Now that we’ve gotten through many of the topics, we can start to get into the nuts and bolts of writing the scouting report. The most important part of any report is the summation, and specifically, the power statement.
Your job as a scout is to describe what a player will be in two to three sentences. What is he right now? What do you like about him? What Major League role will he play? This is a time to not only point out any plus tools a player has, but also the traits that make that player unique and may allow certain tools to play up.
Most baseball players have limitations. This is not the time to list those limitations. Your job is to tell your team or others what you like about the player.
Earlier on, we described the type of players who fill different skill sets and what their roles may be. Now, it’s time to put words in to define those roles.
If we’re describing a shortstop prospect who we expect to be an All-Star in his best seasons, a good summation may be “Young, projectable SS with outstanding defense, impact speed, and table-setter bat.
Plus makeup and competitiveness will extract full value out of the glove and bat. Future 60 role, with multiple All-Star appearance potential. ” We’ve just given a clear picture of what to expect and get excited about with this player.
This player may not have very good power potential and may have to refine his defense and approach before making the big leagues, and that will be noted in the report, but it’s the impact tools and skills he brings to the table that headline the report.
Similarly, you may really like what a starting pitcher prospect brings to the table, despite not having any true standout tools.
His summation may be “Polished college RHS (right-handed starter) who shows three average pitches, deception and above-average command allow him to limit hard contact. Pitchability and durability will allow him to eat up innings as a back-end starter. High floor, low ceiling 50 starter.”
Without a true out-pitch, this isn’t a big-strikeout pitcher. But we believe he’s going to succeed because he has the ability to locate, mix his pitches, and deceive hitters into making soft contact. With average stuff, he doesn’t have a ton of margin for error, but he makes up for that with his complimentary skills.
The first sentence is the power statement for what type of prospect a player is. You then provide more context and information for how he will arrive at these results. If you have any very good player comps, this is the place to write them.
As you write these reports, be sure to reference our 20-80 scouting scale video, and check that your summations line up with the scale.
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