What Scouts look for?

[utterchaos jr.]

Either MLB or College Scouts will be fine.
I've heard footspeed and arm strenght are the top two things scouts look for because they are the hardest to improve.

That probably would help more CoachHenry, I play CF, what kind of training do they do?

[TG Coach]

The five tools are hit, hit with power, run, throw and field. They prefer to see position players run a sub7 sixty unless they're catcher's or mashers. Righthanded pitchers should touch ninety. Lefties should touch upper eighties.

Jake has posted a chart in the past that defines generalizations of what each level of college ball is looking for. Maybe he can post it again.

[CoachHenry]

That's a ton of questions in a few words. You may want to break that out a bit more.

Like
- For the position of xx, what would get a scouts attention and then what would keep his attention? At what point would he notify those above him that I exist?

- For the position of xx, what sort of training do they do on a daily basis on game day and for off days? How about off season?

That's a fair start.

[Jake Patterson]

What Do Scouts look for?
How do MLB PLayers train everday?

Either MLB or College Scouts will be fine.
I've heard footspeed and arm strenght are the top two things scouts look for because they are the hardest to improve.

In General:
Grades
Size
Speed
Weight
Strength
Personality
Skill

Pitchers:
Grades
Size
Pitch speed
Skill

[TG Coach]

Jake ... You once posted a chart with various running times, throwing velocities, etc for each level of college ball.

[Jake Patterson]

Jake ... You once posted a chart with various running times, throwing velocities, etc for each level of college ball.
I may have - the only one I could find was this:
45400

[rkbenn]

I sat next to a scout from the Royals. He said it's easy to find the special players, they just stick out with their overall skills. It's the tweeners that are the most difficult to scout. He also said that he knows all the 95mph+ pitchers in the country. He was also scouting speed from home to 1st with a stop watch. He loved the pitchers that had control of all their pitches. Of course we are talking about the last play Royals...lol

[Go Cardinals]

pm swingbuilder, he is a pro scout and has worked with several hitters such as jay bruce

[3and0]

I'm curious to as I just hit 16 and I live in canada, so i have to stick out haha. At 16 would like a 7.09 60 yard dash time be decent for a short stop? and i just turned 16 today.

[BallCoach06]

Here are some of the things I initially look for when I am out looking at players (not in any order):

Arm strength (Is ball thrown straight and with some zip?)
Footwork (How smooth are they? Are they athletic?)
Speed (would like 6.90 or better, but it is dependent on position)
Bat speed and solid contact
Pitchers that miss bats (85+mph to go along with it is better)
Pitchers that have control and command of all their pitches
Pitchers that have a nice/easy motion and delivery and not max effort guys
Catchers (75+mph and 1.95 or better pop)
Character (What kind of person are they? Do they have a firm handshake, look you in the eye, etc.)

I look at other things, but these are some of the main things I look at. I also like to get to games early to see how the players get off the bus, how he wears his uniform, etc., etc.

[TG Coach]

I'm curious to as I just hit 16 and I live in canada, so i have to stick out haha. At 16 would like a 7.09 60 yard dash time be decent for a short stop? and i just turned 16 today.

7.09 is slow for a shortstop. All position players except catchers and big sluggers are expected to run a sub7 sixty. A shortstop should be at least 6.7.

[korp]

I sat next to a scout from the Royals. He said it's easy to find the special players, they just stick out with their overall skills. It's the tweeners that are the most difficult to scout. He also said that he knows all the 95mph+ pitchers in the country. He was also scouting speed from home to 1st with a stop watch. He loved the pitchers that had control of all their pitches. Of course we are talking about the last play Royals...lol

Last place .... yet alls they have is young dominican players --- its been the trend there since probably 1995 or so. Honestly I think thats mostly all they recruit but their whole roster is fairly young.


7.09 is slow for a shortstop. All position players except catchers and big sluggers are expected to run a sub7 sixty. A shortstop should be at least 6.7.

7.09 is slow for what level? College thats not slow ... probably the lower tier of fast .... for pro probably closer to average speed. Generally second basemen are the ones who will run the mid 6's for the most part they are the faster players. Also he did just say he was 16 and likely has no speed training ... making that a good number especially to build on.

[TG Coach]

Korp .... Anything over seven seconds is slow for D1. Running a sixty over seven seconds won't get the player at a MLB tryout camp into the scrimmage unless he's a pitcher, catcher or a masher. He'll get a thank you for attending. The tryouts time the sixty before doing anything else.

I'm not saying everyone in the majors is running a sub7 sixty. But most of them did at some point in their professional career. Yes there are exceptions. Please save us the time of reading them. They are the exceptions.

[beemax]

IMO the 60 is an overrated test for players. Running a fast 60 does not get you to the Major Leagues any quicker. I have seen guys who can fly in the 60 but are not good base stealers or base runners. Obviously it doesn't hurt if you can run fast, but I wouldn't put too much emphasis on it.

Good scouts notice tools on the field and not in tests. Anybody with a stopwatch or a radar gun can see how fast a guy can run or throw. With position players the number one tool is the bat unless you are a game changer defensively, IMO.

If you look at the top 10 picks in the draft this year, 8 are position players. Of those 8, 5 are college players. Now I can't tell you what any of them run the 60 in, but I can tell you that they all mashed in college.

If you can hit and especially if you can hit with power, scouts will notice you more than if you can just run a sub-7 60.

Now couple that with a good glove and you've got a pretty darn good player.

Some guys simply don't have good arms or are slow runners. But that doesn't mean they cannot hit, field well, play catch, and be a good baserunner.

I would take a guy with average speed who is a good baserunner over a guy with great speed who is a bad baserunner any day of the week.

With pitchers it is different IMO. I think that scouts get so enamored with radar gun readings that they forget to see if the guy can actually pitch. The top three things my father always taught me in pitching were Location, Movement, and Deception. Find a pitcher that can do those three things well and it doesn't matter what it says on the radar gun.

[Nater44]

Maybe I've missed it somewhere in here but the raw ability to "feel" and "sense" the game and play aggressively is highly looked at in addition to the skills mentioned. I will say that if an athlete has some of the times, skills, etc. mentioned in this post but lacks the raw aggression and competitive desire, he won't be picked up until later round, if at all.

There are simply too many athletes who do have that ability.

[BallCoach06]

Maybe I've missed it somewhere in here but the raw ability to "feel" and "sense" the game and play aggressively is highly looked at in addition to the skills mentioned. I will say that if an athlete has some of the times, skills, etc. mentioned in this post but lacks the raw aggression and competitive desire, he won't be picked up until later round, if at all.

There are simply too many athletes who do have that ability.

I agree with those comments.

[rkbenn]

[QUOTE=korp;1229251]Last place .... yet alls they have is young dominican players --- its been the trend there since probably 1995 or so. Honestly I think thats mostly all they recruit but their whole roster is fairly young.



Yes, they are way cheaper to sign.

[beemax]

Maybe I've missed it somewhere in here but the raw ability to "feel" and "sense" the game and play aggressively is highly looked at in addition to the skills mentioned. I will say that if an athlete has some of the times, skills, etc. mentioned in this post but lacks the raw aggression and competitive desire, he won't be picked up until later round, if at all.

There are simply too many athletes who do have that ability.

Good points Nater. I guess the idea of my post was to show the tools involved and their importance. If the player cannot put them together, he has no feel, or sense, as you say, for the game.

If a player can use those tools to his advantage to get the most out of them, he most certainly has a feel for the game.

[Jake Patterson]

Here are some of the things I initially look for when I am out looking at players (not in any order):

Arm strength (Is ball thrown straight and with some zip?)
Footwork (How smooth are they? Are they athletic?)
Speed (would like 6.90 or better, but it is dependent on position)
Bat speed and solid contact
Pitchers that miss bats (85+mph to go along with it is better)
Pitchers that have control and command of all their pitches
Pitchers that have a nice/easy motion and delivery and not max effort guys
Catchers (75+mph and 1.95 or better pop)
Character (What kind of person are they? Do they have a firm handshake, look you in the eye, etc.)

I look at other things, but these are some of the main things I look at. I also like to get to games early to see how the players get off the bus, how he wears his uniform, etc., etc.
Coach,
I am suprised that size is not listed among the above. If size was not that important the average size and weight of the athletes would parallel that of the feeder cohort group.

The average player of the Worcester Tornadoes, from the independent Can-Am League is 6'02" 205 llbs. All players are 5'11" or taller.

The Red Sox average 6'02" and 214 lbs.

[jbooth]

Either MLB or College Scouts will be fine.
I've heard footspeed and arm strenght are the top two things scouts look for because they are the hardest to improve.

That probably would help more CoachHenry, I play CF, what kind of training do they do?

Below is a link to something I found a couple of years ago;

http://firstpickclub.com/ProScoutsGradeProspects.htm

[BallCoach06]

Coach,
I am suprised that size is not listed among the above. If size was not that important the average size and weight of the athletes would parallel that of the feeder cohort group.

The average player of the Worcester Tornadoes, from the independent Can-Am League is 6'02" 205 llbs. All players are 5'11" or taller.

The Red Sox average 6'02" and 214 lbs.

A few months ago, I would have said yes. However, I just started working as an associate scout in March and one thing that was told to me was never rule out a kid just because of size.

It was pretty good advice, because I saw a 5'8", 160 lb. kid (soph in HS) hit 91 on the radar gun a couple of weekends ago. Had I gone off only size, I would have never stuck around to see him pitch that evening.

I will admit that size does play into some things, but I won't use it to rule out a player.

[3and0]

Korp .... Anything over seven seconds is slow for D1. Running a sixty over seven seconds won't get the player at a MLB tryout camp into the scrimmage unless he's a pitcher, catcher or a masher. He'll get a thank you for attending. The tryouts time the sixty before doing anything else.

I'm not saying everyone in the majors is running a sub7 sixty. But most of them did at some point in their professional career. Yes there are exceptions. Please save us the time of reading them. They are the exceptions.
Yes. And last year when I did it at 14 I ran a 7.03 or around there when i was only 5 foot 6 and 140 pounds. Now I'm 5 foot 11 ish and 135, i lost around 15 pounds over the winter because i got really sick. And I do it mostly on my footspeed. Years of badminton help with quick feet.