Making their mark
BUTLER TWP — Matt Eperesi crouched behind the plate, blocked a throw in the dirt, scooped up the baseball and fired a strike to second base.
The Mars High sophomore was showing off his skills for college coaches and scouts at the Seneca Valley Baseball Showcase at Highfield Park Wednesday morning.
He and 14 other high school baseball players from around Western Pennsylvania also were trying to impress Ron Vrana, the director of the Paramount Scouting Bureau, who conducted the showcase and will ultimately grade the players.
“I'm just looking to get more experience for next year when I'm a junior,” Eperesi said. “The biggest challenge is keeping relaxed, staying cool and realizing you can do your best if you're not trying too hard. Just let your talent do the work.”
The showcase was a precursor to the Seneca Valley Wood Bat Tournament, which runs through this weekend.
Vrana has been conducting showcases to get high school players noticed for 14 years. Wednesday he offered players several tips to improve their skills while measuring them in the 60-yard dash as well as pitching, infield and outfield drills.
His role was one part evaluation and one part instruction.
“We're looking for guys with technique,” Vrana said. “These kids do something incorrectly so much, it becomes a habit. When they get to about 18 years old and they have a bad habit, it's very difficult to change. What we try to do in these camps is educate and at least tell the guys, ‘Here's what's going on out there. Here's what you need to do.' And I like to see down the road if they are doing it.”
Seneca Valley junior pitcher and outfielder Tyler Mayo heeded the advice given to him during his 60 run.
“I let up a little at the end,” Mayo said. “So he gave me a little input on that.”
Mayo said this was the first showcase he has attended. Like Eperesi, he said he was focusing on just letting his skills show through.
He was, however, a bit nervous about his grade.
Vrana evaluates players using the 20-to-80 scouting scale. A 50 is considered an average major league player. Vrana said a small college-level player will grade in at 30, a Division I player at 40 and a potential top collegiate player at 45. The only player to ever receive a perfect 80 score was Roberto Clemente.Vrana will post the players' grades on his website at paramountscouting.com for any college coach to see.“I definitely can't wait to see my grade,” Mayo said. “That should be interesting.”The turnout was low for a showcase, a fact that doesn't surprise Vrana.“I've seen the decline in baseball in the country,” he said.He's also seen the decline in fundamentals — something he hopes his showcases can help fix.“These kids are coming in so unskilled,” he said. “They're good athletes and they hit well at the high school level to make themselves standouts, but they really don't know the game that well. You can get away with those things in high school. But you can't get away with those things in college and you really can't get away with them further down the road. When they're not getting noticed, they wonder why.”Mars sophomore David Bednar has a simple reason for being at this showcase: to see how he stacks up.“It's just nice to see how I compare to other guys,” Bednar said. “I'm anxious to find out.”
