What 'tools' are scouts looking for?

Overall I'm going to say no because you could take 200 swings with flawed mechanics and look like garbage at the plate or you can take 50 cuts with the correct mechanics and look like a machine. Trust me the 50 correct cuts will do you more good than the 200 wrong ones.

The "tools" that scouts are looking for are the 5 tools

1. Speed
2. Glove
3. Hit for Power
4. Hit for average
5. Strong arm

Scouts don't look to see if your son can crush a ball off an inferior pitcher. They look to see if he's got a nice swing with a good approach. They watch him during pregame IF / OF because that might be the only defensive chances he gets. So if he approaches this as game speed the coaches can get an idea of what skills he has. For example - lets say your son has a great arm and good speed as a RF. During pregame IF / OF he jogs after a ball down the line and tosses it back in. In the game he gets no ball hit to him. Does the scout have any idea of how good your son is?

In regards to the 5 tools the level of ability you have in them is the level of ability you have. Work on them best you can but if you have a weak arm then you have a weak arm. The best thing to do is work your butt off to make the tools you have better but when you step foot onto the field it's to go 100% because you never know who's looking or if that's your only chance to show off.

When we play teams who have catchers that lob the ball or take their sweet time to throw to second after warm up pitches kill me. You are guaranteed 7 chances to show off how strong your arm is. You might have a 2.0 arm but if you don't show it then nobody knows it. This is also why we time our catchers on every throw they make.

Thank you. This is helpful. I believe what you said about swinging is correct because my son actually had to relearn his swing at one point after being told by a trainer that what he was taught over the years by little league coaches was wrong. In his case, the fact that he swung so much was helpful because he needed that kind of dedication to 'retrain' himself.

It was sort of like learning to write as a lefty after using his right hand for so long...but he did it & the results afterwards were rewarding.

When I go to see a kid, I look at the 5 Tools, but also I look at the little things, the intangibles. Physical Presence, character, body language, how he carries himself on the field, is he a leader, does his teammates like him, does he slouch when he walks, does he let a strikeout at the plate carry over into his play on the field. I also want to see a kid strike out 3 times in a game, anyone can handle success, but how does he handle 3 k's, does he bounce back? does he let it get the best of him?

Also does he respect the game, does he play the game the right way, does he curse on the field.

These things might seem miniscule, but to me they are a big factor in the way I look at a player. There is only one way to play this game, and thats the right way.

Thanks! My son has run the spectrum of baseball's mental game...dealt with disappointment, worked out of a slump- Never cursed for any reason, was once complimented by an umpire for being exceptionally respectful after some bad calls. Always helps a teammate who asks for swing advice. Usually, if he's not asleep, or at school or a game, he's in his cage practicing. I'm glad to know that these are important things too. I always suspected they were but my son says 'none of that matters' Now I can tell him it does!

Intangibles only matters if the other tools are present, it is also called "makeup".

Once a player has demonstrated his ability to get the job done, then and really only then, do the intangibles come into focus.

Unless a player is off the charts with tools and skills, it is usefull to remember that coaches, recuriters, scouts, etc. get to choose who they want to be around and work with. Who they want on their field representing their program.

But tools are paramount, no amount of makeup will overcome a bad glove, a poor bat or weak arm.

The percentage was probably "failure" 70% of the time since that means a batter is still hitting .300 making 7 outs in 10 at bats and this was considered the old benchmark of success. If you fail 85% of the time and hit .150 I think you'll be in trouble but you are right, that's still a high %.

A scout once told us that he can see everything he needs to see on a player's mechanics and approach in 8 to 10 swings although if the player shows a solid hitting tool they'll want to see more to further evaluate against superior pitching and how the hitter makes adjustments.

My son's most tangible 'tool' is hitting power, waiting for his pitch,( he called it good batting eye) low strike outs...these are the things he recently put on a baseball form that asked what he thought were his strengths.

I have a question posted in the general items section about responding to a request for a video from a school. If scouts see what they want in 8 or 10 swings, is that about how many should be shown in a video? What about distance, if a player can hit far, should it be shown?

Usually you will want to film a hitter from the side so that you can see his approach and swing path. If the mechanics are there the coach can usually tell how well a player can hit a ball. You will probably want game footage as well as BP so that the coach can see how he takes pitches, and what he likes to swing at. I believe that the tape should not be more than 10 minutes, perhaps a bit less.

You are going to want to be capable of demonstrating more than one tool if at all possible, unless he is taking it out of the park every couple plate appearances or so in a game situation.