When do players get ranked?

Has he participated in a showcase?

Yes he has. PG has him on their site. He is playing USA baseball next week and Area Code in August.

Under normal circumstances you could write to Jerry Ford at Perfect game (PGStaff here). He is very helpful.
If your son is coming off of two exceptional years and playing in tournaments, he should be on the radar.
Due to flooding in Cedar Rapids I am not sure they are able to receive email and the area they are in is flooded.

I am sure when he comes back and reads this post he will repsond in some way.

It's probably just curiosity on my part. The proof is in the pudding, as they say, and on July 1st we'll see which colleges give us a call.

MDMom,
You would have to subscribe to the site to get that info. However, if you go on their message boards and ask about a specific player someone will usually let you know.

Is it okay to be asking about your own kid or does that look bad. I don't want to do anything to hurt his chances. Thanks.

MDMom,
I sent you a PM.

It's ok.

May be a possibility he is not ranked, which lots of players are not coming off of their junior year.
I know one who was not and drafted out of HS.

What's important is who has seen him play, that will determine your calls come July 1.

MDmom,
Sent another PM. Good luck on July 1st, although not every school calls right on July 1st. I haven't been through the process so I don't know but I wouldn't be surprised if someone who's been invited to the Area Code games got lots of calls.

Thank you for the PM CADad. Very interesting info. Not sure what that ranking means but I think it means he'll have to work a bit harder.

The baseball process seems a bit mysterious. Wish somebody write a definitive book on it!

Having ranking info is good. Thanks again. Makes you realize that even though you might be a big fish in a small pond, the real pond is an ocean. I'm grateful our son is happy, healthy, and doing well no matter where he is ranked, or not ranked. Baseball has been awesome for him and has brought us all together as a family for years. Where else do you get to watch your teen son regularly but on the field?

Best of luck to all with sons approaching the July 1st date and waiting for colleges.

That's PG's national ranking for the 2009 HS draft class. Currently there are about 560 2009 players ranked in the entire nation. By this time next year there will be 2000+ players ranked and he'll move up or down based on what they see and what he accomplishes between now and then. They don't get every player who should be in the top 1000 or so but they get most of them by the time the draft rolls around.

Being ranked at all is pretty good it seems. I should be grateful, and I am. He has worked very hard to get there and given up many things like vacations, parties, and leisure time that other kids take for granted. We've never pushed him, though. He takes it on himself and loves playing baseball.

quote:

Is it okay to be asking about your own kid or does that look bad. I don't want to do anything to hurt his chances.

Very good question. YOU NEED TO ASK!! In order for you to assist in the marketing of your son you need to be familiar with your product (your son). Understand his strengths and weaknesses. Understand his competition. In order to help your son find the right "fit" You need to know how he stacks up against other recruits. You don't want to oversell or undersell your son.

On rankings. I wouldn’t worry too much about the rankings --- but ---- if I knew what they were I would use them to my benefit. It basically boils down to another opinion/evaluation and the more opinions/evaluations of your son the better. There are many players that are never ranked by PG that go on to have a successful and rewarding baseball careers. While I am a proponent of showcasing and think Perfect Game increases options for players, I also think their published rankings are of greatest importance to the parents of participants seeking validation ----- and PG’s continued success in the recruiting marketplace. They sell their rankings and they want you to buy them.

quote:

You would have to subscribe to the site to get that info.

PG rankings are not bad ---- just not as important as some might think. Perfect Game would like to be “perfect” in their evaluations and ranking and strive to do so but they will be the first to admit that is impossible. Successful coaches use MANY sources to generate a recruiting pool. You’ve heard of players being on the “radar” ----- PG is a respected “radar site”. Some coaches use PG and some don’t.
Fungo

Next year, as the number of '09 players on the list increases, you can expect your son's current ranking to go down unless he goes to another PG showcase and his rating improves. It's not that your son's abilities have declined; it's just that the pool of players is growing larger and larger. Let's say that you have an 8.5 rating. You could be ranked #450 in the nation right now and eventually move down to #700. There can be hundreds of kids with an 8.5 rating, several hundred more with an 8, and so on. It's hard to determine how one 8.5 player gets ranked 200 spots above another 8.5 player, but like Fungo said, you shouldn't worry about the rankings.

Fungo beat me to the point! I agree!

When son was in HS I think that rankings usually went up to top 200 in the country ( I may be wrong or just wasn't paying attention) so you see how interest and ranking players has grown.

I feel rankings have some validity for parents and players, it gives you an idea of where your son stands among your peers. I cannot speak for coaches recruiting your son or scouts watching for the draft how they use rankings. My only interest was his PG rating at a showcase in terms of where he stood. Two showcases his rating remained the same and he worked on whatever feedback was in them. Tournaments prove validation of a player's rating. As far as phone calls for July 1, means nothing as others will tell you, you can get lots of calls and no offers, you can get one call and an offer. The more you get seen your senior summer the more phone calls you will get. Don't sit home thinking a good ranking will bring phone calls and offers, it won't happen. JMO.

As far as college recruiting, you could be the #1 ranked player in the country, but only the coach who sees you play knows where or how you will fit into their plans. The same with scouts, every team has different needs and preferences. I remember in HS parents hearing comments that their sons ranked higher than son but he got a better offer to college. So try not to try to analyze or figure it all out.

I can relate that your son has given up a lot to get where he has, almost every parent here will tell you the same about their players. That's the key to success and the older you get the more you might have to give up to get where you want to go.

The only thing you can do is provide opportunities for your son to show off what he has, and then let others decide how he fits in.

Don't let rankings or ratings consume you, which it often does to many.