#baseball scouting

[furryalligator]

"For all of them, scouting is a major adjustment. The former hitters must learn how to evaluate pitchers, and the former pitchers have to learn about swing mechanics and the intricacies of position-player defense. The biggest shock, though, is often the simple logistics. Like not getting lost."

[ubersenseblog]

How I Became an MLB Scout

Tips to Break into Baseball Scouting

A few years ago I began helping out the Northeast Area Scout for an MLB team in the American League. The position, known as a 'Associate Scout', is unpaid and not nearly as glamorous as it sounds. But it has allowed me to assist first hand in the amateur scouting process and help to scout and source prospects for the Major League Draft, several of whom have gone on to get drafted in the top rounds. Many scouts have backgrounds in baseball, as a former professional player or coach, but I am not one of them. I certainly feel fortunate for having been given the opportunity to work in baseball scouting and I thought it might be helpful to share some tips on how I was able to break into the industry and how other 'outsiders' can as well. 1. Start Going to Games This is pretty obvious. If you are interested in becoming a scout you have to start going to games in your area. Find local colleges, high schools, or summer leagues where there are prospects. I grew up on Cape Cod so I was able to attend plenty of Cape Cod Baseball League games as well as attending most of the Boston College baseball games while in school. This gave me plenty of exposure to watching talented players and I began to pick up on things that good players did to separate themselves. 2. Ask Questions Once you start attending games regularly it becomes pretty easy to identify the scouts in attendance. They are usually sitting together somewhere behind the plate with stopwatches, radar guns and clip boards. Scouts get asked questions all the time from curious fans so make sure you are not one of the annoying or rude fans. It's good to put some thought into your question and make sure you ask when the person is not busy, likely in between innings. It's even better if you have an idea for the region and team the scout is assigned to cover, that way you can ask questions about prospects the scout has been responsible for drafting or other players in the region as well. Once you get comfortable ask questions about how they got started in scouting and if they have any advice for someone looking to break in. 3. Pay Attention Pay attention to the way the scouts talk. Observe as much as possible what they are looking for when watching players warm up and during the games. Bonus points for bringing your own note pad or radar gun to jot down notes. Try to find out some of the scouts' names and team affiliations, this will help when talking or reaching out to these scouts. 4. Networking Do your due diligence on scouts assigned to cover your area. For me, I used Baseball America's directory to search for Northeast scouts for each major league team. Once I had their names I was able to strike up conversations with some of them in-person and over email. Obviously, some guys will be more receptive and helpful than others, which is why it's always better to try to strike up a conversation in person first. These guys get an overwhelming amount of requests from other people hoping to break into the industry. Proving that you are knowledgeable and willing to put in the work will go a long way. Make sure you let them know you are looking for any opportunities to help out or cover any events or games in your area. 5. Take Initiative Scouts are extremely busy during the season and many of them have thousands of miles of territory they are responsible to cover. There may be times when events are several hours away and need to be covered. Showing the willingness to cover these will certainly help to prove your value. I also recommend going above and beyond when it comes to reporting. Scouts may ask your opinion of one or more specific players or just to cover the event or game and see if anyone stands out. These are opportunities for you to showcase the knowledge you have been collecting and absorbing from other scouts. There are certainly many paths to become a scout and I'm sure my road is unique in many ways. These tips will certainly be helpful but like many things in sports it does require hard work and some luck to land a gig. If you have any questions at all please feel free to leave a comment below or find me on Twitter @AlexPedi Download the free Ubersense app for baseball video scouting today:

[baseballscouting]

This baseball scouting course is designed for anyone interested in becoming a baseball scout, working in baseball operations, becoming a sports agent, general manager or baseball coach. The course will equip you with the skills needed to successfully evaluate talent and build a collegiate or professional baseball team. Topics of the course include baseball scouting, player development, baseball operations, player personnel, and Major League Baseball (MLB) draft strategies.

[baseballshane-blog]

4/22/12 Scouting Outing: Fresno Grizzlies vs. Tacoma Rainiers

I went to my first game of the season and I am trying a different approach to watching the game.  I am going as a scout, finding little highlights that may be projectable to the big leagues. What I first would like to do is give my overall impressions, highlighting what I went to the game to see and what I saw. I will later post interesting things that happen at Minor League Baseball games (trust me, there always is something). My first game of the year was the the Fresno Grizzlies (S.F. Giants AAA affiliate) against the Tacoma Rainiers (Seattle Mariners AAA affiliate). Notes Prior to Game: Rainiers:

Trayvon Robinson - I am looking at his patience at the plate.  Does he swing at strikes outside the zone and if he does, can he make contact.

Chin-Hsien Chiang - Anything positive.  Struggled a lot last year since becoming a Mariner.

Chance Ruffin - Has really good stuff but can he get lefties out.

Vinnie Catricala - His glove.  Also, he has been struggling at the plate.  What is his approach?

Carlos Truinfel - His range.

Mike Carp - Rehab.  Any progress.

Grizzlies

Francisco Peguero - His speed.  is a big part of his game. Watch for his approach at the plate.

Heath Hembree - K rate amazing.  High 90’s stuff.  Sit back and enjoy.

Conor Gillaspie - His plate discipline

Charlie Culberson - anything positive.

Game Notes: Rainiers:

Mauricio Robles - 88-93 with his fastball.  Had both 2 seamer and a 4 seamer; not a lot of movement on either pitches.  His 2 seamer at times seems to have a little bit of sink to it but not much and it was inconsistent.  Curveball was about in the low 70’s.  Not a lot of break to it.  Definitely his worse pitch.  Change up was 80-83.  He was elevating it.  When he is able to bury it, it is really good.  Overall in the game, he never really had control of his pitches.  Had 7 total walks.  Did not miss a lot of bats and could not put hitters away.

Trayvon Robinson - He really did not look good at all today.  He lacked any approach or discipline at the plate.  His first at bat, he swung at the last two pitches that would have been ball one and two.  In his four at bats, he only saw 12 pitches, striking out twice and grounding out weakly the other two times to first.  He had an even worse day in centerfield.  Multiple times, his first step was towards home plate and once he realized it was over his head, the step forward cost him.  He was close but on both of these occasions; the ball was off his mitt.  Needs to make better reads on the ball.  He wasn’t the only one making bad plays in the outfield today and the sun was behind home plate for most of the game.  He still did not track the balls well.  On another note, Robinson looked like his head was not right.  He may be pressing, still pissed off about being sent to AAA or something else, but he did not look mentally prepared to play today.  After his at bats, walking back to the dugout, he on multiple occasions threw his batting gloves, bat, and even smashed his helmet in the dugout.

Chin-Hsien Chiang - Barrelled up on one pitch that was hit on a line to right field.  It was missed by the rightfielder, Peguero, but I feel that a big league rightfielder would have made that play.  In his other three at bats, hit weak groundballs.  Obviously, he has a hard time getting the barrel of the bat in on his hands.  Fouled off quite a few good pitches to hit as well.  He also had a ball hit to him in RF in which he looked foolish.  He seemed to be right under it and then it falls two feet in front of him.  Not his finest moment but I am sure it was because of the sun.

Vinnie Catricala - His approach did not seem like a player that is struggling at the plate.  Has lots of swagger and barrelled up a couple of pitches.  One he hit towards straight centerfield, taking the centerfielder to the warning track.  It is 425’ in Cheney Stadium and anywhere else, that may have been a Home Run.  He also had a great inside out swing, punching the ball to rightfield for his only hit of the day.  

Mike Carp - He did not have a great day at the dish.  In his first AB, he swung and missed at a straight 95 MPH fastball from the Grizzlies pitcher, Harker (granted, that was not expected as he had been around the 89-91 the whole game.  Made me perk up a little bit when it hit the catcher's mitt).  He also struck out on a 89 fastball in his third AB.  Looked like he had a little bit of trouble comin around on the fastball.  He looked really good in Leftfield, however, tracking the ball well and recording 4 putouts for the day.

Carlos Triunfel - Did not have an opportunity to see his range be tested.  Turned a nice double play.  Did nothing at the dish except producing one of the worst AB’s of the game.  He swung and missed at two pitches way out of the strike zone.

Chance Ruffin - Was thrilled to watch him pitch.  Perked up a little when he came into the game.  Has a wild, herky, jerky delivery.  He fastball was clocked at about 90-92 on the scoreboard but I was not sure that was entirely correct.  He had a distinctive pop in the mitt and it missed a lot of bats.  He did, however, give up two hits, both lefties, which was a concern from what I researched about him before the game.

Shawn Kelley - He worked quickly in the 9th, having a 1-2-3 inning, striking out two.  His fastball was around 94-95 and his changeup (which may be a new pitch) had a lot of bite to it, coming in around 83. He slider was still a little elevated, which is what he needs to work on.  May make more sense for him to develop that change up as his out pitch as opposed to the slider.

Got my attention today: Brandon Bantz - Barrelled up a first pitch fastball for a home run in the 6th.  Sounded really good of his bat.  Will have to look a little deeper into this player.

Grizzlies:

Francisco Peguero - Has great speed out of the box and I was extremely surprised, since he is a right handed hitter.  I clocked him less than 5 seconds but I am pretty sure I did not use my iPhone right to clock it.  He beat out a routine double play.  He also played rightfield today and had one ball hit out to him, which he should have caught.  He had a great break on the ball but tried some weird head first diving slide thing (it looks really bad) and ball hit of the tip of his glove.

Conor Gillispie - Was 2-4 with a 2-run home run (that was really foul; more on this story later) and a walk.  I would give him the home run, however, because he got the barrel around on a pitch that was in on his hands.  He had a great approach at the plate, coming each time to the plate with a plan.  Of all the players today, he is the only one that one could make an argument to be on a big league club.

Charlie Culberson - Was 2-3 with a triple.  He was subbed out for in the bottom of the 5th; I am not sure if it was injury but would have liked to see more of him.  

Eric Harker - Was the surprise of the day.  Got my attention when he touched 95 (on a gun I was pretty sure was tracking low all day).  He delivery reminds me of Dan Haren’s; so slow you could fall asleep in between pitches.  He had a 4 seamer, 2 seamer (dipping down and away from lefties) and a breaking ball I couldn't really figure out.  It was anywhere between 80 to 62.  It was really weird and kept hitters off balance.  Could not make it around the line up a third time as he lost the strike zone but he missed a lot of bats and recorded 6 strike outs.  Not sure where he came from but showed some really good pitching today.

Overall, it was a great experience for my first time and I am looking forward to getting out there again.

[susanabe-blog]