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Uh oh, justbb - where did your awesome response go? arrrgh noidea
Aaargh yourself!
Just thought it sounded a little too self-indulgent. But I'll try to recreate some of it. Pretty good observation by you on the younger one from a far distance.
Younger one...classic under 6-0 RHP throwing in the mid-80s. Good curve, good change. Definitely not a 'blue chipper' by any pro scouting standards...yet nearly every pro scout in the area knows/knew him well and predicted good things for him in college.
He is what you'd call...a mega-competitor. His HS coach had the following description, "A complete teddy bear around school all day, everyone wants to hug him...but when he steps on the mound he's a cold blooded killer...completely different kid, different look in his eye, nothing nice at all about him."
A former MLB player's son was/is a good friend and played for a rival school. Later drafted and signed for over $1M. Struck out nearly every time he faced my younger one. After one game he texted my son, 'Why do you always throw me curve balls?' Son replied, 'Cause you can't hit them.'
Just the way he thought about things.
But then in the first game of their senior year, MLB Jr. hit a game winning dinger off our younger son...off guess what?...yup, a hanging curve ball!
I never really considered that the younger one might be a 'blue chipper.' I did believe he would play college ball somewhere after his sophomore year in HS...just didn't know where? I believe he benefited mightily from having an older brother that many coaches and scouts knew + playing in a GREAT HS program + playing in a GREAT summer program. I believe both his HS and summer coaches were extremely helpful as well.
And I believe that college coaches knew what they were getting as they had seen a fearless pitcher for 3 years who had played in very big games (HS and summer) and had produced some really good results. We didn't send him to any big showcases as I was pretty sure how he'd 'grade' with people who didn't know him well and that it would not be helpful.
Maybe we just got lucky and pushed all the right buttons? But I also believe there is a place for kids like him.