The Scouting Classroom #12 THE WHOLE BALL PLAYER One of the biggest mistakes young scouts, parents, coaches, and even players make is believing evaluations start and stop with tools. Velocity. 60 times. Exit velocity. Bat speed. Power. Arm strength. Those things matter. But if you spend enough years in scouting, eventually you learn something: The easiest part of evaluating a player is often the part everyone sees. The difficult part is finding everything else. For years in scouting circles there was a phrase that always stuck with me: The Whole Ball Player Because great evaluators weren't simply trying to identify who had the biggest arm, loudest tools, or best workout. They wanted to know who the player really was. Not just physically. Completely. THE PART EVERYBODY SEES Some things jump out immediately. You can see them from behind home plate or during batting practice. For pitchers: • Arm strength
• Fastball
• Breaking ball
• Off-speed feel
• Command For position players: • Speed
• Hands
• Actions
• Power
• Arm strength
• Range
• Athleticism Those are measurable. Those become report grades, stopwatch times, and radar gun readings. And they matter. But they only tell part of the story. WHERE SCOUTING GETS HARD The second half of the player rarely reveals itself immediately. You don't always see it in batting practice. You don't find it from Trackman or Rapsodo. You definitely don't find it from a stat line. Because some of the most important parts of a player live underneath the surface. Questions like: How does he handle failure? Does he compete when things go bad? Can he make adjustments? How does he react after an 0-for-4 day? How does he treat teammates and coaches? How does he carry himself when nobody is watching? Because now you're no longer scouting tools. You're scouting people! THE INVISIBLE TOOLS Some of the biggest separators in baseball are difficult to see: • Desire
• Drive
• Competitiveness
• Baseball sense
• Teachability
• Confidence
• Instincts
• Maturity
• Intelligence
• Habits
• Family background Those traits don't show up on a stopwatch or a radar gun. Yet over time they often determine who survives. Everybody eventually faces adversity. Everybody struggles. Talent may open the door. But what happens after the door opens? That's where these traits start showing up. THE LESSON Anybody can scout the player everyone sees. The difficult part is finding the player underneath. Because the whole ball player isn't just speed, power, or arm strength. 👇👇 It's tools makeup = All-Star Ability competitiveness. Skill instincts. Talent character. The best scouts never simply looked for players. They looked for complete players. They looked for the whole ball player. That's scouting. #BehindTheRadarGun 🔎

Ripken is the example of hard work, commitment, and amazing teammate and even better person to go along with being a great player. He most definitely checks all the boxes! @RmJustinj @jedediah242424

COMMITED #rumblemavs

4 wins this week! The boys are heating up! I had a solid week personally as well. .571 AVG, 8 for 14 (4 XBH) .647 OBP 11 RBI 3 SB 5 R 4.1 IP 0 ER 0 BB 5 Ks @RidgelineRiver1 @PrepBaseballUT @PB_Uncommitted @CoachBerg801 @RmJustinj @jedediah242424

Bottom 7th Bases Loaded 2 Outs 2 Srikes Walk off base hit against a really good Lehi team! Proud of the team for bouncing back after a tough extra inning loss the night before. We are heating up! Let's go Fellas! @RidgelineRiver1 @PrepBaseballUT @PB_Uncommitted @RmJustinj

Committed!! 🦬 @UtahTech_BASE @BraxtonIpson @naiello44 @PrepBaseballID @utahscout1219

SCOOP: @BYUBaseball is hiring Adrian Dinkel as its new pitching coach and replacement for Abe Alvarez, I’m told. Dinkel spent the last year in the @Yankees organization, and previously guided Southeastern University to a pair of NAIA national titles. #BYU #Big12 Updated Carousel: d1baseball.com/stories/2025-…

Summer Stats with the @mgfmarshalls with a few weeks left to go! 28 IP 1.73 ERA 25 K 6 BB 1.42 WHIP 8.03 K/9 @BUncommitted @tp_pratt @CoachGehring @natejrazz @Brycencampbell @b_rinard @abealvarez17