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He will never be able to get his Senior year of High School back!!!!

What a shame. Wonder how much of a % dad is going to take when he becomes his agent also.

I am with 62Tiger---the senior year of HS is one of the great years in boys life---to not be part of it will be a shame


Also at age 16 is a youth mature enough to handle what he will face in college be it on campus, in the classroom or on the baseball field

Not to mention the fact that there are no guarantees.

What if this kid gets injured.

I say live your life....If it was meant to be it will happen.

Again, dad sounds he wants an early retirement!

wasn't he on here way back when?

HaverDad,yes his dad posted here for a little bit.

He is an A student with a 1410 SAT and one of the best high school players in the county. If you watched him the AFLAC game you know he will do well for a long time, wherever he plays. His plan is to spend 3 years at USC and maybe a year in minor league ball and be in the big leagues when he is 20 or 21.

Hmm.......3 years at USC or Agora HS and the bush leagues. Just let me think........hmmmm. I know two high pick catchers out of high school. One is still in A ball since 2002. the other out of baseball drafted in 2000.

I wish him well. He is an extraordinary talent.

Yes, Robert's dad has participated in the HS Baseball Web, and I've also exchanged e-mails with him. He is a very nice and helpful guy, and has always impressed me as a dad who has worked very hard to help his son achieve some very big dreams and goals.

I think it would be very unfair to draw the conclusion that dad is prioritizing "early retirement". After being named the Baseball America Player of the Year at the young age of 15, Robert might very well have commanded a high draft position and large signing bonus out of high school. Instead he is getting a head start on a college degree. I'm not saying that would be the best choice for every player, but I believe Robert and his family have given it a lot of thought.

Also, I just want to remind everyone of our Board Manners. I understand that this is a very interesting article to discuss and even debate, but please remember - this is a teenage player and his family being discussed. They deserve the same consideration that we ask for all the baseball families involved in this site - the same that you or I would hope for our own sons if they were under the media spotlight.

Congratulations, Robert and family!

Congratualtions to Robert!!!
Last season, Coach Delmonico of Tenn had his son playing at Tenn in what would have been his senior season. He played very well and showed he could make the move, may have even been a frosh All-American....Robert was not the first player to enroll early nor will he be the last....

This'll be interesting to watch come college season. Stock was actually younger than most high school seniors, and many kids his age are actually juniors now. So he's actually "playing up" by two pretty big years.

It's amazing that he can be talented enough to have a coach at a program at the level of USC confident that he can hack it. And as a two-way guy, to boot.

But I guess it's no different from when Brad Daugherty started for UNC's basketball team as a 16-year-old freshman. I guess there are just rare guys who are talented enough to pull it off.

As an interesting footnote, PGCrosschecker lists several guys ahead of him on its 2007 prospect list. Makes you wonder what the guys ranked ahead of him are thinking right now.

Maybe I'm just too old school. But it looks like the kid is smarter than dad. This is a bad idea. Just my opinion.

I have had the good fortune of meeting Robert Stock while coaching a local showcase. He is a wonderful kid who is very mature. He has always been a good student and hard worker. I am sure he thought about all the details before making his decision. Someone will always criticize the actions of others. I am sure he is making the right choice for "HIM" and not others. If he was leaving HS early to get ahead of the academic world wold people still criticize? Since he added baseball to the mix people will look at him closelly. He parents have his best interest at heart. The thing to remember he can not be drafted for three more years. I am disappointed of the comments made about his fahter. He does not strike me as a man who would use his son for his own sake. I have two players from the sam HS as Robert and they speak highly of his father. Please respect thier decision. How would you child feel if read negative comment about you on a website?

Yeah, he might be missing out on some nice HS stuff. But his girlfriend now is going out with a college man. He might not need a hall pass to visit his alma mater.

And, since his baseball situation is well documented, just what on the field will he be missing?

He appears to have the academic tools, so who are we to hold him back? The only thing that would concern me would be to try to keep him from degenerating socially (partying like he's older). Let's face it, we all face that with our kids every day, regardless of our kids' age or SAT score.

Sure, he misses out on the draft (or more properly, the signing bonus leverage) out of high school. How many folks here have advocated staying in school, getting the degree and then turn pro? If he has the tools and continues to develop, he'll get plenty of money.

Sounds to me like this is all good. We parents should all be this lucky.

My son was faced with a choice to enter school in the sprng of his senior season, he chose to finish HS, which was the right decision for him, at the time. If he had he would have been drafted last year and begun what he dreams to do, play pro ball. He took a day to think about it, but I can imagine the agonizing over the decision. I posted this to let people know it happens often, top prospects asked to enter early, most will pass for a chance at the draft. Getting drafted out of HS instead of in college will not change any leverage for this player, he will only get better.

This obviously was something that was advised to player and family and in his best interest and for whatever reasons is his business and shouldn't be debated.

We have had many discussions many times the choice to enter college or go pro out of HS being a personal one, each circumstance is different and in this case very unique for a very high profile top prospect who has been in the spotlight for many, many years.

This player will have the best of both worlds as he is destined to become a professional ballplayer, even if a few years later than anticipated.

If a pitcher's rotator cuff is bothering him, would switching to catcher be such a good idea?

Not being sarcastic, it is an honest question.

It is very interesting to see what parents and kids will do when faced with gigantic, life-changing decisions. Robert Stock and family certainly faced a bigger than normal decision recently. Dinner time conversations must have been heavy! I'm sure there will be heaps of posts in the coming year about Robert Stock here and elsewhere. Bottomline: he's worked hard and I hope he has a great time following this path.

Hmmm - Makes sense to me from both ends. USC obviously encouraged him to make this move to avoid a recruiting battle. Here is the reaction: Watch the other college coaches jump all over this to encourage blue chip prospects to enter early. It's a Trojan stealth move... And Dad should be congratulated, not condemned. He gives his kid the college experience, and moves his son up a year in the draft. Remember, even if he finished high school and got drafted he would only have been 17. Dad and son clearly thought he would not be ready to deal with that yet. Good for them for their clear thinking. The only concern is the "dead arm" referred to in the BA article, or inflamed rotator cuff. Might not hurt when you're a DH, but what about catching every day?

He can still go to the high school prom. But watch out for the girls at USC.

Headed off to rookie ball at 17 without knowing a soul, doesn't sound that great to me. I'm willing to bet on the USC Physical Therapists can get a handle on his shoulder fairly quickly.

Sometimes pro baseball puts young kids with physical issues on a slow boat to nowhere, whereas college programs are more focused on getting the player back on the field for good, as quickly as possible.

One thing about senior year - if his high school is anything like my son's - the courses that you take in your senior year are often easier and in total less demanding than the Junior year courses (assuming you have been on an aggressive academic track). Acaemically, he may actually be better off and far less bored at USC.

And I do think that his situation - being a very young member of the class of 2007 - is something that probably played an important role in this decision - as Dad04 said - Rookie Ball at 17 could be a very scary idea. USC is close to home - and 3 years there will still make him a very young draftee...

Great responses and insights by all. I was uncomfortable at first hearing this about Robert Stock, but really...he seems to have paid all of his dues...and ahead of schedule...Academically, he has nothing to prove in HS...and his physical skills are well documented. His work ethic should advance him pretty far academically in college as well...When he signs a pro contract, I'll bet he has a clause that has a pro team pay for him to get his degree in the off-season.

My son's team was at a Presidents Day tourney in Riverside about 3 years ago and in between games, Robert Stock was by himself at one of the Dream Field picnic tables studying and doing homework, while all the other players were off goofing around, playing video games or whatever. This kid has been focused and has had a plan since an early age...I applaud that kind of inner strength and maturity...He'll do just fine in life, with or without baseball.

Rare talents/circumstances dictate exceptional choices. In the 90's I had John Mayberry Jr. on HaverSon's fall ball team. (We were VERY good!) Jr. was very bright and talented, (polite, well mannered, etc.) and later chose three years on academic scholarship at Stanford rather than signing a 7-figure (top ten draft pick) contract out of HS.

Robert seems exceptionally intellectually and athletically gifted/driven, and I expect he will be much better served by this move than either signing out of HS, or spending 3x years in college after HS.