Hey i am a pitcher who signed with a D-1 school in early signing. But now pro scouts are contacting me and saying id be a good draft pick. But id be a draft and follow. So they want me to go to a juco. The sais they could draft me this year follow me for a lil while in the juco route and if they like what they see sign me. Help me please

kbs

What are your concerns? Players switching from D1 to juco as draft and follows is fairly common.

The D1 coaches are understandably miffed when this happens. The scouts can help you find a program best suited to you. Good luck.

kbsbll30,
You can let it “play out” using YOUR goals to guide you in making the right decision. The club can draft you and you have the day until you step into the D-1 school to make your final decision. I respect Dad04’s advice and you can do as he suggest ---- but I would only consider that if that’s what YOU want to do. I'm not too keen on the draft and follow. To me the draft and follow is like giving your new bride a “Cracker Jack prize” as a wedding ring and telling her if she works out in a year you will buy her a real diamond ---- maybe.
Fungo

Fungo is right on. Draft and Follow is "win-win" for the scout (professional team), but it's a gamble for the player. If you light up in JUCO, yes you will get drafted, but if you do the same at the DI level you'll have 3 years of college and perhaps a lot more bargaining power. The question to ask, is why don't they just draft you this year instead of playing the draft and follow game.

Fungo has hit this on the head here. The D-n-F route is definately in the teams benefit not yours. But I would not say to the scouts that you do not want to be a D-n-F guy as you might miss the chance of getting selected which is a great feeling and no one can ever take that away from you.

My situation was the same as yours and I ended up going the juco route as a D-n-F player then got injured. If I was at the 4 year I had originally planned on signing with I think I would have been alot happier as even during and after the surgery the D-1 team would have been behind me strongly where as the JUCO was not so much.

Good luck to you!!

This is an individual choice without a right/wrong answer. It can be a win-win for the player as well as the club that drafted him. A couple things to think about… For the most part, the younger you are, the more bargaining power/leverage you have. If it don’t work out you reenter the draft. If that doesn’t work out, you continue your education.

CoachE,

I think you might be confused regarding the Draft and Follow. It means they DID draft you! Sometimes with the intent of signing now, sometimes they only want to retain the rights to the player for a year. Truth is, they have to offer you a contract if they draft you. They don’t have to offer any money though.

There can be many reasons for going JUCO including being under control of the club that drafted you. For some it has turned out very well. Every year there are players under control that sign for huge sums of money. Watch closely, it’s the time of year when it will happen again.

You hit on the biggest advantage of going DI or any 4 year college… The education! The level of competition can also be a good reason.

You, KS, are in a very enviable situation:

01---holding in hand a Division I scholarship
02-- the possibility of being drafted
03-- the opportunity to go JUCO and maintain your draftibility

Great situation for you but until such time as you get drafted, and we all know weird things happen on draft day, you have no need to get jittery about making a decision.

What if you do not get drafted where you want to be and the $$$ involved is not what you need?

A lot of variables here but YOU are in the drivers seat---you have choices many kids dont get to make.

Good luck

Poor advice from the scout or scouts in my opinion. If the scout likes you then he should SIGN you. Don't walk away from that D-1 school. Here's why.

If that scout doesn't like you in a year from now. Maybe because you didn't get better or grow bigger. Well, the scout is just going to walk away from you. Then what are you gonna go do. Go back to Juco another year? Most Juco's have 35-50 players on their rosters. Ask yourself this, Will I get enough opprotunity to improve?

I also encourage you to check the % of players who sign a PRO CONTRACT as a HIGH SCHOOL draft and Follow.

It goes like this>>>>>>>

High School player, very low %age sign.
Freshman Juco player, Not quite as low.
Sophomore Juco Player, Just a little better.
3rd Year Juco Player, Best chance to sign.

Arent draft and follow picks mostly in the lower rounds??? If true, there isn't much money involved. Who's taking all the risk, IMO it's the player.

If they draft you, and you want to play pro ball no matter what, they should want to sign you now.

AMEN!!

Vance

What is your background to be giving advice as you are???

trhit

Been in the game a long long time.

Have been involved with a fair share of highly recruited players over the years. Most, if not all of them signed with both a D1 and a JUCO to give themselves more leverage.

It would seem that having either route available gives the player more options after the draft. Sometimes they use the possibility of attending the D1 as a motivator for the pro team to up the ante as August nears. Matter of fact, it's a common practice here that as soon as a high profile player signs D1 the JUCOs are all over him wanting him to sign with them too. That's how it often works here but maybe it's different in other parts of the country?

My advice to kbsbll30 is to go ahead and sign with a JUCO and tell the scouts that you definitely want to play pro ball. If they want you they will draft you and then you can negotiate from there. If the club cannot meet the terms that you want to forego college - go to the D1 as you were planning to do in the first place.

Good luck.

If you make a commitment to a D1 STICK with it! I'm wondering if DBAT was a head coach at a D1 school if he would want all his signs to commit to a Juco as well??

Either sign a pro contract or go to the D1. Tell the pro teams what you want. If they like you there then they will draft and sign you. If they don't like you there then they will not draft you. A high school kid going to a Juco for a year isn't gonna get the money he wants anyway. More than likely he will get less or he'll be enjoying 2 years at the Juco!

High School player, very low %age sign.
Freshman Juco player, Not quite as low.
Sophomore Juco Player, Just a little better.
3rd Year Juco Player, Best chance to sign.

Vance,

Is that the advice you would give to anyone or just this poster?

For example, what advice would you have given to Adam Loewen who made a committment to a DI, but went Juco instead?

The bottom line is... Everyone is in a different situation. Without knowing that situation it is hard to give advice. Wouldn't you agree?

PG

Interesting that you and I see the same thing with Vance

"Being around the game a long time" means what?

As you say every kid is different and the situations are different

Mr Loewen would be an altogether seperate situation. 1st rd draft pick.

Funny how the exceptions always get mentioned! Last time I checked there were 30 teams so 30 1st rd picks.....

PG, The bottom line is this......19/20 HS drafted kids who go to Juco, DON'T SIGN WITH THE CLUB THAT PICKED THEM after the 1st year in JUCO. Most of the ones who do sign, SIGN for the same amount that they could have gotten the year before. Lets see, they hate school for 1, or they flunked out and have no option other than sign or they don't even play everyday on the Juco team there on. The % is still stacked against that DNF. Why not just sign and go put 5 years into becoming a big leaguer instead of pushing their PRO options back a year and in most cases 2 or even 3. The only reason they go juco is to try and push the envelope for a bigger bonus.

Sure there are special cases like Loewens. But there aren't many EX baseball players who can even claim to be a 1st round pick!

Vance,

I’m not sure about that 19 out of 20, but I agree the odds are long. However, the odds are just as long if you’re a junior or senior in a 4 year school. The ODDS of making money in baseball are not good no matter what college level the player is at. However, everyone knows the odds are best when you’re draft eligible! And of course, the odds become much better the more talent a player displays.

I personally know several players who were DNF and signed for much more money than they were offered out of high school. I also know of many freshman at 4 year schools who would have been worth a lot of money had they only been draft eligible. I’ve even known of a few that left the 4 year school after their freshman year to attend Juco their second year in order to be eligible for the draft.

The bottom line is… Every situation is different! Loewen might not have been the best of examples, he was just the first one to come to mind. There have been several others and there will be a few more this year (within the next couple weeks) that will be better examples. The timing is right for this debate. All we have to do is keep this thread alive for a couple weeks and check the results.

The 1 out of 20 is meaningless if you are the ONE!!! Besides a player’s career doesn’t end after the next draft. That leads to another question… Is it better to play at JC or set at DI?

I think your advice is sound. I just don’t think it covers every individual case. No matter where the player is, the money offered revolves around his ability. But only if he is draft eligible! For many the JC route is a good way to go and many are better off taking that route. I do agree that most are better off going DI, but not necessarily all.

PG, all I said was "If you sign a letter of intent with a D1 then honor it" If your not interested in school then don't sign the Letter of Intent. Go to Juco or sign the pro contract. If you honor the D1 contract you signed then you'll have 3 years of school outta the way. If you push the envelope by going juco for more bonus money from the Pro Team, then its for all the wrong reasons. Because the PERCENTAGES say that the club that picked you ISN'T going to sign you and NOW your still no closer to getting that degree because, as you put it PG, school isn't for everyone, because you didn't do well and none of the hours will transfer to a 4 year school. So now you stay at the Juco 3 years and redshirt one of those years and NOW the Pro Team that drafted you after your 2nd season SIGNS you after your 3rd year in a 2 YEAR COLLEGE. Which, PG, is the same amount of time the player would have gotten at the 4 year school and also is the same year he would have signed anyway if he had attended a 4 year school.

quote:

The 1 out of 20 is meaningless if you are the ONE!!!

yeah and being President of the USA is as well

UNLESS YOUR THE ONE!

Vance,

FWIW, I do agree with all of that.