Young graduate-disadvantage or not

I don't know how much it matters, but I remember reading about SF Giant Matt Cain getting drafted.  One of the points of that article was that scouts liked the fact that he was just over 17 when he graduated (he was born in October).

My two cents...I look at it like a job.  You either have the skill set or you don't in the recruiting process.  Coaches want to know you can compete for a job on their team, and against their competition.  Coaches want to win.  Whether you are young or old for your age is irrelevant.   However, if two candidates are identical I think they look at other non-baseball factors such as academics, maturity, etc...because a coach will want him their for 3-4 years.  JMO.

Others have posted similar questions over the years.  It has been suggested recruits consider JUCO or a Post Graduate (PG) year for development reasons.

Is turning 18 in May considered young?

Fenway is correct, there have been many discussions over the years on this topic.

Years ago when redshirt was common, being young and needing to grow was not an issue. Today is it, most players need to come ready to play, where ever they are being recruited, they are because they have the skill and the talent and it doesn't matter how young or old you are for your class.

18 is not young. 17 is young. The only thing that matters is whether he can play or not. College coaches don't inspect drivers licenses when the players show up. I think it is more important if he is a late developer or not. He should be getting in the gym and hitting it hard the biggest difference he will see is the physical size/strength of college players.

Good luck to your son! 

I don't think 18 in May is young for a high school graduate. If I am wrong about this, what is the average birth month for a high school graduate? March? So we are talking....at most....about being 2 months young? I don't think this is an issue.

In our high school, we have always had many athletes that were held back in school due to athletics at some point, some even repeating the 8th grade. Several turn 18 the summer before their senior year, in June and July. Some of the baseball players turn 18 before their Junior year is up. Most all are 18 by Christmas. Maybe that is not the norm in some places. I was curious as to what some people's experience was. I've had a coach say that it may be a disadvantage but that will dissipate over a couple of years. I've had another coach say it could be an advantage because he has a better chance of potential because he is still 6-11 months chronologically behind most of his class. 

Our older baseball-playing son was 17 when he entered college (Stanford).  I don't think his age mattered one single bit on the baseball field.  Only question was could he compete/contribute or not?

Personally, I don't consider May birthday to be "young."  If it is...marginally.

Social maturity would be the one thing I'd worry about.  The baseball part will either by "yes" or "no."

I would agree completely with this. I guess some might consider it young, with the scores of younger kids repeating 8th grade and many then turning 19 during their senior year. I personally would consider any senior turning 18 as "normal."

Projectibility will be determined by many factors. A late school year birthday, is probably not one of them.

I would also agree with justbaseball.  My son didn't turn 18 until he had been on campus for a month.  His age didn't matter to his coach.

2017 won't turn 18 until the August after he graduates.  I've seen many teams with 2017's that are a year, year and a half older then him.  

It is what it is.  He has to be able to outplay older kids now and he will have to throughout HS and hopefully college.

It's not anything we worry about.  

Thanks for your responses and info!

My kid turned 18 in May, he just finished a year of college.  The coaches didnt care about his age they only cared about his abilities.