pick402

Thank you.

Well said.

I've been sick all weekend and haven't seen a single tournament game. Can anyone tell us which teams are still in it and what the schedule is for tonight/tomorrow?

It's ok to be a fan. I value your opinion, especially since you've seen him more than I have recently. I like Tyler quite a bit. In terms of local HS baseball he's very good. I've seen him play the last 2-3 years, primarily in the summer. He hits with power and he's been an outstanding pitcher. He doesn't have great foot speed so 3B/1B would be his logical spot(s) I'd say. I've never seen him play 1B and I'm not sure he has the hands for it. He has the arm for 3B but does he have the glove and side-to-side quickness required to play there in college? Do you have any idea if he's received interest from any colleges?

Just curious what others here think about his game. I've only seen Dixie a couple times this spring. I'm not trying to bait anyone, just looking for honest opinion. Obviously folks here know his stats. Has anyone seen him play? (and sorry, I don't know which posters are fans of which teams...i haven't been on here long enough.)

Will Pugh walk on for baseball too? So there are only 2 seniors good enough to be considered for POY? That's surprising, at least to me. What's the opinion of Sexton in these parts? I know him a little and obviously I've seen him play a few times the last couple years.

I've been reading through a lot of threads here to see what kind of info is posted. I like some of the post-game rundowns that parents (?) are posting. Some good info in some of those. The friendly back and forth on whose team is better, etc. is fun for those involved but I don't have a kid playing so there's not much to say there except to give analysis on the players I've seen. I'll probably continue reading some but don't want to hurt any kid's/parent's feelings so I'll refrain from too much analysis, especially when I can't honestly say that a particular player is awesome. So many parents look at kids when they're 13/14 years old and project them to be amazing high school players who will get a D1 scholarship. Having played with/against players who played college ball, professional baseball and the NFL, the kids that are truly exceptional are quite obvious. Your son who is batting 7th on his freshman team is probably not going to be the man when his senior year of HS rolls around, and sign with UK. Sorry to burst bubbles but look how many really good players are here in NKY each year and some of them don't play college baseball at all while others sign at really small schools you've never heard of. You want an experiment? Look at the 5 or 6 kids being discussed as POY and track where each goes to college. That will tell you how difficult it is. It's just not me to build up local kids when I don't see the ability there. And so from now on I'll just keep my observations to myself.

That's ok, I don't think your reaction is out of line. I have one kid that's too old and a couple that are too young to be playing freshman baseball or 14u/15u summer ball. If you read my original post correctly you'd see that a couple parents I know pointed this particular player out to me. That's why I knew his name. I don't tell anyone I'm looking for players, in part because it sounds like I'm some sort of big shot when I'm not. Plus it just attracts all the wrong parents wanting to tell me how great their sons are. I'm sure you've been there. And yes, I can watch a kid play 5 or 6 times and tell what kind of player he is. Even if he's in a slump hitting (for example), I can still see his mechanics and his approach toward each at bat. So many kids go up to the plate with no idea what they're trying to accomplish. It's just see the ball and try to hit it. The skinny red head kid probably wouldn't be on the radar for any 16u teams but to me he seemed to have potential. I did forget his name but I'll still be keeping an eye on him. On the young end of the scale, I'm looking for kids who can play 16u. All of these kids I'm seeing play Freshman ball are already on 14u or 15u summer teams. I'm looking for kids who might be able to play 16u in 2011 or 2012. I'm self employed and have time to go to games. But I don't 'recruit'. The 16u and 18u summer teams here and Lexington/Louisville don't have time/resources to scout 14u/15u/17u etc. and to be clear I'm not paid to identify potential players for them. The very best baseball players are well known. The next level of players are not well known. I'm glad to try to match up a kid with some potential with a good summer team so he will develop. And I don't always direct players to my preferred summer program. There aren't enough spots obviously. I often direct players/parents to other teams that are well coached because the kid has potential but isn't ready for a top flight summer schedule. I love watching youth baseball. I was at a recent high school game and was bored to tears with the poor quality of play. There was a knothole game nearby and I went over and watched a bunch of 7-8 year olds for an hour and a half. That was much more enjoyable.

Thanks I'll make a note of that. I saw him pitch once and he throws pretty well. Not crazy fast or anything, but solid. And watching him run the bases he has decent speed. I didn't get any read on him defensively but he popped the ball pretty good a couple times with the bat. Of course facing freshman pitching can be deceiving since the quality varies quite a bit, so you really have to watch several games to get a good read. Not trying to get crazy here but he might be able to help JV during their tournament. I've seen Conner's JV and they have 4 or 5 good players and just kind of a mish mash after that.

In fairness, I'll give him another look. Let's hope the weather gets better so we get the early tournament games in.

In most cases you are correct, if the kid is a real stud as a freshman he's playing JV. It depends on the size of the school obviously, but as a general rule that's true. Speaking of CovCath, I've seen their JV team a couple times recently and it's obvious they're well coached. They bunt and run a lot which I like. I've seen Arnzen throw twice and he's good. He's not overwhelming. But the reason he was effective when I saw him was that the coach was calling inside fastballs a lot and Arnzen was hitting the spot. Most JV kids aren't used to being pitched inside unless they're big, thick kids. Arnzen kept busting them in and they either took it for a strike or got jammed. I was quite impressed with both the coaching and the execution.

Well I don't want to make it about any particular player. I'm just trying to get a read on the atmosphere here. Is it just parents coming on to brag about their kids? I really don't have a horse in the race but scouting players isn't about who their parents are or what summer program they play for. He's either got it or he doesn't. And, like many folks who've been around the game for a while, I know it when I see it.

I'm going to try to attend Conner's first freshman tournament game. Can you tell me which players I should be looking for as potential studs? Though I see much more JV and varsity around NKY, I've seen Conner's freshman team a few times and nobody jumped out at me, including the player that you wrote has 'a ton of upside'. What does 'upside' mean to you? I recruit for a particular summer program and upside means that maybe the kid will be a late bloomer, or perhaps the kid is a great athlete but his baseball skills haven't caught up with his athleticism. I don't see either of those with the player you are touting. Not to just hammer on him because I don't know him, but if a kid is going to be relatively short and slow, that's not a good combination for advanced baseball. Every player has to find his spot in the game and when any of these freshman kids get to be 17 or 18 they will understand what it takes to be a 'stud'.

Ok, then I'm liking this site. It was recommended by a friend to keep up with HS sports in the area. It's not my intention to disagree just to disagree, but hopefully we can each be honest without making it anything personal about any of the kids. They're just playing high school sports.

I'm new here so I'll have to ask...is this kind of hyperbole typical of the analysis we get on up and coming NKY baseball players? I've seen Conner's freshman team play 5-6 times this year and was completely unimpressed with that particular player. I had been told by a couple parents on the team he's a head case and with witnessing the helmet throwing and bat slamming, I can't disagree. There's a tallish, skinny red head kid on Conner's freshman team that hit the ball well. Don't know his name. Maybe someone here might. But from what I saw the kid you're touting is slow, struggles to make routine plays at 3B, below average arm, and average bat speed at best. Ok, my first post....am in time out now? Is this site only allowed to be the happy zone where we just pat everyone on the back and overstate their abilities?