Random question regarding stats and drafted players

[Devil Wears Prado]

I heard somewhere that scouts / GMs really don't look at the stats of players when they're drafting them out of high school or college ... forgot which... just wondering what the experts here think about it. Should stats really matter when drafting or is it really based on how good the player looks?

[The Rap]

As far as I know, and have known for a very long time, is that they donlt pay attention to any stats at all because of the inequities that abound from situation to situation but do focus on their view of a player's overall makeup and skill level. They also question others who know the kid as a player.

[bravos4evr]

It really depends on the scouting philosophy of each org. Some teams still stick by the " he just looks like a ballplayer" thing and draft based on build, and the eyes of the scout and his opinion.
Some teams, draft based on sabremetric stats like OPS, WHIP and all that other stuff. Those people tend to really look at split stats as well ( see Boston, Oakland..).
I think these days that most teams probably do a little bit of both.

[The Rap]

True but not out of high school or college. The numbers are so skewed and meaningless.

[Dreamscape]

Depends on the level of college competition, doesn't it? Sure, if you're killing the ball at junior college, that's one thing, but if you're playing major conference baseball, they will look at the stats a lot more.

[bravos4evr]

Gotta read Moneyball Rap. There's a whole section where they basically cover Billy Beane discussing to his scouts why they should draft this guy or that guy, and it's mostly based on a combo of OBP and the scouts eye. Beane overrules a few of the older scouts on players because he didn't like their college stats.

[Devil Wears Prado]

Gotta read Moneyball Rap. There's a whole section where they basically cover Billy Beane discussing to his scouts why they should draft this guy or that guy, and it's mostly based on a combo of OBP and the scouts eye. Beane overrules a few of the older scouts on players because he didn't like their college stats.

Yep, I remember reading that as well. Beane and one of his assistant (Pete I think?) scouts were really looking at the stats and they just wanted to draft players with higher OBP%. At the time, that's what they used as their 'secret weapon', but now, every one looks at that stat I think.

Wouldn't it make more sense to look at the stats of a college player? Obviously it would depend on which division the player played in, but if he's struggling in college, what makes them think that he would do better in the pros? In high school, it's a crapshoot so I think they just go with the better tools. Can't provide any exampled here though.