John Kosciak, scout for the Houston Astros, was interviewed by his local paper. Kosciak is the amateur scout for the North East US and does some college scouting in warmer climates before baseball can be played in the New England, Ney York and Eastern Canada.
How many games does he watch? A bunch:
“They played the Big East-Big Ten challenge in Clearwater. They had several games going on at the same time,” said Kosciak. “There were days when I saw three games in the same day.”…
“I try to see a game every day,” he said. “Because a lot of night (amateur) baseball isn’t played in this area it’s tough to see more than one game in a day. Sometimes it’s possible to watch two games in a day during the weekend.”
How often does he see pro talent? Not as much:
“Sometimes you might go 3-4 days without seeing anyone who is a pro prospect. There are weeks when I might send in 5-6 reports on players, but that doesn’t happen all the time,” said Kosciak.
His opinion of baseball beauty pagents showcases for prospects:
The players have to pay a lot of money to attend the showcases. It makes it easier for me, but if a player is good he’ll be found. He doesn’t have to attend a showcase to be seen.”
His best contribution so far? Look at what Drew Locke is doing in Corpus Christi:
Los Angeles opted not to protect Drew Locke, a former Boston College standout who had played in its minor league system, ahead of last year’s Rule 5 Draft. Kosciak had originally signed Locke and recommended that he be selected by Houston in the minor league phase of the draft last December.