{"id":81197,"date":"2019-07-23T13:34:20","date_gmt":"2019-07-23T18:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=81197"},"modified":"2019-07-23T13:34:20","modified_gmt":"2019-07-23T18:34:20","slug":"what-do-mlb-scouts-look-for-at-the-under-armour-all-america-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/what-do-mlb-scouts-look-for-at-the-under-armour-all-america-game\/","title":{"rendered":"What do MLB scouts look for at the Under Armour All-America Game?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ben Friedl<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

Major League Baseball scouts armed with clipboards, tripods, and cameras comprised a majority of the crowd at Curtis Granderson Stadium at UIC on Sunday, as almost every top high school baseball prospect in the country took the field for the Under Armour All-America Game scouting showcase.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvents like this are awesome,\u201d Cleveland Indians assistant scout Matt Czechanski said. \u201cYou have really good arms against really good bats, and guys have the chance to prove themselves against the best competition.\u201d
\n<\/p>\n

\"\"
Outfielder Robby Ashford takes some swings in front of MLB scouts. (Ben Friedl\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the best high school talent from across the country in one place, it\u2019s not only crucial for scouts to identify which 17 and 18-year-olds have the best projectability, but to pick out which players\u2019 tools stand out above the rest.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvents like this are tool based,\u201d Czechanski said. \u201cArm strength, raw power, the adjustability of their swing are all things I look for.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the Perfect Game baseball high school player rankings, top prospects such as infielder Blaze Jordan (#2) and outfielder Austin Hendrick (#3) took the field Sunday to put these skills on display.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both players would back up their respective rankings, as Jordan would hit a multitude of home runs during batting practice while Hendrick launched one ball above the batter\u2019s eye in center field.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHendrick was impressive,\u201d one scout in attendance said. \u201c He\u2019s got bat speed, power, and he can throw a little bit. It says a lot when you hit the ball over the batter’s eye.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Another factor that scouts take into consideration is what part of the country the player is from. A majority of the players participating in the All-America game grew up in states with warm climates where baseball can be played year-round, as opposed to states where winter months end up shortening baseball seasons.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Map of cities represented in the All-America game. (Baseball Factory)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cA lot of the warm weather guys from Georgia, Florida, the deep south, and California– they are lightyears ahead of a lot of the cold weather guys from Illinois and Ohio.\u201d said Astros scout Scott Oberhelman. \u201cThey\u2019ve played more because they\u2019ve been playing all-year for their entire lives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Oberhelman has a point. The figure below demonstrates that since 1901, the mean center for where baseball talent has moved is progressively south and west. It\u2019s no coincidence the southern and western portions of the United States are regions where baseball can be played year-round– resulting in more reps and better talent.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Data from baseball-reference.com. Created by Ben Blatt.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While this has led to some of the best baseball talent being produced from these regions, Oberhelman attests that he could never discount a player from a cold climate like Chicago.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is if you can play, you can play,\u201d Oberhelman said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Regardless of where each player comes from, they had a chance to exhibit their talents in an exhibition game at Wrigley Field, a game that was not only broadcast live on MLB Network, but also was a game that scouts deem important in filling out a player\u2019s scouting profile.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
2019 All-Americans look on during the scouting showcase. (Ben Friedl\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cYou get to see them play in a big league stadium, which is a great first look as to what they could look like in the big leagues,\u201d Arizona Diamondbacks scout Jeremy Kehrt said.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the raw talent on display during Sunday\u2019s showcase may garner some interest from scouts, the exhibition game Monday was when scouts watched whether raw talent translated into live-game productivity.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would rather have the guy who can play when the lights are on than the guy that kills it in BP, but when game time comes around, they can\u2019t handle the bat,\u201d said Oberhelman.<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo at top: All-Americans showcase their baseball skills in the 2019 Under Armour All-America Game scout showcase event at Curtis Granderson Stadium at UIC (Ben Friedl\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ben Friedl Medill Reports Major League Baseball scouts armed with clipboards, tripods, and cameras comprised a majority of the crowd at Curtis Granderson Stadium at UIC on Sunday, as almost every top high school baseball prospect in the country took the field for the Under Armour All-America Game scouting showcase. \u201cEvents like this are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":541,"featured_media":81201,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4779],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-summer-2019"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat do MLB scouts look for at the Under Armour All-America Game? - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/what-do-mlb-scouts-look-for-at-the-under-armour-all-america-game\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What do MLB scouts look for at the Under Armour All-America Game? 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