What is the appropriate age to start attending showcase camps? What's the youngest you can be and still attend?

It depends, like that answer?

I'd say the summer before your Junior year.

I agree with obrady. Summer before Junior year is a good time to get your feet wet at a local showcase. This will give the player some good experience heading into his Junior year and for attending bigger showcases.

There are plenty of showcases that will take your money and let you attend at a younger age, but you need to remember the purpose of a showcase is to be evaluuated and get exposure to colleges or pro scouts. In very few cases will they be interested in players younger than this.

BK_Razorback are you looking to compare your boy with others to see where he stands? If so I think PG might have a 8th grade showcases or under class men showcases that you might want to look into. But the best advise is to find a great camp or camps. The camp director/head coach should be well connected with scouts and if you boy can play, the director/coach will get his name out. For example My boy is in 8th grade and has been attending Elite Baseball Academy (Oregon, Wisconsin) which is run by Darin Everson (Florida Marlins short season head coach). This past winter Darin has gotten my son invited to the Creighton University hitting showcase. There was 4 D1 schools and 2 Jucos there. 48 boys were invited 47 were Juniors and Seniors and my boy being the only 8th grader there. It was great exposure for my boy. Every parent, coach and other player watched my boy very closely because of his age. When my son was hitting live pitching he had all 4 coaches from the D1 schools walkover to watch. He was the only player that got the attention of all 4 coaches at the same time. In fact the coach from Iowa joked with David (my son) and asked him if he wanted to go the Iowa? and then told him he's verbal committed now. Like I said it was great exposure and he has his name out there already. So if you looking to compare your son against others look for something like a 8th grade showcase or under class-men which I think is or was offered by PG that should give you an idea of where you boy stands. If that doesn't work or is not offered in you area, look for a camp. Do your research 1st on the director/head coach and hopefully it works out.....sorry for rambling.

#2's dad

Thanks for the good info. My boy attends camps on a regular basis but it sounds like the Underclassman or 8th grade showcase is more what we're interested in. I think the main-point to take away from this is that many showcase camps are money-makers and may not be beneficial to him.

I agree with #2's dad. You need to get your son's name out there early and often. If you wait until before your son's Junior year, many kids his age will already be looking at colleges and being recruited. Trying to find a local scout in your area that gives lessons is another idea. The more people that see your son early, the more likely somebody like a scout or college coach will see or hear of him and like the way he plays.