SHOWCASE FAQ’S

When college coaches, and in some cases, MLB scouts, want to see the best players, they attend a baseball showcase, where they have the opportunity to observe the best players high school and travel ball teams can produce. Showcases usually consist of workout sessions, where players are evaluated in a number of baseball-related skills, and at least one live game, and most often are restricted by the college baseball recruiting calendar. The primary goal of a showcase is for college coaches and MLB scouts to see high school and travel ball athletes perform, and to contact them if they like what they see. Baseball showcases are critical to the recruiting process, as this is the opportunity for high school student-athletes to show college baseball coaches what they can do; winning the game is secondary at these events. Scouts and college coaches look for natural ability, discipline, skill level, technique, and often assess the overall attitude of a player.

Coaches see lots of athletes at a baseball showcase, often making a few notes about each player they’re interested in and then moving on to watch another game or portion of a game. A baseball showcase offers attendees the chance to measure their skills and compare them against other athletes, which can help players discover the areas where they need improvement. Some showcases organizers will also add the attendee names to databases that college and university coaches have access to, which can benefit the student-athlete in giving them greater exposure by having their name on a college recruiting list.  

At CABA All-American Showcases we provide the same opportunities to showcase baseball skills for most all age groups as do other showcase organizers. We offer showcase events for the following age groups: 9U through college-eligible players. High school and college-aged players will also be able to showcase their baseball skills to the many college and university coaches that are in regular attendance at our events, in hopes of increasing their chances of making an impression on those coaches, hopefully earning an opportunity to play at the next level. CABA All-American Showcases also make attendee’s evaluations available through our website to college and university coaches, as well as MLB scouts, from all across the United States.

STATE OF THE ART BASEBALL ANALYTICS AND METRICS-BASED EVALUATION TECHNOLOGY

CABA All-American Showcases have partnered with some of the most prestigious baseball analytics and metrics-based evaluation technology companies to provide the players and the coaches and scouts with objective, verifiable and accurate scouting data. These companies include Diamond Kinetics, Zybec Sports, and Pocket Radar. This data offers the attendees a good benchmark for student-athletes to compare themselves with athletes competing at the same age level, as well as giving them identifiable areas they need to improve on. 

ALL-AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL TEAMS

Not only do we offer the typical baseball skill evaluations, but we also, during our CABA All-American tournaments and showcases, have CABA All-American coaches and scouts evaluating and making recommendations and selections for our All-American International Travel teams that will travel to play against international competition such as Australia, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii, among other locations being finalized.

In most showcase events, one of the most important things to evaluate on any player are their physical tools. For position players, that consists of their hitting ability, fielding ability, speed/range, power potential, arm strength, and quantitative measures of the speed, power, and quickness of a player’s swing. For a pitcher, it consists of evaluating their delivery and arm action, as well as the types of pitches they currently possess (i.e. fastball, curveball, changeup, etc.). Scouts and evaluators will also be determining and making judgements as to how each player will project to their playing at the next levels, trying to gauge how much better they think a player can get with normal growth and hard work (i.e. their projectability) for their body type and athleticism. Although a lot of the evaluations of each of these players seems to be focused on their physical abilities during the showcase, the CABA All-American scouts and evaluators, as well as all of the college and university coaches and MLB scouts, much attention will be paid to a player’s intangibles as much as possible (i.e. hustle, character on and off the field, etc.). What often separate recruits in the mind of coaches, scouts, and evaluators is how serious a prospect takes their sport. Coaches, scouts, and evaluators are watching, before the game, between game action and after the game to see how a prospect carries themselves. They are going to be following up with their coach(es) to see how seriously they take their training. All things being equal, a prospect who has the will to practice hard is going to be recruited over one who has the ability but not the work ethic. 

One thing that is not especially important is performance, because anything can happen at a short showcase event. We get that. What we are more focused on is how do you react to a negative or highly competitive situation? Will you fold to the pressure? Or will you stay positive and rise above it and continue to work to get better?

At CABA All-American Showcases, we will evaluate players in two different settings: 

1. Skills-based drills

2. Live-game action

CABA All-American Showcases normally consist of a skills-based portion that occurs first and then live games to be played later on that day or the next day. If a CABA All-American Showcase is conducted prior to (a day or two before) a CABA All-American tournament, or prior to another organization’s tournament, the CABA All-American Showcase will consist of only the skills-based portion of the showcase. This is done for player safety and health reasons. We do not want, nor do we advocate, pitchers go through all of the pitching drills/testing and live-game action in the showcase and then have to go out and throw in a tournament event. 

DEFENSE:

Outfielders: All outfielders will start in right field. Each player will make:

· one throw to 2nd base

· two throws to 3rd base

· three throws to home plate, showing their arm strength and accuracy.  Scouts and evaluators will be watching the approach and footwork of the outfielder to the ball, the glovework ability, and the transition from fielding the ball to throwing the ball. In addition, each outfielder will be evaluated on their arm speed, arm action, the release point, accuracy, and how far the ball carries during flight. 

Infielders: Each infielder will field from their designated position of choice. Each fielder will take:

· two ground balls directly at the player

· two to the backhand

· two up the middle

· two double-play turns

· one charge-play on a slow roller

Scouts and evaluators will be watching your approach footwork, angle and path to the ball, transition and fluidity moving from base setup to the backhand and up the middle, your range going to both sides, your balance, your ability to handle the glove, and your ability to throw on the run. One thing that coaches and scouts pay particular attention to is your ability to get rid of the ball quickly. As players move up to the next levels, the running speed of players gets faster, which means that, as an infielder, you have to be able to transition from fielding the ball to throwing much quicker. At lower levels, infielders may be able to field the ball, gather themselves, take an extra step or two, and fire the ball across the diamond to get the out, showing off their arm strength. Again, as you go up levels, infielders can’t just rely on a strong arm, you must show the ability to field the ball and get rid of it as quickly and as accurately as you can.  

First Basemen: Each first baseman will first be evaluated on the throws that they will be taking from the other infielders: how they adjust to throws mid-flight, their flexibility, their ability to handle the glove when picking balls out of the dirt, and on short and long hops. Each first baseman will then take:

· two ground balls directly at them (playing deep) and throw to 3rd 

· two ground balls and throw to second (double play, holding runner on)

· one ground ball throw to home (even with 1stbase, not holding runner on)

· one slow roller, throw to home

Scouts and evaluators will be looking at overall footwork (away from and around 1st base), glovework, arm strength and accuracy. 

Catchers: Each catcher will make the following throws: 

· three throws to 2nd (from pitcher) (POP time recorded)

· two throws to 3rd (from pitcher)

· two throws to 1st (from pitcher)

· one throw to 1st (bunt)

· one throw to 2nd (bunt)

Scouts and evaluators will be looking at how the catcher receives the ball, footwork in receiving and throwing, arm strength and accuracy, transition from receiving ball to throwing, and overall athleticism and flexibility. 

HITTING:

At CABA All-American Showcases, hitters will be evaluated at three separate stations: on-field BP, cage BP, and live-games.

ON-FIELD BP:

Each hitter will get 10 swings (not pitches) during their round of batting practice, while switch-hitters will get five swings from each side, thrown from a CABA All-American Coach/Scout. Scouts and evaluators will be looking at the overall hitting approach, from initial set-up, hand load to timing trigger, hand path to the ball, length of swing, overall bat speed, balance, extension, and the ability to square (barrel-up) the ball up regularly. Hitters will also be evaluated on how consistently their swing mechanics are repeatable, how their swing mechanics translate to live pitching, their ability to use the entire field, and their current and projected power.

One area that will also be evaluated for the high school age groups is hitting with wood bats. Hitting with a wood bat often times exposes some hitting mechanic flaws that don’t always show up when hitting with metal bats. Scouts and evaluators will be looking at how consistently a hitter is able to barrel-up the ball, thus producing an overall more impactful hitting result 

CAGE BP:

Each hitter will also get 15 swings in a cage BP, thrown by a CABA All-American Coach/Scout, and will be tested and evaluated using Diamond Kinetics bat sensors to measure a hitter’s:

· Max Barrel Speed – the maximum speed of the bat’s barrel during your swing, at a point 20% from the tip of the bat. 

· Max Acceleration – captures how quickly a batter speeds up their swing from start to impact, and relates directly to the force and torque applied to the bat. 

· Impact Momentum – is the amount of the momentum in the bat when the bat makes contact with the ball. It is determined by the barrel speed at impact, and the weight of the bat.

Each hitter will be given the results of their Diamond Kinetics BP results after the Showcase which will show them what their hitting metrics were, and how they compare to other hitters at the showcase and across the country in their age groups.

PITCHING:

CABA All-American scouts and evaluators will be looking at pitchers from a number of different perspectives, including: arm strength (velocity), body type (physical maturity), mechanics, arm action, repeatable delivery mechanics, repeatable release point, and follow through. Scouts and evaluators will also be assessing a pitcher’s mound presence and demeanor, control and mix of pitches, and how well they work with their catcher and coaches. 

At CABA All-American Showcases, pitchers will be evaluated in two separate settings: bullpen and live-games.

BULLPEN

Prior to their live-game pitching, each pitcher will ensure they go through their pre-game warm-up routine, and then, at towards the conclusion of their warm-up, each pitcher will throw 15 scripted pitches using a Diamond Kinetics sensored ball to collect the following pitching metrics:

1. Release Velocity – The speed of the ball just after it is released from the hand. Speed is measured in MPH (miles per hour).

On-field Impact: Higher velocity means the ball gets to the batter faster and requires quicker reaction by the batter. It will also help fielders get the ball to their target faster.

2. Spin Rate – The average spin rate of the ball as it travels from the point of release until it is caught. Spin rate is measured in RPMs (revolutions per minute).

On-field Impact: The higher spin rate generally means more break on the pitch; that is, more movement side-to-side or up-and-down.

3. Spin Direction – The direction of the ball’s spin after release as it travels to the plate. Spin Direction is defined as the direction of motion of the leading edge of the ball (the side of the ball facing the batter as it moves to the plate).

On-Field Impact: Ball spin is what causes the ball to break due to aerodynamic forces acting on it during flight. The direction of break is the same as the spin direction. The amount of break is dependent on the spin rate, so knowing both of these values tells you about both the direction and amount of break that you can expect from your pitches.

4. Extension – The horizontal distance, directed toward the catcher, from set point to release of the ball. This is a measure of how far the pitcher reaches toward home when throwing the ball.

On-field Impact: Extension is important for pitches because it essentially shortens the distance and puts them closer to the plate. The average extension of a MLB pitcher is 6.5 feet. An extension longer than 6.5 feet will make the pitch appear faster to the batter, giving the batter less time to recognize the pitch. An extension shorter than 6.5 feet will make the pitch appear slower to the batter, giving them more time to recognize the pitch.

5. Delivery – Delivery time is the total time the ball is in the player’s hand from initial movement to the release of the ball. It can be broken down into segments, namely set to reach back time and reach back to release time.

On-field Impact: Reducing delivery time helps to reduce time to plate and makes it harder for runners to steal bases. In addition, it is important for a pitcher to keep his delivery the same across different pitch types. This makes it harder for batters to pick up on different pitches being thrown.

6. Reach Back to Release – The time from the cocking point in the delivery until release of the ball.

On-field Impact: This is the second phase of the pitch and can tip a pitch if there is different time for different pitch types. It also contributes to total Time to Plate when trying to hold runners on base.

7. Time to Plate – The time from initial movement of the pitcher’s hands from the set position until impact of the ball with the catcher’s mitt (or impact with a net if throwing into a net).

On-field Impact: This time is important because the less time it takes for a pitcher to get the ball to the catcher, the less time a runner has to steal a base. Time to Plate is made up of delivery time and ball flight time (the time it takes the ball to get from pitcher’s hand at release to the catcher). A pitcher can focus on controlling his delivery time to reduce the total time to plate.

LIVE-GAMES

Each pitcher, depending on the number of pitchers in attendance at each showcase, will throw at least 1 inning (not to exceed 30 pitches in any inning).

INTANGIBLES:

At CABA All-American Showcases, as well as tournaments, our scouts and evaluators, and all college and university coaches look at and evaluate all of the physical and baseball-based metrics that are gathered during a showcase event, but they will also evaluate a number of personal traits that players have or don’t have that have as much, if not more, importance in deciding if you are someone they want to invite into their program or sign to their organization. These intangibles include:

Confidence

You will never see the better prospects play the game scared, regardless of what level you are playing at. Baseball is not a game that you can play with fear and consistently be successful. If a college coach or scout sees you play with fear then your projectability becomes very low and might even get you crossed off their list.  You must have the utmost confidence in your physical abilities and love to compete.  You don’t have to be a cocky and arrogant to the public but you must feel extremely confident in yourself and teammates.

Mental Make-Up

A player’s mental make-up is absolutely vital to his success at all levels, whether at the younger youth levels, to high school, and then into the college or professional levels. It’s probably the single most important non-physical aspect of becoming a top-level baseball player at each level you move onto. More often than not the player with the bigger heart, passion and desire to get better will develop (project) into a player with better physical tools, increasing their chances of being considered as a top-level prospect, and increasing your chances of being recruited or signed. Is your work ethic where it needs to be every single day? Are you a good teammate? Do you truly love the game of baseball? How well do you handle adversity and failure? Do you take care of your studies to keep you eligible? These are all things that coaches and scouts will be watching, to determine if you will be that player they can count on if they invite you into their program. 

This is really dependent on the time of the year and where the Showcase is held. CABA All-American Showcases communicate showcase events to all college and university coaches, and MLB scouts from all across the United States. There are some showcases that attract hundreds of scouts and college coaches and there are some that will have much fewer. The most important thing to keep in mind is that thousands of colleges and all MLB teams utilize CABA All-American’s website as an important scouting tool.

This is entirely dependent on where each individual player is in their development. As players continue to develop, both physically and emotionally, their baseball skills and abilities also tend to change, so we would recommend attending a CABA All-American Showcase at least every year, or even multiple times a year if you have experienced a big jump in strength, speed, etc. Also, if you are trying to qualify or be selected to one of our CABA All-American International Travel Teams, you will want to be in front of those scouts and evaluators who will be making the selections to those teams as often as you can. For those players who are trying to be recruited by college and university coaches, attending multiple showcases in a given year can only increase your exposure to these coaches. Not all college coaches are able to attend every showcase that is out there. They have to pick and choose which ones to attend, so by attending multiple showcases you can greatly increase the odds of more coaches being able to see you…and recruit you. 

Included in the fee to attend is a player jersey, an online player profile with video clips from the showcase, a CABA  AA scouting report and CABA AA player grade, as well as Diamond Kinetics and Pocket Radar hitting and/or pitching metrics, and a Baseball SAT® evaluation that enables each player to be able to see how they compare to other players at the same age level.

You can sign up online by going to our website, www.norpacallamerican.com , or through registration links on each of our social media platforms, clicking on Showcases and selecting the showcase that you want to attend. You are able to register for any event as long as the event has not reached its maximum capacity. If a showcase event has reached its maximum capacity, you can still register and will be placed on a pending wait list. If a showcase wait list gets enough registrations, we can add additional days to accommodate the wait list registrants.

No, you are not required to attend CABA All-American Showcases that are in your state only. You may attend any CABA All-American Showcases, regardless of the state you live in or where the showcase is held.

This is strictly a personal decision. Most traditional showcases offer showcase opportunities for high school age players, and in recent years some have started providing opportunities for the 14U age group. But, with the CABA All-American International Travel Teams, we will host showcase opportunities for 9U to college-level players, as we will be selecting players from these age groups to go play internationally. By starting your showcase experiences at the 9U level, players not only put themselves in a position to be noticed by our coaches and scouts on a regular basis for selection to our international travel teams, but players are also able to provide to these coaches and scouts a baseline evaluation of their skills, while also allowing these coaches and scouts to see a player’s progression (ie. strength, speed, and velocity gains) over the years. This also gives the players some objective information to show them where they are strong, and probably more importantly, where they are lacking compared to other players in their age group and what they need to work on in the future. 

The typical CABA All-American Showcase schedule looks like this:

7:30 AM – Registration/Check-In: Receive Shirt & Hat, Picture, Physical Measurements

8:30 AM –  Staff informs players about the showcase,   expectations

9:00 AM – Baseball SAT® Testing

10:30 AM – Defensive Workouts 

• Outfielders Throw from RF 
•  Infielders Throws from SS 
•  First Basemen Throw 
•  Catcher Pop Times 

12:00 PM – BATTING PRACTICE /   DIAMOND KINETICS TESTING

2:30 PM – LIVE GAMES 

Depending on the number of attendees at a CABA All-American Showcase, we may have to add an additional day to the showcase, where all of the attendees will do the registration/check-in process and all of the individual skill testing on Day 1, and then the live games on Day 2.

Both the skills testing and the live games are important in the showcase process. The live games are now where coaches and scouts get to see how those numbers they saw in the skills testing portion translate to live game action. Players now get the opportunity to show these coaches and scouts that they have the ability to back their numbers up through their live game play. This is where the coaches and scouts get to see how the player reacts to live competition:

· do they have a real good understanding the game?

· do they handle the pressure of competition in live games?

· how do they react to failure? Do they show their negative emotions?

· do they have natural instincts at their respective position?

· do they have the ability to anticipate and move prior to balls being hit?

· are they able to track balls in the outfield gracefully?

· what does the catcher look like in framing and presenting pitches?

· how are their throws down to second base with a batter in the box? 

Live game action also allows coaches and scouts to better evaluate hitters against live pitching, looking at:

· can they handle the fastball or are they overmatched?

· can they make adjustments to off speed and breaking balls?

· does a hitter have a good approach and plan with each at bat?

10      Top level Pro tools/Potential high draft pick

9.5     Pro level tool or multiple high-level D1 college tools

9        High level/solid D1 college tools

8.5     Good D1/Mid-level college/High level JC tools 

8        Mid-level college/JC tools 

7.5     Plus varsity high school tools

7        Better than average high school tools

6.5     Average high school level tools 

6        A developing high school tool