East Coast Pro Showcase returns to Hoover Met 2nd year

About 155 to 160 of the top high school baseball players in the eastern United States are headed to the Hoover Metropolitan Complex Aug. 1-4 for the 2019 East Coast Pro Showcase.

The prep players were invited there to display their skills in front of hundreds of Major League Baseball scouts, college coaches and sports agents. According to Hoover Met Complex officials, 494 Major League Baseball scouts, 85 college coaches and 42 sports agents attended the event last year, its first in Hoover. 

John Castleberry, a scout with the San Francisco Giants who is heavily involved with East Coast Pro, said the first year in Hoover went great. There were a few glitches here and there, but the hospitality was outstanding and it couldn’t have been a smoother first year at a new venue, Castleberry said.

The East Coast Pro organization signed a contract for three years at the Hoover Met Complex, with an option to stay two more years.

The players who come 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.

Pro teams serving as sponsors for the six teams this year are the Cincinnati Reds (Ohio Valley states), Colorado Rockies (Southeast states), Milwaukee Brewers (Georgia and northeast Florida), Toronto Blue Jays (Florida and Puerto Rico), Arizona Diamondbacks (mid-Atlantic states) and Boston Red Sox (Northeast states).

Each day, there are three games, some with seven innings and some with nine. Most of the showcase is closed, but the public is invited to come watch games on Saturday. The admission price is $10 for the day.

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 to eastcoastpro.org.