I have noticed that this thread has remained dormant for awhile.

Well, that time of the year has arrived. You have signed your NLI, may have taken a few months off, now you are preparing for your HS season. During your practice or scrimmage games you are surprised to see that some scouts are out there watching, and when your season gets into full swing, you might see that more and more scouts may be out there. Some of you might have already had visits. As a HS player, this can be the most exciting time you have ever imagined, but also the most frustrating and confusing.

A few suggestions, from a parent whose son was not drafted and decided to go to school. Regardless of the reasons for that, having been through the process, here are a few tips to pass on.
Be honest with everyone, including yourself. If you really want to be drafted and begin your professional career after HS, be prepared to do so immediately following the draft. Remember, a scouts job is to sign you, especially if you are drafted early, he can lose his job if you have not communicated well with him. If you are really not sure as to what you want to do, tell him. How you conduct yourself in the process may or may not affect how they feel about you years later if drafted again.

Be honest with the coach that has signed you. If they ask you questions, let them know what your expectations are in advance, would you choose to be a draft and follow? Nothing aggravates a college coach more than hearing one thing and then hearing another thing from the scouts. Baseball community is a very small world and most everyone knows everyone. Don't be afraid to discuss your feelings with him also.

Do your homework. Research the teams that have shown an interest in you, study last years draft, know what the term, round money, is. Ask where you will play rookie ball and where you will play, live, as you move through the system. Same thing for college, ask them in advance how they plan to develop you as a future draft prospect, what exactly is expected of you as far as playing time. If you will not be an impact player your first year, you may not be ready to play for a living, you may think you are, you may not. Learn about the ML scholarship program.

Know that when you sign , you are now employed and have joined the work force. Yes it will be tough at times and you will have great challenges ahead of you, are you willing to do that now? It may be your passion, but it is a JOB. Know that if you decide to go to college, it also will be tough. Not a good student, could you lose your eligibility if you get poor grades? School comes first, if you are not willing or able to accept that, think twice, it is not EASY.

Both situations will bring it's rewards, you just have to decide which ones you want. Think about after your choice is made, would you rather be second guessing in rookie camp or in college?

Don't tell anyone you want to be drafted just to be drafted, it is not embarrasing if it doesn't happen, because you either felt you wanted too much (but be realistic) or you wanted to go to school. Don't be afraid to admit to anyone you are not ready to make any decision.

Know that you may have passed up a great opportunity to play professional ball, know that you might become a better pick later on. Your position may have a greater impact upon your choice. Keep tabs on the other 2005 draft players, it will give you an idea of where you might fit in.

Listen to GOOD advice. Advisors, scouts, players, coaches, etc. Talk to those who went to college then went pro, speak to those who were drafted directly out of HS (if you can). Sort out what you feel is valuable in making the right decision for yourself. You will hear a variety of pros and cons on the subject, but you are the one who will be either in rookie camp or in school, not mom or dad, not your advisor, not your best friend, not your coach.
Rely on your parents to guide you through the process. Don't let anyone tell you that they do not know what is best for you, they know you better than anyone else.

Most of all, enjoy your last year in HS. As badly as you might want out, enjoy all of those activities that you have earned as a senior. You will never have them again. Whether you go to work or go to school, shortly you will be on your own, appreciate what you have at home, laundry will have to be done by YOU, either way.
I am not going to get into the pros and cons of college vs. pro. I'll leave that for others later on. For my son, his decision worked best for him, he is happy, he wouldn't trade what he has for anything. I am sure if you heard from parents whose son went in the other direction they would say the same. Start preparing now to make the decision that will be best for YOU and your future.
Good luck!

Thanks for a great post TPM!

My son will not have to worry for another year or so. But it never hurts to start thinking early.

Thanks for the post Tiger Paw Mom. So far it's been "verrry interesting", to use an old Laugh-In line!

nice post, im sure it will help out.

A couple of cautions.

If you have pro baseball aspirations do not put an unreasonable dollar amount on your self or you will be undrafted.

Do not go pro unless you are mature enough to treat the off-season as a job, as well as the in-season. It is a difficult road to take, albeit a very rewarding one. If you want the ultimate competition and you believe in yourself, you will be very happy with your decision.

You better have mental make-up as well as a work ethic. 6 days a week training in the off-season, proper nutrition, etc. It is no picnic.

Play your cards close to the vest. Remember that when your college coach asks for information, he is interested in protecting his interests.

Don't hide the fact that you have pro aspirations. Let the college coaches know that you will listen to offers if drafted.

Don't hide the fact that the draft may effect your decision as to DNF, but let them know your plan is to attend their university.

Do not let the college coach pin you down to an amount that it will take for you to sign before the draft. He can use that quietly to undermine the process. Do not sign a paper along with the letter of intent stating a dollar amount that you will not sign under. It is yours and your families business. Ask your college coach to not discuss personal conversations that you have with him with scouts.

Don't lie to the scouts. Let them know that you will sign for "fair" slot money. You and your family determine the round at which you draw the line. Scouts will ask you 20 different ways to tie you down to an amount. Don't do it. Fair slot money. That gives you room in the round as negotiations pan out. I hheard a scout say that the player drafted in the same slot lost year got 25,000 when the player was asking 175,000. The previous player was a graduated college fielder and new player was a hs grad. That was this scouts view of slot money. Remember that slot money is there to protect them from going up not DOWN.

The term slot money is purely collusion by baseball. If they did not have an anti-trust exemption by congress, it would be illegal. Almost every round had a player who signed for big bucks way beyond slot money. If they value you, they will pay you. Then they will smokescreen and spin it to say that their were signability issues and that they took a chance and got lucky. Just the way it is.

Big

Great info from one who has been there

TPM and Big,

Thanks for the great advice/info.

TPM and BIG,
Thank you both for such great advice,you both just went thru all of this last year and both of your sons came out WINNERS with their choices.
TPM please say hello to David from Shaun, he must be so ready and anxious to start playing soon.


BIG ERIC, please ay hello to Eric also, I hope he is enjoying his time off and ready to GO GET THEM... CONGRATS on his great accomplishments..

Wish us luck, It's been busy and as RHP05 said...Very Interesting....

Big ...

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Let them know that you will sign for "fair" slot money. You and your family determine the round at which you draw the line. Scouts will ask you 20 different ways to tie you down to an amount. Don't do it. Fair slot money.

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Couldn't agree more.

Even tho ours didn't have to deal with this out of high school, we found that it was essential that the homework be done on "fair slot money". Just takes some internet research to find out what has happened in the past and to come to the tables prepared to back up the desired money.

Today's Baseball America article:

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The logjam of unsigned players from the 2005 draft might be starting to clear.

The Mets, who have grabbed headlines with high-profile free-agent signings such as Pedro Martinez and now Carlos Beltran, ended the impasse with their first-round pick, Rice righthander Philip Humber. They brought him to New York for a physical Tuesday and signed him for a $3 million bonus. Humber’s contract is a five-year major league deal with a $5.116 maximum value, with $4.2 million guaranteed.

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Big:

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Let them know that you will sign for "fair" slot money. You and your family determine the round at which you draw the line. Scouts will ask you 20 different ways to tie you down to an amount. Don't do it. Fair slot money.

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Great advice just when we need it. However my question is this: at what point are you told where you stand in the draft. In other words when would someone say to my son "We see you going in the X round."

Thanks

They won't and they cannot tell you with any certainty. Local area scouts have no say so in who is drafted. They give reports and recomendations. Scouting directors make the draft decisions.

Some scouts will say for example: "based on my experience, I see your son falling between the 3rd and 7th round. However, I am not the one that makes the decision. The scouting director is."

You must remember that each organization has like 40 scouts. US, South America, the Islands, Europe, asia, etc. and they all have thier list of players. To get drafted at all is an honor.

The top couple of rounds will get a good idea as to where they will go after that the draft is a crapshoot. Many things can effect a draft. I never even asked where they though he would go. Waste of time. The scouts don't know.

Also a teams needs figure in heavily. If a team doesn't need pitchers, it might not matter how good you are. You may be number 5 on one teams board and 205 on another teams board. There is no rhyme or reason.

We had 4 different scouts tell us that they were pushing to have my son taken in the 4th or 5th round.None of those teams took him and he was taken in the 8th. Just the way it goes. When my son was picked, we were on the phone with another team and I talked to another scout later that said he was on their list for later that round and that he would have been their next pick.

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quote by Bighit15
I never even asked where they though he would go. Waste of time. The scouts don't know.

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Unless you want to turn the tables on them. When my son is asked what it would take for him to sign he simply says he wants to be treated fairly. He asks them where they see him going and if they are honest they say they don't know, he will say then how can he be expected to know what to ask for. So far, so good and that way he's not shutting the door on any teams.

I have never asked a player what it would take for him to sign.......ever. I have asked players if they would consider signing in a certain area (4th-8th round ex.) I have asked them if they know what type of money those rounds are worth.

Bighit gave the best advice, and right now, my own son is going through signability dicussions with various teams. He has told them that he wants the rest of his college taken care of and that he will sign for slot money in the first ten rounds. After the 10th round, he would have to consider the team who drafted him and a few other things before signing. What he is telling them is the absolute truth.

Since all the bonus info is on Baseball America, it is not hard to figure out the round and value that it would take to sign or not sign. As a scout, I have to ask questions and the players who answer with a well thought out answer can help themselves. If a player answers with "just treat me fairly", it does not mean anything. Fairly for the 15th round or fairly for the 2nd round? Big difference in money. A college player has had many years to think it over, and should be able to come up with a solid answer. The ones that don't can slide down the list, as they could be thought of as difficult signs.

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Originally posted by crollss:
Big:

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Let them know that you will sign for "fair" slot money. You and your family determine the round at which you draw the line. Scouts will ask you 20 different ways to tie you down to an amount. Don't do it. Fair slot money.

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Great advice just when we need it. However my question is this: at what point are you told where you stand in the draft. In other words when would someone say to my son "We see you going in the X round."

Thanks

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Outside of 3-4 players in the country, you will find out where you are going on draft day.

bbscout,

Great advice.

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He has told them that he wants the rest of his college taken care of and that he will sign for slot money in the first ten rounds. After the 10th round, he would have to consider the team who drafted him and a few other things before signing. What he is telling them is the absolute truth.

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We always told them that after a certain round that it would depend on the team, their record of player develoment, and their needs in the organization.

quote by bbscout,

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Fairly for the 15th round or fairly for the 2nd round? Big difference in money.

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Good point. I should have said he does say he wants to be treated fairly for the round he is chosen in. He says basically the same thing Brett does.

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A college player has had many years to think it over, and should be able to come up with a solid answer.

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Not necessarily true in all cases. What about the player who had a breakout year/summer who is being looked at more seriously now than ever before? Yes, he's had thoughts about it since HS, but it seems it's a whole new ballgame now. About the only thing he's been told is that the college deal wouldn't be a stumbling block.

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Outside of 3-4 players in the country, you will find out where you are going on draft day.

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Best statement yet! We all know of many players who've had their hearts broken by listening to some (not all) scouts who tell the player they have him going in the X round and end up going much lower or not even being drafted at all. The best advice I've heard so far is from Bob himself when he says to go fishing, etc.. with your buddies on draft day and if it happens, great.

P.S. We need a PREVIEW MESSAGE BEFORE POSTING option so maybe not have to edit so much. Or I could just learn to spell.

FrankF, not to pick on you, but, that is bad advice.

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The best advice I've heard so far is from Bob himself when he says to go fishing, etc.. with your buddies on draft day and if it happens, great.

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When my son was picked, we were called 20 minutes before the pick to verify that would would sign for fair money. Also there was another team on the phone asking if we would sign for X dollars in a few minutes at the same time as my son was picked.(They picked in the same round a few picks later) Had we not agreed to their money demands, they would have gone right to the next kid. Instead they said, "oops, Pittsburgh just took him, good luck and we will call the next kid." They were trying to get the price down. It is a business. Period.

Had we been fishing, he may never have been picked.

So far the scouts that we have met with have been OK if not easy to deal with. At this stage I feel they are just trying to determine who on their list has a true interest in being drafted in the range the team is considering them. They have all been very clear to say IF drafted in this range of rounds would he want to sign out of HS. My assumption is that much will change between now and draft day and the round they are considering him will go up or down depending on how his spring season goes; what each team's needs are at draft time; who is still on the board; and whether their team is interested in HS prospects. No one yet has ever asked us for a specific $ go/no-go cut-off.

Bighit15,

No problem. I never said he wouldn't have his cell phone with him. I'm sure his "advisor" will be in contact. I think what Bob was getting at was not to get so psyched up for something that you have no control over. I just know of some who listened on the internet both days with their buddies all around waiting and waiting for a call that never came. First team DII All-American who BA said was a fringe 5 tool guy (not the strongest arm) who was told he would be going on the first day of the draft and never got a call. The listening will be my job. And for more reasons than just my son! Hopefully we will have the same "problem" you did.