221 on College World Series Rosters Played in PG Events

Perfect Game Staff

In a normal year there are 150 to 160 players who had attended Perfect Game events on the 8 College World Series rosters. This year that number grew to a record 221 players on the 8 rosters of the teams in Omaha. 221 of the total number of 277 players on those rosters accounts for nearly 80% of this years World Series participants had attended PG events in the past. The percentages are very similar to the recently held MLB First Year Players Draft that saw 77.4% of the entire draft (1,164 of 1504) having played in Perfect Game events.

This explains why college recruiters follow Perfect Game events very closely. That’s where they find most of their players! Of course, some of these players have attended events other than PG events. However, these numbers are closely associated with the largest and best scouting attractions in many cases. The PG National Showcase, PG WWBA and BCS Summer Championships, PG WWBA Fall Championship, PG World Showcase and many of the PG Top Prospect Showcases along with the many underclass events all provide scouts and college recruiters an opportunity to identify and follow thousands of the very best players in the USA, Canada and Latin America.

The Perfect Game National Showcase recently held at the Metrodome in Minneapolis has a long history of identifying the top draft eligible players for the following year. The players have to be invited before or during their Junior baseball season. There is no time for tryouts or other events to scout in order to select the top players because the PG National is always scheduled right after the draft and many players haven’t even finished their high school season yet.

Despite the early timing of this event, over the past 7 years the PG National Showcase has had more players drafted in the first round than any other showcase event. Even though it is held a full year before the draft eligible year for those players.

Here is a question… In this years draft which “showcase” was the only one that had the following players attend? 1st pick Tim Beckham, 3rd pick Eric Hosmer, 6th pick Kyle Skipworth, 14th pick Aaron Hicks, 15th pick Ethan Martin. These were the first 5 high school players selected and those 5 could be seen together at only a few places last year, The Aflac Game, The WWBA Championships and the 2007 Perfect Game National that was held in Cincinnati.

Also at that 2007 PG National Showcase in Cincinnati were first round picks Gerritt Cole, Jake Odorizzi, Brett Devall and other early picks Xavier Avery, Anthonu Gose, Brad Hand, Cutter Dykstra, Destin Hood, Jay Austin, Robbie Ross, Zeke Spruill, Jason Knapp, Tyler Chatwood, Trey Haley, Derrik Gibson, Tyler Sample, LJ Hoes, Chase Davidson, Niko Vasquez, Kevin Eichorn, Tim Melville, Curtis Peterson, John Lamb, Clark Murphy, Tyler Pastornicky, Robbie Grossman, BJ Hermsen, Jason Esposito, and many others who went after the fifth round.

This event is still somewhat of a secret to many not involved in the scouting and recruiting world, but the facts are very revealing. Former PG National Showcase players like Buster Posey, Jemile Weeks, Brett Wallace, David Cooper, Ike Davis, Ryan Flaherty and Bryan Price were also first round picks out of college this year.

Several other first rounders attended PG events but did not appear in the PG National Showcase. 87 of the first 100 draft picks this year were players who had attended a Perfect Game event.

Back to this years College World Series rosters.

The team with, by far, the fewest former PG participants was Fresno State the 2008 National Champions with 15. The highest number of those who had played in PG events belonged to National runnerup Georgia with 34, all but one of their players having attended PG events. Listed below are the 8 teams that played in this years College World Series with the number who have played in Perfect Game events.

U of Georgia – 34 - played in PG events
Stanford – 31 - played in PG events
U of North Carolina – 30 - played in PG events
Miami – 30 - played in PG events
LSU – 29 - played in PG events
Florida State – 28 - played in PG events
Rice – 24 - played in PG events
Fresno State – 15 - played in PG events
TOTAL - 221 on the 8 College World Series teams played in Perfect Game events
Nearly 80% of all the players on the 8 rosters.

Note: The results would have been similar no matter which 8 teams made it to the College World Series. In fact, had Arizona State managed to defeat the eventual National Champion this year the numbers would have been a lot higher yet. The past 5 College World Series have had at least 150 players who had attended PG events. It’s a fact that college baseball rosters from coast to coast are loaded with players who have participated in Perfect Game events. It will be that way again next year and hopefully for many more years to come.

In the meantime, the number of those on Major League rosters who played in Perfect Game events is growing very fast and by next year half of all those in the Major Leagues will have played in Perfect Game events. That’s the natural progression involved in all these numbers.

Important information: Perfect Game claims no responsibility for the talent all these players display or develop and what happens to them regarding recruiting or the draft. We simply hold events, watch them play and let everyone know about them.

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