On Thursday, August 12th, Patrick Wuebben from The Baseball Factory called with my evaluation from the tryout. I wasn't sure what to expect, though I had thought the tryout went pretty well. His report was very encouraging.Since I didn't have a chance to train before the tryout, I decided to pass on the infield review and focused my energy on the following:
60 yard dash
Pitching
Hitting
He said my running wasn't too fast, which came as no surprise. He said my hitting looked good and that I appeared to have a plan. I remember thinking during the hitting that I was pleased at how well it went since I hadn't picked up a bat in weeks. Nothing too long, but all solid line drives to the whole field. But it was my pitching that really got their attention.
I never have been checked for speed, but he said my fastball was at 84 mph. Based on their comparisons, that is pretty good for a 16 year old. They liked my change up, but wanted me to to increase the differential a bit more. I was pretty happy with that report since I have never worked too hard on that pitch. They liked my curve the best, saying the tight spin, late break, and speed differential made it a real plus pitch.
They also liked my form too. I was tall, my arm motion was clean, and I finished really well. They said a lot more than what I am writing (but I recorded it), but all in all it couldn't have gone much better, especially since I was not very prepared for the tryout.
The icing on the cake was their invitation for me to attend the Arizona Junior Fall Classic on Oct. 20-24. Apparently this is a great training event that exposes players to scouts and college coaches. It is a pretty big step and something that me and my parents will have to discuss.
