Scouting departments are divided into three different areas – pro, international, and amateur. The largest difference between each level of scouting is where the players being evaluated lie on the developmental curve.
International scouts are often watching the least developed players. Because international players can be signed as young as 15 (if they turn 16 by September 1 of the signing period), international scouts have the difficult job of projecting young and immature (both physically and mentally) players far into the future. There’s considerable risk with every international signee, and international scouts determine how much of a team’s allotted bonus pool will be used toward each player, in addition to forming agreements with players and their advisors. These players are largely concentrated throughout Latin America, but there are also players signed throughout Asia and Australia, among other places.
Amateur scouts similarly deal with young players with projection remaining. They have a wider range of players, as they evaluate slightly older 17 and 18 year olds in high school, but also have junior college and college players under their purview. Their job is to help decide which players their teams should draft or pick up as undrafted free agents by providing reports and doing background research into players.
Pro scouts largely evaluate players who have already been signed by MLB teams. Pro scouts also may scout independent leagues or overseas leagues, such as the NPB in Japan or KBO in Korea. These scouts largely focus on potential trade targets or players who may be acquired in the Rule 5 Draft or via minor league contracts.
Though these departments are often distinct, some scouting directors oversee all three, and many scouts perform evaluation in a combination of two or all three departments. Many area scouts will take on pro coverage after the draft, for example. Pro scouts may be asked their opinions on certain high-profile draft prospects.
In recent years, there has been a decline in the amount of pro scouting coverage, as minor league data has become more detailed and pervasive, and as teams have access to copious amounts of video on each player. This has directed pro scouting resources more toward lower levels, where players are further from a finished product and have more development to go.
Summary
As the game of baseball ebbs and flows, these scouting departments will change in size. But they will largely continue to exist in these three distinct departments.
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