College ball vs. minor leagues

[petillo64]

Hey all,

I was just wondering what level of the minor leagues you think equates with major conference college baseball (SEC and the likes). Low-A? High-A?

I started PC'ing alex bregman his freshman year, and it got me following college ball a bit and was just curiously to the general level of competition.

[CasperMcLovin]

I have never been to a minor league game in my life, but I go to 10+ South Carolina Gamecock games per year and listen to every one of them. In the SEC I've gotten to see some great players in the SEC but even the small schools around here are incredibly good as well. Hell, we are #6 in the country in most polls (means nothing) and we lost to Winthrop last night throwing some pretty good arms. So there is some very good competition in college baseball and you see some good arms, but I have never seen a minor league game so I can't compare.

[VandyCards]

A top college player should be able to hold his own at hi a after being drafted.

I'd say SEC ball is by and large around the level of short season ball or low a.

The differences in scheduling and strategy make it hard to compare ( ie, few minor leaguers care too much about winning and they travel in less opulence than do top 25 college teams)

[thunda99]

I think it's evenly spread now a days. There are more and more power arms every year kids are just throwing harder from a younger age, high D1's to low D1's all have guys who can chuck it. I used to play in one of the top D2 conferences and even we would regularly see 90+ we had about 4-5 guys on the staff who could run it above 90 but as far as SEC and conferences like that I would say low a is probably a good comparison.

[Geauxcrotigers]

Hey all,

I was just wondering what level of the minor leagues you think equates with major conference college baseball (SEC and the likes). Low-A? High-A?

I started PC'ing alex bregman his freshman year, and it got me following college ball a bit and was just curiously to the general level of competition.

Geaux Tigers Sir! Bregs is really heating up! Hope we can win 2 out of 3 this weekend at Arky.

[SSsportsCARDS]

I don't know where it would compare but college baseball is the best kept secret in sports.It's just now starting to get a little more easy to find games on a regular basis.As far as Bregs Ibe been watching him from the stands at the Box for the last 3 years.

Geaux Tigers!

[hohlernr]

No higher than low A, but even at those levels the talent is way ahead of college teams - they're just a lot younger.

[barry6124]

Depends year to year, but the SEC has some serious talent this year. I'd say any given year its low A to high A in the SEC. This year its closer to high A IMO.

If you took the top 15-20 teams in college baseball I would say they could compete with High A clubs. Problem is there are some really lousy teams.

LSU baseball season ticket holder. Geaux Tigers. God bless the SEC Network.

[petillo64]

Right on. Figured it was somewhere in there. Thanks for the input. Bregs is starting to heat up. Good to see those power numbers showing up! Have a pretty good stockpile going right now. Hoping he gets some major hype coming in, so I can sell the extras and use the $ for his first chrome autos!

[PejaD]

Not really comparable. Minor leaguers play 6-7x vs college guys 3-4x per week. There is also a greater variance in talent in college than the minors. The best players in the top conferences are probably A+/AA. Most college players are sub independent ball level. There is less difference in pitching (especially top relievers) than in position players.

[Bulldurham]

Not really comparable. Minor leaguers play 6-7x vs college guys 3-4x per week. There is also a greater variance in talent in college than the minors. The best players in the top conferences are probably A+/AA. Most college players are sub independent ball level. There is less difference in pitching (especially top relievers) than in position players.

This ^^ I played both. If the college level compared to even low A ball then all those guys would be drafted. I agree some of the major conferences run grown men out to the hill every Friday but there are no easy Ab's in the minors at any level. A 'bad' fastball at the lowest level always clips 90 with a few lefties a tick lower. The guys with better velo are 95ish and all the guys have better secondary stuff...no comparison as a whole.

[bford588]

HAHA try the Pac-12...best conference in College Baseball

[SSsportsCARDS]

Is that why 5 of the top 10 teams according to Baseball America are from the SEC?

:)

[VandyCards]

This ^^ I played both. If the college level compared to even low A ball then all those guys would be drafted. I agree some of the major conferences run grown men out to the hill every Friday but there are no easy Ab's in the minors at any level. A 'bad' fastball at the lowest level always clips 90 with a few lefties a tick lower. The guys with better velo are 95ish and all the guys have better secondary stuff...no comparison as a whole.

I haven't crunched the precise numbers on it, but the vast majority of Vanderbilt's players that play any meaningful amount of innings are drafted when they are eligible. I know our 2011 team had something like 14 players drafted off it.

I agree that they are rather different games, approach-wise, though. And it does vary tremendously conference-to-conference. I used to watch some Ivy League baseball, and that wasn't close to A-Ball. SEC ball? different story.

[jmhenderson17]

I’m siding with the argument that Class A has greater quality of ball players. This feels like this the age old argument of who would win, Kentucky or the 76ers? 76ers would sweep a 7 game series vs. BBN, no doubt. However I think the best college team could steal a couple of games in a 7 game series but I feel fairly confident any Class A team would win the series.

I caught a A-10 baseball game last weekend and I felt I could have participated and help my own. The drop off in quality of play from the SEC to the A-10 is significant.

[stryke3_mb]

This is a hard question to answer as the structure and style of play between college ball & the minors are somewhat different. With that said, I believe the equivalency lies around the level of Class A Short Season & the very top of the NCAA. Other programs with the Rookie leagues or independent leagues.

Could some top college programs hang with some Low Class A squads? Very possible. Could some of the top draftees this year put up solid numbers in A+ or AA? Sure. But look where teams send their draftees each June. College guys usually start out in Rookie Ball & SS. Usually you see the top guys promoted a level or even two before the season's over. So if first and second round picks start in SS and end up in A-, that sort of shows you where the stars on the best NCAA teams are aligned.

Then you get into the later draft picks. They're more suited for Rookie & possibly SS action. Add in the many college players who go undrafted on most teams plus "normal" underclassmen, & those guys really aren't affiliated material at the moment. Some freshman and sophomores, especially those previously drafted and putting up solid numbers, could do well in Rookie ball or SS, but most would be extremely overwhelmed.

So then let's look at pro ball. The rookie leagues have some YOUNG signees from outside the US/Canada. A lot of those guys would still be in high school, so there's that. It's also the place where you see most 1st round picks out of HS start their careers. Many of them even struggle from June-August.

One of those reasons is the adjustment in play. As was previously mentioned, playing 6-7 or so games in a week is different than 4 in college. 3 weekend starters doesn't really compare to a 5 man rotation. There's much more small ball in order to win in college play instead of the focus on development in pro ball. Also, college teams are set all season (good chemistry) while there can be many transactions over the course or a pro season.

To go along with SEC & Vanderbilt theme that was mentioned... Would I take a completely healthy Vandy team in late May that has Fulmer or Buehler on the mound with a full week's rest & Pfeifer, Bowden, & Sheffield waiting in the pen against an Aberdeen IronBirds squad whose 4th or 5th is on the hill in late August after their top 2 hitters have been promoted to Delmarva? Sure, I can see that.

Would I take Marshall & their Tuesday/Wednesday starter against the Elizabethon Twins & they're #1? Probably not. Likewise, I can't see the aforementioned Vandy team competing in the California or Midwest Leagues all season against teams with players who have been together for a couple of years featuring a couple of their team's Top 10 guys.

So I choose A Short Season for the best NCAA has to offer, Rookie for the next tier of teams, & Independent for everyone else.