Be able to say you knew them before they were big!
With prospects, things move very fast, and then very slow. The draft was just over a week ago, and now the prospects are signing. The Phillies’ top pick, Gage Wood, signed today, as did 7th rounder Matthew Fisher, in a big overslot deal to pry him away from the Indiana Hoosiers (which must produce conflicting feelings for Kyle Schwarber, who’s just seen his alma mater lose a top prospect). And it won’t be long now before the new signees receive their first professional assignments.
But after that, things slow down. It takes a long time for prospects to make their way through the system; there’s an incredibly long driveway to walk up before they can knock on the door. Which brings us to today’s question: when do you start paying attention to prospects? Do you follow them from their earliest days? Do you wait until they make a top 100 (or 50, or 25, or whatever) list? Or do you keep your eyes focused on the show, waiting until the young guys get that fateful call?