The East Coast Pro Baseball showcase is an invite only, multi day event which gives the top high school baseball players an opportunity to compete in front of hundreds of MLB scouts. As the name suggests, the event is east coast focused, so players must live in the eastern portion of the country to be eligible for the event. In an amateur baseball world that is often headlined by Perfect Game and Prep Baseball Report events, East Coast Pro has a tendency to fly under the radar. Don’t let this fool you though.This event is at the top of the charts from a talent and professional scout attendance standpoint.
The 2020 event marked East Coast Pro’s 25th anniversary. Every year, 150 of the east coast’s top high school baseball players are selected to play in the event. In 2019, there were 490 professional scouts in attendance, across all MLB organizations. In a typical year, 80 to 110 players that attend the event go on to be selected in the MLB draft.
The primary purpose of the event is to provide high school baseball players with an opportunity to be thoroughly evaluated by professional scouts. East Coast Pro stresses the importance of creating an experience similar to that of a professional baseball player. They’re able to effectively create a professional environment by hosting the event at top notch facilities, using wood bats, and of course bringing together the top amateur baseball talent in the region. As a result, players have a rare opportunity to be evaluated by MLB scouts in a professional environment. This also benefits the scouts in attendance, as they are able to get a more accurate evaluation in this type of setting.
The showcase style event is organized by the MLB scouts themselves. The profits from the event are placed in a fund to aid other scouts that need financial aid as a result of unfortunate circumstances. The player selection process is also driven by the scouts and all player selections are based off of their recommendations. Scouts will typically invite players to tryouts in the different regions, which allow them to better assess the player’s skill set. With a strong performance at one of these tryouts, a player could potentially receive an offer to play at the event. Very rarely will a player be invited to the event without having attended a preliminary tryout.
The event is broken out into six teams based on the different regions in the east coast. These individual teams are sponsored by MLB organizations. For example, the Cincinnati Reds sponsored the Ohio Valley States team in last year’s event. Below are the different regions that are used to determine the teams.
- Ohio Valley States
- Southeast States
- Georgia and Northeast Florida
- Florida and Puerto Rico
- Mid-Atlantic States
- Northeast States
Over the course of the four day event, the teams have non-stop schedules of batting practice, infield/outfield, showcase style testing, and live games. Each team will have four games and while it is not a championship style event, the games are always extremely competitive. If you are invited to play in this event, it’s an opportunity of a lifetime that can’t be passed up.