Photo courtesy of Sports Facilities Management
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Some of the top high school baseball players on the East Coast play baseball at the East Coast Pro Showcase at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama, in August 2021.
The top 150 to 160 high school baseball players in the eastern United States are heading to Hoover Aug. 2-5 for the East Coast Pro Showcase.
It’s the fifth year in a row the event has been held at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex.
The showcase gives scouts from each of the 30 Major League Baseball teams, college coaches and sports agents a chance to see the players all in one place as they compete against each other.
The players are divided into six teams representing different regions in the eastern part of the country. They practice together and play games against one another as the scouts and coaches evaluate them.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, there were sometimes 525 scouts attending the event, but attendance dropped with the pandemic, said John Castleberry, a scout with the San Francisco Giants who is heavily involved with East Coast Pro. Last year, about 325 to 350 scouts attended.
Pro teams serving as sponsors for the six teams this year are the Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland A’s, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates and Seattle Mariners.
There are typically three games each day, some with seven innings and some with nine. In years past, the public was invited to watch games on the final day, but attendance from non-family members was so sparse that organizers decided not to bother with that again, Castleberry said.
The Hoover Met has been a great venue for the event, Castleberry said.
“We’re lucky to be working with those guys — those with the city of Hoover,” he said. “We’re really, really happy and excited to be there.”
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
