Quote:
Originally Posted by jarmenia
There are two potentials in RL. A player's actual potential that none of us know about (god given ability), and the potential that scouts give a player in RL based on whatever a scout uses to judge that stuff. You're talking about the potential a scout assigns the player vs what his god given ability is.
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Not quite.
What I am saying is that a player's actual potential changes over time. For instance, let's say I've got a guy who was drafted in the 14th round. He doesn't look like much. He's never going to be much the way he is. He has a low potential.
Then he learns something new. He makes adjustments. He changes his stance. He manages to work his way into becoming a legit prospect. He increases his potential.
You may argue that he always had the potential but the scouts didn't see it. I say that all players really have around the same potential. Just about anyone can turn into a superstar. Really. It's a matter of figuring the best approach to the game for them. I seriously doubt there's much of an inborn skill difference between A-Rod and some of the scrubs who never make the majors. Maybe some, like running speed, but not much. But A-Rod has figured out how to play the game in a way that makes optimal use of his skills.
Incredibly fast and coordinated people with great raw skills don't necessarily make great baseball players.
If we knew everyone's potential in advance, it wouldn't make sense to even include low potential players in the draft, since we would know with certainty that they would never become major league players. There would be no reason to keep low potential players in the minors, even, since you would know for a fact that they would never develop into anything.