What's up? I'm Coach Dan Blewett.
In today's video, Let's talk about positions in baseball
and some of the demands and the skill sets and some of the body types
that will put players into three different bins that will help
you understand which baseball position is right for you, which ones not.
And you know, what kind of skills that you have so that you can be
the best version of yourself.
All right, so what we're going to cover today, skills and body type
being true to yourself,
fitting in a line up, and lastly, we'll talk about what scouts want.
So definitely stick around to the end of this presentation because
we know we'll talk about how this is going to impact
you and your future prospects for college or pro baseball.
So, number one, why is this matter?
You need to fit a role in your team.
You also want to be your best self. That's important.
So if you're doing things that don't really fit your skillset,
like if you're really slow and you're playing the outfield,
you're not going to be doing anyone any favors, especially yourself
or if a scout were to come watch you there.
Or if you're not a really good, strong infielder and maybe you're really fast,
maybe you should be in the outfield, stuff like that.
So here's a quick poll, which and really just a question
for you there, but what's the most most athletic player?
Where do they play on the field?
So typically and I mean, this is this is without exception,
pretty much in the major leagues is shortstop or center fielder.
And this is because those those positions require such range.
And so range requires explosiveness, first step quickness and raw speed.
Shortstop requires a little bit less raw speed than center field does, obviously.
But those positions require
so much athleticism going left to right, front back arm strength,
hand eye coordination, like amazing fielding skills.
That's why you see the Mike Trout in the Franscisco Landau's
playing shortstop and center field.
Obviously, there's always exceptions,
of course, the Major League, everyone is a super athlete,
but these players are still heads and tails above the rest, just like
if you go to watch.
I remember I went to watch an NBA game with the Oklahoma City Thunder playing the
they were playing in Philly.
I don't even remember Phillies teams name, but
oh, the seventy Sixers and Kevin Durant
was just so much more athletic than everyone else on the court.
And this is even in the NBA.
There's the way that dude glided, the way he jumped, just the way he moved.
You're like that guy sticks out even among NBA players who are amazing athletes.
Right. Like he was more athletic than anyone else in that core.
And this was when he was really young, still early in his career.
And obviously, he proved to be like an amazing NBA player
over the course of his career.
And this still happens in the major leagues.
Like guys will tell you that these guys that can play shortstop, guys
like Mike Trout are just like they're better athletes than than
even the rest of them who are, again, already super athletes.
So let's put everyone into a couple of different bins here.
So with position players, there's kind of like
three bins, so athletic and scrappy and fast.
And it doesn't really matter how big you are.
That could be second base. That could be center field.
And we'll talk about that more in a second.
But it's been one again, you're athletic, you're scrappy.
It doesn't really matter your size
because you're not going to be hitting for power necessarily in Benta.
You're going to be athletic plus,
but a little more powerful and a little bigger.
And we'll talk about the positions that go there, because it's not going
to be your typical shortstop. That's not going to be your typical center fielder.
And then been number three.
You can probably guess which positions go here, which is you're really powerful
and you're big bodied person and your speed's not as much important.
So in been one fast and scrappy players
who just are really explosive, they're maybe more fielding centric.
Is center field second base shortstop. Right.
Dustin Pedroia, Jose Altuve.
And I know Jose too vague. And it throw home runs if he wants to.
But you know, these smaller players, David Eckstein is a great example,
guys that provide a lot of quality to their team.
And this happens all the way down at younger levels.
If you have an amazing center fielder who is 120 pounds, but
he can go get the ball and run down stuff and
it provides a lot of value to your team and say the same at second base
or shortstop, which if you have
great fielding up the middle , you'll sacrifice some physicality. Right.
You don't need as many doubles and home runs out of your second baseman
or you're short or your center fielder
if they're really making a lot of plays and saving you out on the field.
So that's important.
So just remember,
if you're not a huge bodied kid, but you have you can get on base a lot.
You can steal bases.
You're a great fielder. You can really go get the ball.
That's this is the bin for you is one of these three positions
probably been number two, where you have some power
, but you're still pretty athletic and you're a little bit bigger.
This is typically the corner, outfield and third base.
So guys like Nolan Arenado, obviously, I think Nolan Arenado could play
short the big league level,
but he might not have as quick as first step as someone like.
You know, I keep using Franscisco Lindor is a good example.
But when you're six, two or six three, it's just hard to play shortstop
because you have to have such range
and you're just a bigger body with bigger limbs.
And and they'd rather probably get 35 or 40 home runs over third baseman
who packs on a little more muscle and let the shortstop
be a little scrappy because they have players like that can do that. Right.
So and the same thing with cornor outfielders, like if Bryce Harper,
you know, cut down a little bit of weight , maybe he'd be fast enough
to play centerfield.
But he's, you know,
paid to hit a few more home runs than the center fielder might be. Right?
Mike Trout. Exception, he can do it all, but most interviewers can't.
Obviously, Mookie Betts can also do it all.
But anyway, you know, there's just the typical body types
where you don't have the range as far. That's the big thing here.
Third base, you know, your range is not as much.
So you can be a little bigger bodied. You can have a little less range
left field and right field. Same thing.
You're not going nearly as far for the typical fly ball as the center fielder is.
So you can have an extra 10, 10, 15 pounds on your frame,
which can add another five, 10 home
runs, potentially to admit to a high level player.
And that's a good trade off for that team,
because they don't really need you to be a burner.
They don't need you to be Trae
Turner running thirty one feet per second in right field.
And who's the shortstop?
They don't necessarily need that because you're going
to run into foul territory. Right.
So having that that bigger frame with some more pop
makes a lot of sense for the second bin and then for the third bin.
This is sort of first baseman and catcher where it doesn't really matter
how fast you are.
Like Pete Alonso is not paid to leg out, triples.
Pete Alonso is not paid to to beat out infield ground balls.
He's not paid to run down balls in the gap.
That's why he plays first base.
Pete Alonzo is paid to hit the ball hard in the air,
but into the bleachers, put it in the gaps. Right.
So if he puts it the ball into the gap, he's going to get to second base.
He's not that slower. He can't like got a double, obviously. Right. So
obviously, the big league level, those guys are still fast.
And you'd probably think because they're such good athletes.
But again, Pete Alonso doesn't. You hit triples.
He doesn't need to, but he does need to score from second on a single if he can.
Right, on most singles.
But again, speed is not a is not a factor.
They're not going to not draft Pete Alonso because he runs a seven eight sixty
or something. Right. That's just not going to that's not going to matter.
So these two positions are important.
But again, if you're a really big body guy
and you want to play left field, it just might even be a bad position for you .
If you're Pete Alonso or you're going to play third base, it's
not going to fit very well.
He's going to make too many errors is range is not going to be as good.
While he might not make them any errors, but his range might not be good enough
to play third base, his first baseman.
Yeah, it's kind of the same position, but it's not really as much the same position
because there's a lot more right handed hitters than left handed hitters.
So why is this all matter?
You're going to underperform if you're in the wrong position.
So, again, if you have lots of speed, but you're not a great glove,
or if you're a little bigger, bigger bodied and you're not quite as fast,
you need to pick a position that's going to fit that.
So, you know, baseball positions, they a lot of times pick the player
and players don't as much pick the position because again, like
if you're short and fast and not that big, you don't have that many options.
You're not going to get to play third base in college
because they want a bigger body person there who can hit some home
runs and can give them the team, the lineup, some power.
They need to sort of fill out those things.
They need to get power somewhere in the lineup.
You know, three, four or five.
So where do those three, four or five hitters play?
Typically corners like, you know, corner, outfield, corner, infield.
That's typically where they play because they again,
they don't have to have as much range.
They can pack on some some weight and not hurt their defensive performance.
And so it's just a matter of understanding.
Again, I'll go back here, which been do you fit into, you know, ask yourself this.
If you're a little bigger body and you and you're
maybe a tick too slow to play shortstop, OK, hits a more dingers,
put the ball in the gap and play a great third base, and that's OK.
But if you're constantly trying to play short,
you just might underperform there and it might not be a good position for you.
So why is this matter?
I mean, teams want roles, they want efficiency.
And what that means is, sure, if they could have,
you know, top one through nine all Mike Trout's,
obviously they would take it, but it's not realistic to have that.
And so, you know, they have a big hitter, like an Aaron judge, like a John Carlos,
Stan like a Pete Alonso.
They want guys on base.
Obviously, this is this is nothing new. I'm not taking anything new with that.
So if you're a center fielder or your second baseman, you're fast
and scrappy, does get on base.
And if you're on base when he hits the ball
or the gap or in in the bleachers, you've done your job right.
So you want to fit somewhere on that team, somewhere within those roles.
They just need guys on base when guys are gonna hit the ball in the gap
and they need guys who can hit the ball in the gap or in the bleachers. Right.
So and if you're a catcher, they need you to be a great catcher first defensively
and then a great hitter second, and then a great based on a third. Right.
So offense versus defense, speed versus power, everyone fits their own role.
And so it's just important to understand where you can fit in
with your given talents and try to fit some role on the field.
Really? Well, if you're not real big,
but you are really fast and scrappier that been one kind of player, then
hone your skills at second base, hone your skills at center
field, be where you can be on the field and be at your best.
And I think at the end of the day, Scouts are going to ask
what I've been asked a question many, many times.
And you go to a field and you watch the game,
kind of like I have because I've played for a long time,
is someone might say, hey, can you watch this varsity shortstop?
Can you think you can play in college?
Like, do you think you can play it at our level?
This is what you'll get from coaches that trust you.
They'll say, hey,
you know, you're talking to a division to coach that plays in a good.
Conference, they'll be like, OK, can that pitcher pitch at our level,
can that position player, can he hit at our level,
is just throwing good enough for our level and you'll say yes or no.
And so when you look at a shortstop or a center fielder
and guy says, yeah, can you play centerfield at the division level ?
And you're like, nice, not fast enough going, hey, I can.
Can you play third base at the division level?
Now I just have the arm strength.
Hey, can that catcher catch at the division level?
Nah, he lets too many balls go to the screen.
That's what people come.
They start to ask these coaches at lower levels to say, how good is this kid?
And can they do it at the next level? And that's where, again,
you might be successful in high school as a first baseman.
But if you're too skinny, you don't really have any power.
You don't really fit the profile of a first baseman because you're been
one player playing have been three position then.
How's that going to fit? Right.
Like if you're a skinny kid
playing third base and you don't have much pop there either,
they're going say, can you play third
the next level at the division one level or something?
And he doesn't pop to play third.
And you might have to stick him in the outfield
like we don't really know where he fits.
And that's a problem, too, if you don't have a position.
It could be a big dead end.
And this is how a lot of guys pro careers end.
A lot of really good college players.
And I had a teammate like this who had a really good bat.
He had over 300.
I think his last three years in college, like 20 doubles, really good hitter.
He didn't have a position in pro ball.
And this is what players told him, like he wasn't big enough to play first base
and pro ball didn't hit and hit enough home runs.
He was pretty fast for his size.
So being like a pretty muscular dude.
But he didn't have the arm strength
of the fielding ability to play the infield and pro ball.
And he wasn't fast enough to be an outfielder.
So it was like he was kind of in
no man's land where he like was a good college first baseman.
And you could film in the outfield in college,
but he just like wasn't good enough to play a pro position, those levels.
And that happens to a lot
of high school players as well as they try to find a fit in college. Is that.
Yeah, he's a nice looking player, but
he couldn't play short short all our level. He couldn't play outfield.
Our level is too slow or he couldn't play.
He doesn't have the arm strength for it or he couldn't play first
because you can't hit enough to play first.
We've got a kid who can play first, and he hits 15 home runs for us.
So that's important.
You don't want a dead
end yourself being really good a position that you want to play at the next level.
If you really do want to play at the next level. All right.
So hopefully today's video is helpful.
I think these things are important
as far as like college recruiting in college prep and,
you know, knowing which position is right for you, whether it's infield outfield,
whether you're fast and scrappy or you're kind of in between
like a third baseman, like a Nolan Arenado type or a Bryce Harper type.
Where do you fit and what positions are going to make sense?
And you want to get really good at those ones.
So when scouts come to watch you play, they can see, OK, yeah, this makes sense.
He could I could definitely see him playing third base at the next level.
All right. So thanks for watching. Leave a comment below.
If you have any questions, leave one there as well.
Again, I'm coach Dan, you'll find my resources
and other videos, online courses and books in the description.
And I'll see you here in the next video.