.

Add Reply

×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×