I often read about how one player should be at a certain level based on age and another player should be at a certain level based on experience.  My question is - Should the region you grow up in as it relates to experience trump the region you grow up in as it relates to age?

 

High school players from Florida, Texas, and California play extensive baseball (50 game schedules) due to weather.  This can also be said about the baseball practices in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.  These players at the age of 16 thru 18 have been involved in year round travel baseball teams and / or baseball academies.

 

High School players from the Midwest (Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan), have to deal with 25 game high school seasons due to weather restrictions.  Their ability to play and practice year round in a non restrictive environment doesn't exist.  Therefore  players from this region sometimes have half the experience of the above group by the time they head off to college.

 

Is it wrong to make a blanketed statement like we often do, in regards to the college player vs the high school player when not taking in to effect their region of development.  I would suspect that a Miguel Sano, Jorge Polanco, and Eddie Rosario were far more experienced / developed at 16 than say, a high schooler from the Midwest at the age of 18.  If my suspicions are correct, would that mean that a 16 year old international signee is on the same developmental path as a Midwestern 18 year old high school senior?  

 

So back to my original question:

1) Should the region you grow up in as it relates to experience trump the region you grow up in as it relates to age?  

 

2) Should age always matter as it pertains to prospect development? (considering a MLB club probably has an athlete  for 4 to 5 years tops before you lose him to free agency anyway)

 

3) Can college experience be rationalized for all prospects into one study of expectations?

 

4) Or is it just easier to group prospects into high school; college; international (Latino); international (European); and go from there?

Edited January 19, 201610 yr by TNLooky2015

every time I look at this title, my dyslexia kicks in and I read 'does religion trump age?' and I get really confused

 

To answer your question, I suspect it affects a development curve more than anything else. Kids up north get less time and might need more time to develop (or perhaps it's a bonus as they've had less time to learn bad habits)... On the flip side, those kids playing in FL their entire lives get a bit of an awakening when they get shipped North for pro-ball.  In all, I don't think it affects things much other than perhaps that first year of pro-ball.

 

 

 

every time I look at this title, my dyslexia kicks in and I read 'does religion trump age?' and I get really confused

 

To answer your question, I suspect it affects a development curve more than anything else. Kids up north get less time and might need more time to develop (or perhaps it's a bonus as they've had less time to learn bad habits)... On the flip side, those kids playing in FL their entire lives get a bit of an awakening when they get shipped North for pro-ball.  In all, I don't think it affects things much other than perhaps that first year of pro-ball.

By the time the FL and INT kids get up north every player has weather to deal with.   

Isn't this entire site about the development curve of prospects and players.

It's 100% an individual thing... Joe Mauer is from Minnesota and he flew up the system.  Kohl Stewart is from Texas, and so far, he's moved one level a year. 

 

Geography may affect how quickly an individual may move up, or you can make some generalizations, but overall, I don't think there would be any correlation.