Future Value

An unprecedented look inside the world of baseball scouting and evaluation from FanGraphs' lead prospect analysts.

For the modern major-league team, player evaluation is a complex, multipronged, high-tech pursuit. But far from becoming obsolete in this environment - as Michael Lewis' Moneyball once forecast - the role of the scout in today's game has evolved and even expanded. Rather than being the antithesis of a data-driven approach, scouting now represents an essential analytical component in a team's arsenal.

Future Value is a thorough dive into the world of the contemporary scout - a world with its own language, methods, metrics, and madness. From rural high schools to elite amateur showcases, from the back fields of spring training to major-league draft rooms, FanGraphs' Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel break down the key systems and techniques used to assess talent. It's a process that has moved beyond the quintessential stopwatches and radar guns to include statistical models, countless measurable indicators, and a broader international reach.

Practical and probing, discussing wide-ranging topics from tool grades to front-office politics, this is an illuminating exploration of how to watch baseball and see the future.