East Coast Pro Showcase back in Hoover for fourth year

The East Coast Pro Showcase, an event that allows the top high school baseball players in the eastern United States to display their talent to hundreds of Major League Baseball scouts, college coaches and sports agents, is coming back to Hoover for the fourth year in a row.

This year’s showcase is scheduled for Aug. 2-5 at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex.

The showcase features the top 150 to 160 high school players in the eastern United States. They are divided into six teams representing different regions of the eastern part of the country. They practice together and play games against one another as the scouts and coaches evaluate them.

In 2019, there were 490 professional scouts there to watch the high school players show their stuff, said John Castleberry, a scout with the San Francisco Giants who is heavily involved with East Coast Pro.

East Coast Pro Showcase

WHERE: Hoover Metropolitan Complex

WHEN: August 2-5

DETAILS: Features top 150-160 high school players in the eastern United States

WEB: eastcoastpro.org

Pro teams serving as sponsors for the six teams this year are the Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland A’s, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants.

There typically are three games each day, some with seven innings and some with nine. Most of the showcase is closed, but the public typically is invited to watch games on the final day. Admission typically is free.

More than 90 percent of the players who come to East Coast Pro end up signing contracts to play professional baseball, Castleberry said.

For more information about the showcase, go toeastcoastpro.org.