The Five Tools

Hey Guys,

This post is for all of you out there who are either serious about baseball and playing at a high level, being recruited to play in college, or have a kid that wants to play in college.  I want to put to rest all of the, quite frankly, bull crap that is fed to parents and kids when it comes to recruiting.  I have talked to many college coaches at a very high level and studied the tools of many top recruits of all time, so I'm pretty confident that these are correct. (100% confident)  What the scouts like to look at is the five tools; speed, arm strength, defensive ability, hitting for average, and hitting for power.  I'd like to go through all of them and explain where your kid needs to be.

Speed- Regardless of what you are told, there is no leniency on your time based on your position, except for pitchers and a STUD catcher.  Otherwise, you need to be able to run.  To get a lot of good looks from coaches and scouts you need to be below a 7.0 as an outfielder and it really depends on how you are as a player for the other positions.  I have seen shortstops that run 7.3s playing at D1 schools and catchers who run 7.9s playing at D1 schools.  It just depends.  This dependency does not mean leniency.  It's not, "Oh well he's a catcher so he doesn't have to be fast," it's, "he's an awesome defensive catcher, so we will sacrifice some speed to have his glove."

Arm Strength- When looking at your arm strength, they are looking at carry and velocity.  It is possibly the single biggest killer of kids getting recruited.  D1 pitchers are normally throwing in the upper 80s and higher, but there are exceptions due to how good of "stuff" a guys has.  Catchers need to be able to put it down to second at 76mph or higher.  Infielders need to be in the mid 80s or higher across the infield, and outfielders really need to be able to throw it.  Most guys you see are bringing it upper 80s and higher out of the outfield.

Defensive Ability-  This speaks for itself.  You need to be able to make the routine plays and the spectacular plays.  What nobody ever talks about, however, is that you need to look smooth.  Too many players say, "I make way more plays than Johnny, and he's going to a D1 school and I'm not.  It's not fair."  Well, odds are you are lacking the other tools, and you probably look like a robot while making those plays.  You have to make it look easy at whatever position you play.

Hitting for Average- The scouts aren't looking for a guy who can bat .600.  They're looking for the guy who can consistently put balls in play with authority.  In a game this speaks for itself,  but at a showcase it doesn't.  Too many kids at showcases go and hit 300 foot fly balls and think they're impressing everyone.  If you're that person, stop it!  Coaches want to see line drives  and gap shots, not fly outs.

Hitting for Power- This is a very subjective tool, and it's always based on how the player plays the other parts of the game.  But, for the most part the scouts are looking for a guy who can drive the gaps consistently, and contrary to popular belief they do like to see a guy who can hit the ball out of the ballpark.  You don't have to be a home run hitter, but the coaches will be more impressed with the kid who can do it.  It's just a fact.  That doesn't mean stand up at the plate and take donkey hacks and try to hit home runs every time.  Just hit it with authority and things will work out.

Pitchers- Location, location, location.  Unless you're a 90s guy, you better be able to throw the ball through a dixie cup.  If you are in the 90s, then they're a little more lenient, but you still need to throw strikes.  Also, you need to make sure that you have two effective off speed pitches.

Many kids don't like to hear about the five tools, because it makes them feel like a bad baseball player, but that isn't the case.  It's rare to see five tool guys.  If you're not a five tool guy focus on making your strengths as polished as possible, and make your weaknesses your strengths.  If you guys are interested in knowing about divisions 2 and 3 comment on this post and I'll gladly put out a supplement to this post.  I just wanted you guys to have an idea about where you should strive to be.

Tip of the Day:  During training, try to stay away from football type lifts.  They produce strong, but slow muscles that are not beneficial to baseball.  Make sure that you are doing explosive workouts, and you'll be shocked to see how much all five of your tools improve.

Until Next Time!