TBR Instant Classic: Recruiting, Showcases & Scouting

I have come to find that I can talk baseball with you fine people in North Carolina without the nonsense seen in other forums.

I am honored to be accepted here.

 

Question for Tom Rizzi

We have a lot of younger players reading the board that have never been exposed to quality "player evaluations". I know that it's one of your strengths. Talking about Pitchers & Position Players:

Could you spend a little time teaching them:

1. How you perform an evaluation.
2. The "Physical Attributes" you look at.
3. The "Makeup Attributes" you look at.
4. What goes into consideration when you are talking about "projectability".

 

Lets see if we can make this work for all of you:

01-- Evaluations-

- our evaluations are a bit different than most in that we look at the academics as well. Our purpose is to try and direct the player to the proper college baseball level in accordance with his academics and baseball talent.-- In terms of the baseball aspect our "on field" coaches all give me detailed notes on the kids. I also sit with the college coaches and scouts in attendance and sort of pick their brains to get their feelings about a player. At times we will even get input from the umpires who worked the games. I also have my own notes. All of this helps me tell a player where he looks to fit baseball wise at the next level.

When the players register they give us the five schools they would like to play at -- this is noted on the registration form. They may be able to play at a certain school baseball talent wise but academically it is another story.

We also do not rate players--WHY? Because we see no need to --there are more than enough ratings and rankings out there to satisfy everyone. Our goal is for each individual player to come away from our showcase with a confident feeling as to where he can play and at the same time handle the academics. Baseball is no fun when you are trying to stay eligible. Having a solid realization as to ones own capabilities is key to us--not how they stack up against one another.

02--Physical Attributes

Obviously size jumps out at you as does foot speed but we look for the more subtle things like the ability to run bases, how he throws on a tough play etc-- a strong arm is meaningless if it is not accurate. We look for soft hands in an infielder, good range in the field for an outfielder


03-- "MAKE UP ATTRIBUTES"--

First and foremost is hustle-- hustle going on to the field, hustle while on the field and hustle while leaving the field.

Does the kid look like a player? How does he wear his hat and his pants? Most kids who look like ball players are ball players and are capable of playing somwhere at the next level.

Again the little things count--- does he back up plays properly? does he throw to the right base if he is an outfielder? does he know how to take the extra base on a hit? is he alert and heads up at all times? Not running out grounders, fair or foul, means negative points. Does he lose his composure on a bad call, whether he is a pitcher or a hitter?

04-- Projectability--- this can be tough -- with the tall skinny kid whose Dad is taller and mature physically you can look and see. The 6 ft kid is the toughie--- you can tell by the lack of heavy beard that he still have physical maturing to go. A 6ft 17 year old boy with a heavy beard, he looks like he could shave twice a day has probably peaked physically and won't get much bigger.

One thing that I include in projectability is the players coachability-- this shows up in my coaches field notes-- believe me it does-- if a kid has an attitude it is noted-- if the kid does everything asked of him it is noted.

The final thing we take into consideration is the position a kid plays on his high school team--he may be playing SS because the coach wants him there when in fact the kid may be a college outfielder.

I hope that this helps

 

Catcher "POP" Time, Unload time for pitchers... etc.

A month or so ago, the question came up about catcher "POP" times (and in the same vein, a pitcher's unload time). These were related back to the pitchers fast ball velocity as being a few of the OBJECTIVE things that can be measured (and understood by the layman).

How important do you feel that they are?

 

Obviously in our evaluation we include the 60 yd time, the catchers pop times, pitcher fast ball speed as well as off speed pitches and fielders arm strength.

The pop times , to me at least, mean nothing other than to be used as a measuring stick--what a catcher does during the game is more important to me. The greatest pop time does not help if the pitcher has a slow motion to the plater, ala Dwight "Doc" Gooden.

The catcher has to work with each pitcher and be in sync. He cannot do anything about how quickly the pitcher comes to the plate.

I think at times we get too "clinical" regarding baseball positions.
The bottom line for is is simple "Is the kid a winner?". What does he in the game not the drills.

 

Wow....I am honored :notworthy

We have one of the Top 5 posters and a moderator of the HSbaseball web site. This gentleman can answer any and all questions regarding baseball with an absolute credibility.

TRhit- could you tell our members a little bit about yourself and how you became connected with HS baseball.

Thanks for coming over here...I thought you were just kidding

Uh..Ms. Original will you please pass the bowl of grits to Mr. Rizzi

 

One more question, then I'll let Braves pester you

How important is being in a winning program to a player? If he plays for a school that is never competitive, is he overlooked more often? Does he have to work harder in the off-season (summer ball) to be noticed?

 

I think I've used my allotment of questions (17 and still counting) but I did want to say that Mr Rizzi would feel much more at home here if we don't force the grits on him. Chitlin Ravioli is much more his speed.

Original, Braves has the recipe....

 

Allow me to give you an example regarding winning programs--as you come to know me you will find that I speak from my experiences both as a parent of college ballplayers and as a coach -- I think you can draw from it -- may not always be the way you want it but I do know what did or did not work for me

My son played three years as a varsity starter at a HS in New York that did not win more than 6 games in any given year.

My son played his college baseball at New Mexico State University on scholarship

Bottom line if you have talent you can play at the next level--don't forget losing teams play in leagues with winning programs--you play those winning programs --- scouts will be at the games to see the winning programs-- you have a strong solid day against them and you will be noticed.

 

Let me see if can answer BRAVES request and give you some background on myself.

First we dispense with Mr.--- its Tom--- or for my players Coach

How did I get involved in HS baseball?

I have been a baseball nut my entire life-- played hs ball, had offers to sign coming out of HS (there was no draft back then) but knew I had a bum arm--so I went to college St John's--made the frosh team, yes we had such things back then but had to quit because of the arm--they did not operate so readily back then either.

When son (s) came along I got involved in the local leagues--became Comissioner and all that jazz for baseball, soccer and basketball

When I saw what was needed in the northeast for my son to get where he was headed I created the College Select Baseball Program which is now multi faceted.

We are a showcase program that includes recruiting guidance as part of the package, not in addition to but as a part of. We are not a scouting service. We also have a travel team, August to November that comes out of our showcase events.

As I say, we are not a scouting service and thus , as I noted in a previous post out evaluations are quite different from most others. We are college driven since we feel there are a multitude of kids out there who need that extra edge to get that college situation.

In this day and age education is critical and when you figure the odds of making it to the "Big Show" you can see why.

I hope this gives you an idea as to my background.

One other thing if I may-- I see you all have a chat on Sundays at 8PM--- we have been running one at 9 PM on Sundays now for a few years on my website -- why not jump over to our chat at 9 PM on Sundays and join the fun--I know Prepster and Coach 44 have been with us

Thanx
Tom Rizzi
aka TRhit
www.collegeselect.org