BBC

Tyler Fullerton - siegel - Miss State Commit Brian Miller - Independence - Vandy Commit Dylan Tuscano - Independence - Memphis Commit Tyson Ashcraft - Brentwood - Lipscomb Commit Richard Carter - Ravenwood - Tennessee Commit Mookie Betts - Overton - Tennessee Commit Zander Wiel - Blackmon - Vandy Commit Griffin Moore - Oakland - Lipscomb Commit Johnathan Frebis - Riverdale - MTSU All of these guys are quality players. All will have a chance to get on the field as Freshman. All are draftable players and are receiving interest from MLB teams.

Great response. I would not say this is all the top players in TN. Many decline the offer because of summer ball and other committments. That said, it is the beter players who are nominated by their HS coach. The coach must be a memeber of the TBCA in order to nominate. I would say they do a good job of selecting the best talent from those nominated. Many HS coaches are just not that into the deal. Great baseball, great exsposure and great fun for players who go. GOOD LUCK TEAM TN !!!!!

Scouted a number of years for MLB. He has some tools probably more promise as a pitcher than position player. The only true can't miss guys at his age are those already exhibiting the velocity and movement needed for the professional ranks (very rare). He is pretty good but there have been others, at his age, that threw harder, hit better, ran better and still did not sniff The Show. Time will tell, wish him luck.

Hey Guys, its no big deal for someone to pump a kid from GA on a TN board. What I would tell the poster is we did play the Astros last summer. Don't recall seeing this kid but probably would not have been overly impressed by a 85 FB on a 14 year old. He probably pitches around 80-82. There was no fewer than 10 - 12 kids in TN last year in that age group that threw around 83-85. I have been around this game for a long time and have seen many 14-15 year olds throwing in that range and still throwing in that range when they were 17-18 years old. As a lefty though he won't have to throw much harder for schools to have an interest. What is very impressive is when you see a 14 year old touching 88-90, NOW THAT WOULD BE IMPRESSIVE. Good Luck to all.

TN has a number of quality players in the state this year. As far as pitchers go Gray is considered the best today. However he does not project as well as some others. He will be in school at Vandy next year unless he is willing to settle for a 3rd - 5th round slot. His body will be an issue when comes to decision time for MLB. If he can continue to improve and prove his durability over the next 3 years he will potential be a 1st round pick. Working with,probably, the best pitching coach (Derek Johnson / Vandy) in all of baseball should add several zeros and a comma to his value. Good luck to all these guys who have been mentioned. They all are fine talents and several of them will get a chance in professional ball, sooner or later.

T Hill did a good job lastnight. I have seen him better. Defense definitely did not help him but Joseph, Dykes and Dobbins all hit really good pitches last night their hits happen to come at the right time. Right behind a few walks & those nasty errors. Hill has made a good choice in colleges and will prosper greatly under the watchful eye of Derek Johnson (Vandy)

How many Ks did Gray have yesterday. How many Ks did Gray have yesterday?

Williams and Joseph are the only 2 in the conference that can play at a top 30 program. Both probably project out at 2nd base due to arm strength & running speed, but no doubt they can play.

Hey, it is a thankless job that everyone knows everything about yet only a few are willing to do. Sounds kinda like political office. I have seen several examples of improving the umpires. You can have a graduated scale of pay based on the umps classification. Evaluators can be used to grade the umps. I came from a place where the umps were rated as A, B or C. A umps were paid more money than Bs and Bs more than Cs. Coaches turned in their request for each game and the level of umpiring they desired. You can have an A ump behind the plate and a C on the bases or any combination you want. This way you can get what you pay for. Even in this scenerio you can only make half the people happy. All that said, only a very few times have I seen a game where the ump really controlled the outcome. Most of the time you may not get the call, but I can show you where you left 8 runners on base, you made 3 errors, you didn't take the extra base. Like I always tell mine you get three strikes he can miss one you still have 2 more. He can miss 2 you still have 1, if he misses 3, I won't be their to see anymore... You're outa here!!!!!!!!!

One last thing then I'm done. Dual participation is very dangerous especially for pitchers who gets to use the arm? Who is in control of the number of pitches thrown during a week, the summer, etc..?

Dear L12, I too, fully respect your opinion and you have ever right to it, but there is one thing you stated or eluded to that I think is incorrect. You sayed this nation was not founded under Christianity or under God. If you read the constitution, the letters written by many of the founding fathers and the diaries of the first congress you will find that not only was this nation founded under God but the constitution is bathed wrapped and woven with the scriptures of the Holy Bible (the words of God). Know that said, you and anyone else who lives in this great land has the God given right to believe what ever they wish and although I may not agree with it, I fully respect your right to it. I don't think anyone was saying cancel games on Sundays. I believe the question is if a game is played at a time that your beliefs may be compromised, would you participate?

Foresake not the assembly of your brothers. First let me say this. I think it is awesome that we are even having this conversation. The fact that this can be discussed in this manner is truly wonderful and a testimony to our Freedom. The statement at the top wasn't written about going to church. The early Christians fellowshipped one another daily. If you look at the deeper meaning it is more about you associating yourself with your fellow brothers/sisters. It is not about you showing up at a location and getting your ticket punched. I do think that connecting with a group of people for support purposes is wonderful and I do think that worship groups, churches are great for this. I have been around baseball for a long time and I think this is a very personal opinion. I hope in my 46 years on this earth I have come to understand a few things, one of which is, I know very little about very much. However, I do know that you can and should worship God in all you do with every breath you take and you can do it in a dugout, in church building, setting on a deer stand in the woods. Remember: you can worship God in alot of ways in almost any place but if you don't share His story and His Son with others it will all be in vain.

tkeballer, I am glad you have had success, sounds like you are doing some things right. I do have a couple of questions for you and these may not be issues to you know. 1. Do you mandate that your players must play for you in the summer in order to play in the spring? 2. If you have a player talented enough to play for an elite level team with good to great instruction can he play for the elite and not your summer team? 3. If your school team is playing and a scout has the opportunity to see you play, given the talent level of the players you have, or he can see a travel team play with 10-15 DI talents and 2 - 5 draftable players who will the coach or scout go and watch? It is all about the biggest bag for the buck. If I can go to a game in the summer and see 10-15 talented players in 1 location versus seeing 2-3 players at another location, the choice is easy. Unless one of those 2-3 players is 6'4" throwing 90-94 and preferably left handed. I fully understand the scout team concept. I guess my problem is that many, NOT ALL, HS coaches are limited in their ability to develop players for the next level. I think it should be left up to the parents and the player to decide what is best, but in my experience the HS coach squezzes the kid to play with him.

May God wrap this community inHis ever Loving arms. Our thoughts and prayers are with each of you.

Not a bad plan, actually a pretty good plan.

You have a great attitude. Work hard, prepare yourself, do your best and if it is meant to happen it will. I think when you speak of the next level you are talking about baseball and I assume that is something you would like to do. However, if you don't make it in baseball, with an attitude like this, you will make it in life.

I don't want to be so bold as to judge you or your ability as a coach, but allow me to make some observations. It sounds like you as a coach are very knowledgeable and have done a good job with your son. It also sounds like the 2 schools you referred to, in the above response, are both private highschools. If this is true, then in many caeses these teams are very good for alot of reasons, 2 of which can be: 1) the coach may be very well known in the area as a good baseball guy and parents of talented kids tend to migrate to the program, 2) Sometimes, not always, and I am sure not in your case, but recruiting goes on at the private school level. Also, it would be interesting to know, the night the scout stayed for 11 innings what were the pitchers like he came to see. I have seen the murfreesboro high school teams play in the summers and some years they are pretty good but not a match day in and day out for an elite summer team. I do think where most of us can agree is this, there are some good, no great high school coaches and there are some good, no great summer coaches. Parents do many times run the summer teams and many times HS coaches are just earning a few dollars in the summer. Pro scouts don't want to talk to mom or dad about their sons talent level. However, if that father is a good baseball guy and respected, I think that changes. My biggest issue with the highschool summer teams is that MOST not ALL coaches tell the kids if they don't play for the HS summer team they will not play for them during the spring. In my humble opinion, a high school coach should care enough about his/her players that they will allow the parents and the child an opportunity to choose what they feel is the best situation for the individual. I do agree that pro scouts will go where the talent is. I think college recruiting is a little different, simply because of budget constraints. They tend to want to go where the greatest pool of talent is playing. I do agree that a good baseball guy can see talent no matter where it is or who it is playing against, but they will always seek to measure it by a standard. Good case is this: We all know of a NBA player who signed a minor league contract. He had talent, good speed, good hand speed, good arm and lord knows GREAT athletic ability. Only problem was when you matched him against other similar skills, he could not get it done. So I guess what I would say is in most cases it matters as much who you play as how you play. In closing, I'm not looking for you or anyone else to agree with me, sometimes we just agree to disagree. I am sorry if I offended you or any others with my statements, it is just simply my close observations of the game over the past 30 or so years. Have a great day and good luck to you, your son and your team. BBC

Agreed: From what I heard, the 4 innings of no-hit was a lot of Franklin hitting shots right at people. I have seen IHS several times this year. Pretty good team, but very inconsistent. Can hit the ball if you don't throw a decent pitcher. Thank Ffranklin took them a little to soft.

Not only a talented player but a great kid. Wish him a complete recovery and our prayers are with him.

Have not had a chance to see Franklin play but have heard plenty of talk about some of their players. Went over to the game at Brentwood lastnight and Franklin is a very good team. Brentwood played them a good game but made the mistake of giving the a few extra outs and we all know you can't do that against a good team. The Joseph kid is the real deal at the plate, have seen him play for the last couple of years and he continues to improve. Dykes had a bad night at the plate no hits and nothing really hit hard, but that's just one night. franklin can hit 1 - 9 and have decent team speed. The most impressive player was the Grude kid that came in to close the game. This kid is 6'4" or 5" and was 87 -90 last night with a good cb. Brentwood looked completely overmatched against him, with the exception of the catcher Shelton. I believe Franklin will go deep into the post season.

I am glad to see their are others with this opion. I tell dads everyday that until a child begins to show some God given ability it is a waste of time to try and develop that talent. Many times in the younger ages the best players are the ones who are shving by the time they are 12. I have been around this game for a good number of years. Trust me, when your son is 17 - 18 coaches are looking for athletes with the unteachables (how fast you run, how hard you throw, how quick are your hands), no amount of lessons or 100 game season will alter these factors. The players that were mentioined that played rec ball and are now in the big leagues had these factors and maybe not until they were 15, 16, 17 years old. Let them be kids, let them learn to love this game and they like us will love it for a lifetime.

%0% rule will apply to summer baseball in the 08 summer. begins 07 fall.

I noticed that there was a load out cry against TSSAA on the 50% rule. Many of you expressed concern that only the wealthy kids or priviledged few will be able to play. I have worked in the recruiting and scouting field for many years. First let me state that really what brought this on for Baseball was the High School Coaches who were demanding that there players play for them in the summer. The summer High School Leagues are pitiful when it comes to level of pooled talent. Most College coaches or pro scouts will gladly tell you that they will not drive 5 minutes to see a high school summer league game, unless they know a kid is pitching who is upper 80's plus. The top players need to play for top teams against other top players. Scouts want to see how your son matches up against the best and against other talent who will play at the collge level. The last thing I want to see is a stud junior facing a average or below average Soph or Fresh. It tells me absolutely nothing about his ability to deal with high level talent It has always been my experience that, if it is not financial posible for your son to play for an elite team and he actually has the talent to play, the team will make accomidations for that player. I have NEVER and I mean NEVER seen a kid tunred away because his family absolutely can't afford for him to play. Every kid should not play on travel teams. Most players are well suited playing in a local recreational league. This brings me to another issue, the status of saying your child plays travel ball. There are way to many travel teams. I have seen many travel teams who could not compete against low level red teams, but there is always a dad somewhere with enough green to pay somebody to caoach a team so his son can be the shortstop. My suggestion to all would be seek out the good travel teams if you think your son is capable of playing at that level. Most of the top teams are coached by well qualified coaches who are good talent evaluators. MOst of these guys are constantly looking ofr talent. If they don't need your soon they will gladly steer you in the direction of another coach. I can assure that if your son has the talent the financial issues can be worked out. Another tip would be to go to an open pro tryout. These camps are held every summer all around. The scouts who conduct these camps are excellent at giving you good feed back, just be willing to hear the truth. I am all for this rule because it frees up the talented players to play against other talentd players and will no longer allow the high school coaches to mandate your son play for there summer team. BBC