The key takeaway from the MLB draft data is that is that they mostly get it right
They do a pretty good job of identifying who has the talent, and who doesn’t, as there’s a large statistical difference between the percent of early rounders who ultimately reach MLB, versus mid to late rounders
So even though mid to late rounders are dominant in high school, and if they went to college, dominant in college; there’s still a large talent gap between them and early rounders
The reason is that early rounders are the so called Category 1 athletes: athletes that are so genetically gifted that it’s not until the elite level, in this case MLB, that they’re finally challenged in their sport
Category 1 athletes can do any number of nonsensical training means, or even do nothing at all, and still be highly successful. That’s the magic of talent
Mid to late rounders however, are Category 2 athletes. They can still reach the elite level and be successful, but they have to work much smarter, and much harder, than Category 1
For category 2 athletes, off-season training is their lifeblood.
They have no room for time off, or foolish mistakes in their journey.
As I tell the athletes I train:
Hope is not a method
Neither is luck
Hard work is
