Questions for metro

Welcome metro and thanks for taking the time to answer questions from the Prep folks.

How about providing as little background of yourself for people to get to know you.

My question is basically what you mentioned on the other thread. What advice do you have for the talented HS player in regards to dealing with scouts and College coaches?

We have some members who were recently drafted and a lot of very talented rising Seniors trying to get prepared for the July 1st contacts.

 

wow, thanks for the thread!

I graduated from Providence High in 91, where I was SW4A Co Player of the Year (shared it with my college roommate Andy Bovender from South Meck) I had several choices. I could of been a walk on as a pitcher at USC, an infielder at WCU, but UNCC wanted me to pitch and hit and were willing to give me 25% schollie, so I took it. I was a terrible college hitter going 1-16 my frosh year, but was 6-1 as a pitcher, so needless to say, they told me to quit hitting and just pitch. I went on to be UNCC's all time win and strikeout leader (k record since broken ) but my 29 wins are still tops. My senior year I was lucky enough to be named Metro Conference POY, third team all america, and drafted in the 24th round by Pittsburgh. I then played two season in the minors and made the South Atlantic All Star team in 96 as the closer. I got released in spring training of 97. My career ended on a high note though, UNCC retired my 15 jersey in 98.

My first piece of advice is get your grades in order. Make sure that is not gonna be a roadblock. Secondly, if you want to play for a school, contact them. But stats don't mean much too college programs nor pro scouts. They want to know how tall are you, how fast is your 60, what is your legit Juggs reading, and they want to see bat speed. So if you are gonna sell yourself, which is what you are doing, key in on those items. Of course you need to put stats down, but it won't be what gets you in the door.

I also would be very careful of professional baseball. Yes it is tempting to go pro out of high school, but FOOLISH. Look at it this way, if you have it in you to get to the Bigs, you will breeze thru college and get drafted your junior year, and you will have 3 years of college to fall back on if you get released. DO NOT GO PRO unless they are gonna make you financially sound for your life. Pro ball is brutal, political, scary and your Dad is not there to help you. Don't think $50k is alot of money, after taxes and the new car you buy, you have 10 left. Is that worth giving up the college experience? no way.

Please ask me anything and I will be brutally honest with yall. Just don't ask me the number to the UNC Tarhole baseball office!

 

What is the hierarchy of pro scouts? What are their titles and responsibilities? Every college quesstionaire I've seen has the question, "list pro scouts you know best". Do the college coaches and pro scouts actually exchange information or do they consider themselves "competitors" for the same player? Thanks for your input!

 

every major league team has the same basic system. there is a director of scouting who is in charge of all scouting. his responsibility is to have a good draft. then each region of the country has a "cross checker" that will cover the east coast for example and come to see bonafide top picks only. in other words, he needs to see the guy if large sums of money will be offered. the next step down is who you see at a few high school and college games, they are the area scouts. area scouts actually sign the player. they will form the relationship with you, call you, ask what it will take to go pro, come to your house to sign you, etc. they also scout alot of minor league baseball for possible trades. most mlb teams have one that covers NC and SC, and maybe one additional state. then there is the bird dog. he is the aau coach or whatever that lets the area guy know who is a possibility to come watch.

yes, college coaches and scouts interact constantly. so play politics with the scouts. butter them up and kiss up, because he can make the call for you to the team you want to play for (he has more credibility to a college coach as opposed to your high school coach calling for you). this happens ALL the time. the scouts will call up the college coaches they like and say "see jones at ABC high, he is not a pro prospect yet, but he is good enought to pitch in college" I would not say there is competition. the only time it gets competitive between the two is if a kid gets drafted. Take Kevin Millwood for example, he signed with UNCC when I was there. well the Braves drafted him in about the 12th round too, so then Kevin had to decide if he wanted to go pro or UNCC. Then scholarships are upped, and bonuses are raised. that can get ugly. Kevin is an extreme minority where he made a good choice, and that is debatable, I think had he played for us, he would of been a 1st round pick his junior year and got big bucks. that is moot now, he just signed a huge deal.

 

Thanks for the input!

Is a "Scouting Supervisor" the same as an "area scout" or a "cross checker"?

 

I HAVE SON THAT WILL BE AT UNCC THIS FALL WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT NEXT YEAR, THEY HAVE A LOT NEW FACES. I KNOW MY SON IS EXCITED AND SO AM I ALTHOUGH I HATE TO SEE HIS PREP DAYS END. JUST SOME THOUGHTS ON WHAT TO EXPECT.

 

southpaw,
yes, supervisors are crosscheckers

area scout is the guy who covers NC and SC usually, not the whole east coast

tbutts,
is he trying out or already on the team?

 

HE SIGNED LAST FALL IN THE EARLY SIGNING PERIOD.

 

tbutts,
I have no idea how good UNCC will be this next year. I don't think they are done signing kids yet. I look for them to be pretty good because the pitching coach is excellent and it will be his second year, so he will have them more on his program.

they had an ok year this year. CUSA was brutally tough with ECU, TCU, Houston, Tulane, and USM all in and out of the top 25! We still made the tourny. Only the top 8 go.

Right now, the field is undergoing a complete renovation with irrigation and new sod being put down. So the playing surface will be perfect.

if your son signed early, that is a good sign, they must really want him. alot of new faces is good for incoming players because it opens things up. what does he play? don't be sad that his prep days are done, ncaa ball is a blast and you should be proud. Just make sure he goes in confident. alot of people go in to college intimidated and it makes them fail. the others who learn that it is just another game of baseball are the ones who succeed.

 

What are your thoughts on Coach Hall (pitching coach). All I know is the little bio they have on the website. I've talked with him a couple of times and he seems like a genuinely good person.