GLENDALE, Ariz. – Ten and 11 years ago this month, Tom Shepherd from Flower Mound, Texas, kept himself busy transporting his oldest son, Tant Shepherd, to the 2004 and 2005 Perfect Game National Underclass Showcase in Fort Myers, Fla.
These days, that trip is a little bit closer and much more westerly when it comes to introducing his youngest son, Syler Shepherd, to the Perfect Game showcase universe. But while the trip has changed directions it hasn’t lost any steam at all in terms of its importance.
Syler Shepherd was one of more than 80 young prospects in attendance at this weekend’s PG National Underclass West Showcase, a two-day event at the Camelback Ranch Cactus League spring training complex that ran in conjunction with the PG West Uncommitted Showcase.
Shepherd, a junior at Flower Mound High School who is ranked a top-500 national prospect in the class of 2017, was named to the Top Prospect List at the Underclass West as a sophomore last year. He is hoping to mirror the career of his older brother, who parlayed his PG showcase experiences into a four-year career at the University of Texas and a season playing minor league baseball.
Tant Shepherd was a primary third baseman and outfielder during his PG career and his younger brother is even more versatile. Syler Shepherd identifies himself as a primary catcher but he also plays the infield and the outfield and the right-hander even pitched a couple of innings during his team’s showcase game Sunday morning. He seems to thrive in the showcase environment, constantly gauging his level of play against the other prospects in attendance.
“I like seeing how good the other kids are … and I like seeing what I need to improve on and what I need to work on,” he said during a break in Saturday morning’s workout session. “I just wanted to come out here and show what I can do and get some better ratings. … I like taking the batting practice and doing the Pop times and (other workouts) and just being seen (by PG scouts and college coaches).”
When prospects complete their PG Player Profile they are asked to list their “best tools” and Shepherd’s reply was simply “toughness.” He put that – and his versatility – on display during the workout session, recording a personal best 1.96-second Pop time (fourth best at the event) and 84 mph outfield throw (fifth), while also throwing 75 mph from behind home plate to second base (second) and running a 7.04-second 60-yard dash (11th).
“We just mainly want to keep him on the radar,” Tom Shepherd said when asked why he and Syler decided to make the trip out here from their home in the Dallas suburbs. “That’s what we did with our older son and that worked out well, so (Syler’s) just trying to keep playing.”
Shepherd was bothered by a minor injury that kept him off the field late in the summer – he’s 100 percent now – but he did play at the 16u PG WWBA Qualifier in Emerson, Ga., in June with the Academy Select Sun Devils Ingram and earned all-tournament recognition.
That was on the heels of his sophomore spring high school season during which he was a part of the powerful Flower Mound program, whose varsity team finished 28-6-1 and ranked No. 49 in Perfect Game’s Final High School Top-50 National Rankings.
The city of Flower Mound is also home to Marcus High School, which boasts another nationally renowned baseball program. Flower Mound HS and Marcus HS were both ranked in the top-20 nationally in an early release of the PG rankings last spring.
“Baseball is real big over there and there’s a big rivalry between Flower Mound and Marcus – we all kind of hate each other,” Shepherd said with a grin. “There’s some really good competition down there.”
His dad echoed those thoughts: “The competition is great in Flower Mound,” Tom said. “It’s great at the high school level, yes, but it’s especially good during the summer.”
Both Syler and Tom Shepherd give a lot of credit for Syler’s development as a ballplayer to Linty Ingram, a former Arizona State standout and four-year minor-leaguer who is the head coach for the Academy Select Sun Devils; Ingram helped coach Tant Shepherd, as well. Syler also gives a lot of credit for his continued to development to Danny Wallace, the head coach at Flower Mound HS and, of course, to his brother Tant.
The Shepherd family’s involvement with Perfect Game began with Tant more than a decade ago; he participated in six PG events between 2004 and 2006.
He was at the PG National Underclass Showcase (now the PG National Underclass Showcase-Main Event) in Fort Myers in both 2004 and 2005, was at both the 2006 PG World Showcase in Fort Myers and the 2006 PG National Showcase in Fayetteville, Ark. Tant also played at the 2005 PG WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla., with the Dallas Tigers.
The timing of the PG National Underclass West works out well for the younger Shepherd, who plays a lot of fall baseball with both his school and the Academy Select Sun Devils. While Tom used to cart Tant down to Fort Myers in the days right after Christmas, this event provides an even more perfect fit for Syler, two years running now.
He was one of only six 2017s named to the Top Prospect List in 2014, and his scouting report read: “Shepherd has the athletic ability to play all over the field defensively … He showed some of the best hitting ability of the event with a simple balanced approach and lots of right-handed bat speed and gap power.”
As a high school junior, Shepherd has an abundance of time on his side when it comes to making a college choice. On his PG Player Profile page, he lists only the conferences he interested in playing in as opposed to specific schools, and he leaves no stone unturned: ACC, Big 12, Big West, Pac-12, SEC and Conference USA.
Of course, if his level of play continues to move in an upward arc a future MLB June Amateur Draft might become a consideration, even if that requires three or four years of college first. Tant Shepherd was 47th-round pick of the Cincinnati Reds out of Texas in 2010 but returned to Austin for his senior season, and then was a 24th-round pick of New York Mets in 2011; he played 40 games in the Rookie-level Appalachian League in the summer of 2011.
Syler Shepherd is as the point in his young career where he can take his time and study each of his options. His attendance at the PG National Underclass West Showcase provides more proof that he will continue to leave no stone unturned.
“I think if (a young player) wants to play college ball outside of their home area these showcases are very beneficial,” his dad Tom Shepherd said. “Where we’re from … we get so much exposure with the local (Texas) schools watching us play summer ball but (Syler) is pretty much open to going to school anywhere so this is very beneficial for him. I also think it helps him grow up playing under a little bit of pressure and it lets him see how all the other kids are doing.”