Wanted: Good baseball advice

[reynolds80]

I'm a baseball stats nut and have been on the sabermetrics/Bill James bandwagon for a few years now. My younger brother is 23 years old and was a 5th-year senior Outfielder at a small college this past season. He was all-conference the past two seasons and was his team's MVP this past year. He is a pretty big kid (6'2, 195), but he has only average speed and an average arm.

Last year he hit .401 with 6 HR and had 31 BB and only 15 K. He has great on-base skills as illustrated by his college career .448 OBP. Being the stats guy I am I know that his BB/K ratio suggest that my brother could hit at a higher level. He was scouted a little bit in college but one pro scout told his assistant coach that he was a little too slow to be drafted. He went to a few MLB open tryout camps in the summer but those were designed mostly for "tool" guys to shine- camps that were run by the kind of old-fashioned scouts that were mocked in Moneyball. They would run and throw and then the cuts would be made. I told my brother that a guy like Kevin Millar or Scott Hatteberg would never have made the cut at such a tryout.

Do you guys know of any independent leagues or organizations that look at hitters' college stats in addition to a tryout, or any baseball organization that would look at a kid like my brother? Are there any baseball organizations that don't just look at a stopwatch to determine who can play baseball? A place where my brother's on base skills would be appreciated?

And are there any independent baseball teams that use sabermetrics in their player evaluation?

As you can imagine my brother is about ready to hang up the spikes out of frustration but I tell him to keep working hard and give it a go this spring. He is still working toward that goal and I really want to help him find a league or team that would appreciate his baseball skills. Any help would be appreciated.

[Absolutely Adequate]

I wish I could help, but you could point out the route that Kevin Millar (and others) took to the big leagues.

For Millar, he played in the Northern League for five years and played winter ball in the Dominican, in Mexico, etc. It's not easy - it's not major league level - but it's playing baseball. And if he works at it, the scouts will notice. Given enough time...

Good luck.

[reynolds80]

I wish I could help, but you could point out the route that Kevin Millar (and others) took to the big leagues.

For Millar, he played in the Northern League for five years and played winter ball in the Dominican, in Mexico, etc. It's not easy - it's not major league level - but it's playing baseball. And if he works at it, the scouts will notice. Given enough time...

Good luck.

I appreciate it. Going to go do a little research on the Northern League now.

Does anyone have any other info about it?

[Madison]

Well, he could try the Jeff Zimmerman route.

Zimmerman wrote letters to every major league team asking if they would be interested in giving him a look, along with his resume. The Texas Rangers were the only team to respond, but he did get a contract.

[SuptownSpartans34]

There used to be a Northern League team up here, the Duluth-Superior Dukes. They have had a few make it to the minor leagues/major leagues. Jim Rushford and Anthony Lewis. Lewis didn't make it to the majors because he was too old, but Rushford got a shot in Sept. with the Brew Crew.

[reynolds80]

Well, he could try the Jeff Zimmerman route.

Zimmerman wrote letters to every major league team asking if they would be interested in giving him a look, along with his resume. The Texas Rangers were the only team to respond, but he did get a contract.

Interesting. Maybe he could write Oakland, Toronto, Los Angeles, and Boston! I wonder if Beane would get back to him? LOL

But now that I think about it, I do wonder what would happen if a letter like that got in the hands of the right assistant in the Oakland or Boston organization. To them taking a chance on my brother is probably about as subjective as scouting a kid at a tryout camp.

[Madison]

Well, he could try the Jeff Zimmerman route.

Zimmerman wrote letters to every major league team asking if they would be interested in giving him a look, along with his resume. The Texas Rangers were the only team to respond, but he did get a contract.

Interesting. Maybe he could write Oakland, Toronto, Los Angeles, and Boston! I wonder if Beane would get back to him? LOL

But now that I think about it, I do wonder what would happen if a letter like that got in the hands of the right assistant in the Oakland or Boston organization. To them taking a chance on my brother is probably about as subjective as scouting a kid at a tryout camp.

It's one of those "you never know" situations. Only way to find out is to give it a shot though. Can't hurt anything to try, and if someone will check him out, then "Bingo!". Maybe he gets a minor league deal of some sort. If it was me, I'd do whatever I could, especially if it can't hurt anything .

Good luck!

[Arlo]

I like the idea of trying the Zimmerman route.

And if you're looking at non-MLB options, I'd at least consider adding the Japanese leagues to your list.

Best of luck!

[crapshooter]

baseball scouts have told me that the two things they look for most when scouting is speed and a strong arm. They feel they can teach the other things if a player has those.

[Lofunzo]

baseball scouts have told me that the two things they look for most when scouting is speed and a strong arm. They feel they can teach the other things if a player has those.

If that's the case, I would recommend Santa leaving a 1st baseman's glove under the tree next December.