Written by: Joe Drake (@JDrake349)
Follow us on Twitter! @Prospects365
Allow me to re-introduce myself: my name is Joe… Joe! Everyone loves a good Jay-Z reference, right? Right. I can’t tell you how many times I listened to The Black Album back in the day. Anyway, I am humbled to be writing to you today to announce that I will be joining Ray and the excellent crew at Prospects 365 this summer! Believe me, the pleasure is all mine. I love what Ray and company have been doing on the prospect front and most specifically, all the work Ray is doing scouting games for both real baseball and fantasy. To me, there’s nothing like the thrill of sitting down to watch an amateur or minor league game and being able to pick out players who might have what it takes to play at the next level. So, to be able to partner up on a topic like this with someone of Ray’s talent is an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up.
Before we get into what exactly I’ll be tackling at P365, let me give you a brief background of myself. During the day, I work in research administration at a higher education institute in the northeast. By night, I’ve been a freelance writer in some way, shape or form since 2015. I used to write daily articles about sports and fantasy sports across the gamut, but over the years my focus has narrowed to baseball, almost exclusively. I covered the Eastern League and Oakland Athletics at Prospects1500 last summer and I currently have bylines at The Dynasty Guru, Pitcher List, and Friends with Fantasy Benefits. So, I’ve been doing this writing thing for a little bit and if you couldn’t tell, I’ve got a thing for covering prospects, too. I’m an avid fantasy player and know my way around both dynasty and redraft formats.
All right, now that you know who I am, let’s talk about why I’m here. This summer, I’m going to document my journey into the world of baseball as I cut my teeth in the scouting world. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and now that I’m taking the plunge, I thought others might be interested in following along in case they wanted to do the same. I’ll do my best to give you the inside look at what helps me and what doesn’t. In preparation for this summer, I’ve been reading just about every scouting article I can get my hands on this winter and I decided to sign up for Driveline’s Intro to Hitting certification course. Let me tell you, I’ve already grown an incredible amount from these endeavors alone. Now, I’m ready to put this new information to the test and really start honing my skills.
So, if you want to know what it’s like to walk into the ballpark for the first time with the intention of scouting players and want to see how I progress throughout the summer, I’m inviting you to come along on the trip. I’ll be posting monthly write-ups of the players I’ve seen throughout the month (complete with video) as well as my thoughts on the process itself. Given my location, I’ll be covering a little Ivy League ball as well as teams from the Eastern League and New York Penn League. Shoot, maybe even a prep game or two so that I can note the difference in the levels first hand.
One last thing: If you are or will be in New England this summer and you’d like to cross paths at some point, please feel free to reach out! Let’s catch a game together and talk about your experiences. I have a lot to learn if anyone would like to tag along and share their expertise.
I can’t wait to get to work!
Follow new P365 staff writer Joe Drake on Twitter! @JDrake349
Follow us on Twitter! @Prospects365