There’s no denying that Pro Scouting and scouting in general has become a less utilized trade as time has gone on. Even as a former Pro Scout, it’s clear that some of the decreased emphasis on pro scouting has stemmed from the increased quantity and quality of video and data available in the pro ranks, especially the upper levels. Many organizations have opted to drastically cut scouting staff now that AAA/MLB has so much data and video on the players at the level rather than doing what only a handful of clubs have done, which is reallocate scouting efforts to the complex level to gain information on players who don’t have mass video and data available on them yet.
In this post, I’m going to break down why I believe that coverage has the potential to reap greater benefits than almost any other pro coverage can in today’s game.
Target Players:
Anyone who has ever done pro coverage for an MLB organization will tell you that each front office always has a fluid running list of target players. A target player (usually pitcher) tends to be a player who has some trait that sticks out from a data standpoint to a front office official, and the player being on that list is an effort to gain any additional information possible, in this instance in the form of a scouting report. I was always a scout who thoroughly enjoyed writing up as many target players as possible. Pro Scouts tend to write an excess of 1,000 reports a year, but when you’re writing up a player from a target list it carries more weight because you know someone is already interested enough in that prospect to put him on the scouting target list in the first place.
Since most players at the complex level are fresh out of the amateur ranks or the DSL, complex coverage is a fantastic way to keep tabs on players who struck anyone’s eye immediately rather than waiting for those players to graduate to A ball where data and video is more widely shared and accessible. Due to many of these players coming straight from the HS/college level, it’d be very useful to coordinate with the amateur scouting staff for names that stuck out to them since they are likely the last people to evaluate the players in-person and have useful makeup information on them already.
Teams that do have a scout dedicated to the complexes are able to consistently compile recent reports and video of these players, which in turn allows them to have more information on this specific group of players than any club who does not cover the level full time. Players can often take huge steps forward or backwards in their first year of pro ball, and being familiar with where players are in every step of their development process is a huge advantage.
Data and Video Sharing:
As of now there is no video sharing agreement in place that includes the complex level. To my understanding, it’s common for teams to exchange video of players they may be discussing in a trade, but nothing that encompasses all games like higher level affiliated ball. The current data sharing agreement does include the complex level, but anyone who has ever been in player evaluation for an MLB club knows it’s not uncommon for some teams to manipulate their complex level data or hide players on fields without tracking systems altogether.
With the Angels we used the software BATS to upload video of any players of interest or target players we came across in our coverage. Having a database full of recent, up to date video of players at the complex level at your disposal would be vital in tracking the progress of prospects in their development and/or to use as supplemental information in evaluating them. I know with Anaheim we had several biomechanics specialists who would reference video on players we were in talks about or who were interesting to the organization in general, and they would use this video to further investigate any biomechanical traits, good or bad on players.
Until there’s a video sharing agreement in place around the league along with a more reliable data sharing agreement that isn’t as manipulated, having a scout dedicated to covering the complexes is about as large of a leg up on the competition that a Pro Scouting Department can create in today’s player evaluation landscape.
Closing Thoughts:
This coverage is most advantageous in Arizona given there are 15 complexes to scout all within a stone’s throw of one another. Covering the complexes in Florida would be a far tougher task for an individual scout to do given the geography of the 15 facilities in the state. What is also different about a scout with this coverage in Arizona is how little the cost to a club they are in comparison to a traditional Pro Scout. Most Pro Scouts spend 200-250 nights on the road and in hotels annually and the flights and rental cars that come with that accumulate expenses. With this coverage, hardly any of those expense-related activities are needed while at the same time the scout is gathering information that otherwise would not be available to the club.
I personally believe that we’ll see more teams adding this type of coverage soon, especially if the video/data sharing agreement isn’t adjusted to fix the holes in it presently. “Being on” a player before other organizations has enormous return potential and is exactly the type of purpose this coverage is based on. Complex scouting isn’t sexy and you’re not going to rack up the Marriott points one would with traditional pro coverage, but there’s no denying the impact the position could have if done correctly and having a positive impact on your organization is what every scout should prioritize and strive for.