Hobgood BA All American

[alexei606]

Matt Hobgood is the UT High School First Team All American on BA and they have his picture for the story!

Link: http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/

[QBsILLEST1]

Hes in there as a pitcher and as a infielder......1st team for both

[Frobby]

I note that Tyler Matzek was only 3rd team All American.

[QBsILLEST1]

I note that Tyler Matzek was only 3rd team All American.

His #'s werent all that impressive if I remember right. The biggest thing I remember was when Stotle was doing a mid season report on Matzek that his K's were very low. And that is against HS hitting which isnt all that advanced. Matusz K'd more college hitters than Matzek K'd HS hitters in their senior seasons. That didnt add up to me for a pitcher who is supposed to have a super advanced arsenal. He should be completely abvsolutely dominating HS hitters, moreso than the other guys who did better....

There were 2 players in this list who were not seniors, both were sophomores, one being of course Bryce Harper, but the other was another kid, I believe a SS. He may be someone to look out for in 2 years if he is good enough to be a BA all american as a sophomore....ridiculous.....

[McLovin]

Hes in there as a pitcher and as a infielder......1st team for both

No, he made the list as a UT overall - I guess their calling that a pitcher/hitter slot. I'm not sure where that ranks him with the other 1st team pitchers.

He has the most HR's on every 'team'.

[QBsILLEST1]

I take UT as utility....So they felt that there was what 4 IF 1st team guys and they figured there are a few other IFers who deserve 1st team as well, so he is tagged as utility....Kinda like if it was an Allstar game he would be on the team, but not starting.....

[McLovin]

I take UT as utility....So they felt that there was what 4 IF 1st team guys and they figured there are a few other IFers who deserve 1st team as well, so he is tagged as utility....Kinda like if it was an Allstar game he would be on the team, but not starting.....

All of the UT's are also pitchers, and all appear on the pitcher lists. To me, that indicates it's a spot for the top two-way player.

[Stotle]

I note that Tyler Matzek was only 3rd team All American.

Yup. Fortuately for Matzek, future predicted performance is what gets the paycheck, not senior high school stats.

[QBsILLEST1]

All of the UT's are also pitchers, and all appear on the pitcher lists. To me, that indicates it's a spot for the top two-way player.

So he was considered a utility guy, just not under the norm. Your rarely see a guy like Casey Kelly who plays pitcher and another position at the pro level. I guess it kinda threw me off, but it is considered utility if you can play more than 1 position regardless of that position.....so a P/1B is a utility guy by definition....

[alexei606]

All of the UT's are also pitchers, and all appear on the pitcher lists. To me, that indicates it's a spot for the top two-way player.

That is correct and how it is always presented in these All American positions.

[QBsILLEST1]

Yup. Fortuately for Matzek, future predicted performance is what gets the paycheck, not senior high school stats.

A very good example as to why #'s dontmean as much as a scouting report does, especially at the HS level where the different HS divisions have such different quality of competition. I live out in Newport News, right across the bridge from VA Beach/Norfolk/Chesapeake where David Wright and BJ and Justin Upton and Michael Cuddyer and so many other talented HS guys come from. When Denbigh HS, (where I used to play for) would play those HS schools across the water, even though we were #1 in our district, those teams in that district were so much stronger than ours, the competition level was through the roof. Its seriously no wonder that district rpoduces such good ball players.

a 0.80 ERA in my district would have been like a 1.35 ERA in that district, just like the difference between the AL West and the AL East....

Another good example of #'s not being as important as scouting reports and stuff is where James Paxton was selected in this recent draft. His ERA suggests he wouldnt be a 1st round talent, but his stuff and scouting reports are glowing....I dont remember where he was drafted, but I am sure he was a 1st rounder even if he had a mid 5.00 ERA....

[QBsILLEST1]

That is correct and how it is always presented in these All American positions.

That is what utility means....right? Being able to play more than one position?

[RVAbird]

A very good example as to why #'s dontmean as much as a scouting report does, especially at the HS level where the different HS divisions have such different quality of competition. I live out in Newport News, right across the bridge from VA Beach/Norfolk/Chesapeake where David Wright and BJ and Justin Upton and Michael Cuddyer and so many other talented HS guys come from. When Denbigh HS, (where I used to play for) would play those HS schools across the water, even though we were #1 in our district, those teams in that district were so much stronger than ours, the competition level was through the roof. Its seriously no wonder that district rpoduces such good ball players.

a 0.80 ERA in my district would have been like a 1.35 ERA in that district, just like the difference between the AL West and the AL East....

Another good example of #'s not being as important as scouting reports and stuff is where James Paxton was selected in this recent draft. His ERA suggests he wouldnt be a 1st round talent, but his stuff and scouting reports are glowing....I dont remember where he was drafted, but I am sure he was a 1st rounder even if he had a mid 5.00 ERA....

Beyond high school numbers being relatively meaningless, the big difference here is projectability.

Even if you do grade Hobgood's stuff similarly or even higher than Matzek's right now, I think you have to admit that Matzek has a lot more room for projection left in him.

[Frobby]

Yup. Fortuately for Matzek, future predicted performance is what gets the paycheck, not senior high school stats.

A very good example as to why #'s dontmean as much as a scouting report does, especially at the HS level where the different HS divisions have such different quality of competition. I live out in Newport News, right across the bridge from VA Beach/Norfolk/Chesapeake where David Wright and BJ and Justin Upton and Michael Cuddyer and so many other talented HS guys come from. When Denbigh HS, (where I used to play for) would play those HS schools across the water, even though we were #1 in our district, those teams in that district were so much stronger than ours, the competition level was through the roof. Its seriously no wonder that district rpoduces such good ball players.

a 0.80 ERA in my district would have been like a 1.35 ERA in that district, just like the difference between the AL West and the AL East....

Another good example of #'s not being as important as scouting reports and stuff is where James Paxton was selected in this recent draft. His ERA suggests he wouldnt be a 1st round talent, but his stuff and scouting reports are glowing....I dont remember where he was drafted, but I am sure he was a 1st rounder even if he had a mid 5.00 ERA....

I get the point you are trying to make, but who said BA picks their All American team based on who has the best stats? I don't know how that could be, considering that a kid playing in a baseball hotbed like California or Florida will face very different competition that a kid who plays in, say, Iowa.

This isn't the Parade American Team, or Gatorade, or USA Today. This is BA, which has a bunch of scouts who follow all these players. Have they explained what criteria they use to pick their All American team, as opposed to the criteria they use to project where someone will go in the draft?

[Stotle]

I get the point you are trying to make, but who said BA picks their All American team based on who has the best stats? I don't know how that could be, considering that a kid playing in a baseball hotbed like California or Florida will face very different competition that a kid who plays in, say, Iowa.

This isn't the Parade American Team, or Gatorade, or USA Today. This is BA, which has a bunch of scouts who follow all these players. Have they explained what criteria they use to pick their All American team, as opposed to the criteria they use to project where someone will go in the draft?

Frobs, it obviously isn't SOLELY stats, or the kid batting .700 in a four team Catholic League in New Hampshire would be on the list.

The All-American honors (as with every other Seasonal Award) are for performance this HS season; rankings for the draft are based upon predicted future performance.

Also, I don't think BA has that many scouts themselves. They get their info by speaking with pro scouts and seeing players in person from time-to-time. The cross-checkers at Perfect Game would probably be a better example of what your suggesting. For example, Callis gets to see a bunch of these kids, but much of what he bases his opinions on is likely info he's getting from all of his various contacts in the industry. That is why their rankings are considered to be authoritative -- they take into account the thoughts of the industry on each player, rather than providing their own evaluative, subjective take.