Gloveman,

My son is in the Diamondbacks organization,

VaDad

VaDad ...
May I be so bold as to admit that I don't know your son's name ... and ask if you would mind sharing it with me?

Catch43 ...
You may be correct about A level not being taken seriously, tho I sure hope that isn't true But the jump from short season low A to AA is quite a leap that most (not all) are not ready to handle. If he had dead arm part way into his first full season, I don't think it wouldn't have mattered if he was promoted to AA. Besides, a lot of clubs want their youngsters to experience significant success at a lower level so that they don't get discouraged from jump too high too fast. One of my son's teammates was sent to AA after his first full season spent at low A ... it backfired for him and since he has come down to high A, he is doing great and will definitely be better off next season when he starts in AA.

Just some personal observations and opinions

Class "A" ball is taken very seriously, as are all the levels of play. The young man was 7-5 in short season ball with a 4.44 ERA in 2003. In 2004 he was 5-0 with a 0.66 ERA in short season and 1-3 with a 4.37 in the Midwest League. A 1-3 with a 4.37 in the Midwest League is not exactly grounds for getting promoted to "AA". It showed that he has figured out short season ball, but is having to battle in Low "A".

I don't post often, but read sorta a lot... cannot relate(directly) to the subject in this thread as my son signed out of HS. But,...

my son was a HS draftee with 8 semesters of college guranteed by the MLB Scholarship Fund... the "plan" was to live the minor league experience until the drafting organization was faced with the choice of what to do about the 40-man roster(in relation to my son) after his 4th minor league season.

IF(BIG "IF") the son's organization chose to NOT place son on their 40-man roster and no other team chose to select son during the 2005
Rule V draft in November, the son would have been enrolled in college for the January 2006 semester.(Very few Low A, 4rd year collegiate draftees are placed on 40 man rosters or selected in rule V drafts)

Luckily, we have not had to face this situation.

Everyone needs to have a "plan" that works for their life expectations.... what is right for one player won't work for the next... This entire thread subject is no different than the decisions which HS draftees face concerning "college or pro ball". Each player is an individual with lives of their own to live, what is right for one will not work for the next guy!

At some point(no matter how far the baseball career goes) each individual will have to decide what direction they want THEIR life to take.

The young man that is the subject of this thread has had the opportunity to experience professional baseball, something which the largest percentage of the entire population will never get to do! I bet his life will still be terrific and he will have very few "what ifs" about baseball in his future.

OPP

p.s. Be kind to armadillos, they are getting scarce.

Thanks for stopping by Tom!

Good to hear from you...err I mean good to see your typed words again!

OPP usetewas a regular....................

My error on McGirr's season last year ... didn't notice his draft year and presumed he was in son's draft class of '04. The info bbscout provided puts even more clarification on the player's accomplishments and clearly shows why he was not promoted to AA from the MWL ...

FutureBackMom.

you have a pm.

VaDad ...
Thanks ... back atcha

Kevin came home yesterday. He likes his bed at home better than the hotel but he loved his first year of Rookie Ball. He had a great time and had no complaints.

I read a post a couple years ago, I think by TRHit (SORRY IF IT WAS NOT YOU) that said some college players were treated like kings and when they went to the minors, it was a huge let down.

I would venture to say the minors are big improvement over most high school experiences.

quote:

I would venture to say the minors are big improvement over most high school experiences.

Amen. I have yet to see professional baseball players, text books in hand, climb up on a yellow school bus "cheese wagon" to ride to a game.

OPP,

Welcome back to the written word . You might not post very often anymore, but when you do, IMHO, it's good stuff. Zach told us about his 5 year plan way back when. Glad he hasn't had to use it!!

Continued success and speedy recovery to young Zach.

wvmtner ...

quote:

that said some college players were treated like kings and when they went to the minors, it was a huge let down.

We know a young man .. from a well-to-do family ... who was always a very good player, went to a very expensive private school on the west coast ... with a good baseball program, I might add ... who everybody thought would eventually be drafted. Problem for him was that when he played baseball in the Alaska league one summer, he got a little taste of the minor league type lifestyle ... didn't like it AT ALL. I was pretty sure that he would not adapt well to the conditions experienced in minor league ball ... host families, long bus rides, no 5star hotels ... and actually had his dad's office manager tell me that the Alaska experience was why he decided he didn't want to play professionally.

Some consider it an adventure, some don't