Where to sit at minor league games?

[seattlecub]

Can anybody give me some good advice on where to sit at Minor league games to get a good view of prospects during the games? I'm not looking to get autographs before the game, but i'd like to be able to get a good view so i can possibly supply some amateurish scouting reports from games since I'll be able to check out some northwest league games (hoping to see baez and vogelbach for boise, plus kim, wells and reed on the mound) as well as Iowa when they come to Tacoma.

 

Thanks

[Guest]

Can anybody give me some good advice on where to sit at Minor league games to get a good view of prospects during the games? I'm not looking to get autographs before the game, but i'd like to be able to get a good view so i can possibly supply some amateurish scouting reports from games since I'll be able to check out some northwest league games (hoping to see baez and vogelbach for boise, plus kim, wells and reed on the mound) as well as Iowa when they come to Tacoma.

 

Thanks

Most minor league parks are full of good seats at cheap prices. If you want to scout pitchers, you'll want to be somewhere near home plate.

 

My best advice if you're going to multiple games would be to walk around your first game and see where the scouts are sitting and where the team puts the people with the gun who chart the pitches.

[Guest]

Oh yeah...I'd say it's not likely that you'll find many of the HS draftees in Boise this year. We took a lot of high upside guys, but not many are really polished hitters at this point. First, there are a lot of overslot guys there that will probably go right until the end of the negotiating window. However, even if we sign them before the 8/15 deadline, most of those guys would be assigned to AZ, anyway.

[seattlecub]

I figured most of the high school guys would go to AZL, but I'm thinking there's a decent chance baez goes there at least part of the time. Vitters split his draft year between AZL and Boise (only 14 games total), and I'm under the (possibly mistaken) impression that vogelbach at least isn't terribly raw.

 

On another note, how does one recognize professional scouts by sight? do i just look for the radar guns, or do only some of them sit behind the plate and monitor pitch speed?

 

Thanks again, and hopefully this can lead to some good reports on what looks to be an already exciting boise team, regardless of whether baez and vogelbach show up there!

[Guest]

I figured most of the high school guys would go to AZL, but I'm thinking there's a decent chance baez goes there at least part of the time. Vitters split his draft year between AZL and Boise (only 14 games total), and I'm under the (possibly mistaken) impression that vogelbach at least isn't terribly raw.

 

On another note, how does one recognize professional scouts by sight? do i just look for the radar guns, or do only some of them sit behind the plate and monitor pitch speed?

 

Thanks again, and hopefully this can lead to some good reports on what looks to be an already exciting boise team, regardless of whether baez and vogelbach show up there!

The scouts will have guns, they'll be taking notes, talking to lots of people, etc. At minor league games, they'll also be some of the few people at the park that don't: 1) have kids with them, 2) drink heavily. If you watch the people watching the game, you can typically tell the difference fairly easily.

 

Pics & video, if possible! :)

[Guest]

In my experince Tim pretty much described the easiest way to recognize a scout. They'll normally be right by home plate. You might also want to try to be near Boise pitchers who are tracking pitchers. They'll be right by the backstop and be recording the info. Theyre a great source to talk to in between innings if you don't pester them too much (will often give radar readings, etc.).

[seattlecub]

awesome and thanks to both of you!

[Guest]

I figured most of the high school guys would go to AZL, but I'm thinking there's a decent chance baez goes there at least part of the time. Vitters split his draft year between AZL and Boise (only 14 games total), and I'm under the (possibly mistaken) impression that vogelbach at least isn't terribly raw.

 

On another note, how does one recognize professional scouts by sight? do i just look for the radar guns, or do only some of them sit behind the plate and monitor pitch speed?

 

Thanks again, and hopefully this can lead to some good reports on what looks to be an already exciting boise team, regardless of whether baez and vogelbach show up there!

 

Guys like Vitters and Kirk showed up at Boise for the final 5-10 games of their first pro season because the NWL season goes a bit longer than the AZL season. I'm not sure when the Hawks will be in your neck of the woods but that's when you should look for Javier Baez, Dan Vogelbach and Tayler Scott.

[Outshined_One]

In my experince Tim pretty much described the easiest way to recognize a scout. They'll normally be right by home plate. You might also want to try to be near Boise pitchers who are tracking pitchers. They'll be right by the backstop and be recording the info. Theyre a great source to talk to in between innings if you don't pester them too much (will often give radar readings, etc.).

 

One thing that's worth adding to this is that teams periodically have their own players do some scouting work on off days. I'd sometimes see a small group of guys (usually starting pitchers on their off days) taking notes, using radar guns, etc. It's pretty rare to see scouts in their 20s.

 

My favorite place to sit is directly behind home plate. I enjoy watching pitchers, so it's a really good place to keep an eye on mechanics (consistency of arm slot, for example), deception, and pitch movement. It's not unusual to get a seat two or three rows behind home plate in the minors for dirt cheap, to boot.

[CubsInNC]

When Peoria came here to GR, I sat right by the edge of the dugout, front row (dirt cheap). I got a lot of good looks at pitchers, as well as got a lot of info/a decent view of player personalities in the dugout, as well as manager focus. It was a great place to sit as well. I did lose out on getting good mechanics info though.

[rawaction]

Yeah, behind home plate is pretty good. The sitting within earshot of the player charting pitches is usually pretty cool. I got to "chat" with Sean Marshall back in his Lugnut days, although he wasn't very talkative.

[NCCubFan]

When I've gone to Smokies games at Carolina I've usually sat between home plate and the Smokies' dugout, frequently in the front row.

[UK1679666180]

Can anybody give me some good advice on where to sit at Minor league games to get a good view of prospects during the games? I'm not looking to get autographs before the game, but i'd like to be able to get a good view so i can possibly supply some amateurish scouting reports from games since I'll be able to check out some northwest league games (hoping to see baez and vogelbach for boise, plus kim, wells and reed on the mound) as well as Iowa when they come to Tacoma.

 

Thanks

 

Pitchers, behind the plate. Hitters, if they're left-handed sit 3B line and if they're RH'ed, sit 1B line. I like to sit behind the plate for the 1st 3 innings, seeing 50 pitches will give a good enough idea of the pitcher and then the middle innings down each line until the relievers enter. Also, when you're down each baseline you can gauge a pitcher's mechanics from the side.