Why 50 Travel Ball Games + 50 Practices Beats 100 Games

Your son may play 80 games in a single summer, but he can't tell you what he worked on at practice last week. Sound familiar?

Today's guest is Justin Cryer, former professional player, Ole Miss Rebel, former Houston Astros area scout, and now Director of Sports Marketing at Marucci.

Justin joined Matt at Marucci's newly opened Hitter's House in Scottsdale, Arizona, during Spring Training for a conversation that hits on everything from player development and scouting to travel ball and parenting. And beyond his role at Marucci, Justin brings another valuable perspective to the table: he's also a travel ball dad and coach for his 10-year-old son's team.

If you care about helping your son develop the right way, this is an episode you won't want to miss. Subscribe for the insider playbook on recruiting, the draft, and building your son's baseball career the smart way.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

✔ What MLB scouts actually evaluate in your son — and why body type and character matter, sometimes more than the box score.

✔ The development-first framework: why you should flip the priority from exposure to development and what that looks like practically week to week

✔ Why Justin fought travel baseball for his own son — and what changed his mind

✔ What happens inside an MLB draft room that would surprise you — including why some top draft prospects can go undrafted

✔ Why making your son play another sport might be the best thing you do for his baseball career this year

Justin Cryer is a former Ole Miss pitcher who spent five drafts as an area scout for the Houston Astros covering Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Florida. He scouted Alex Bregman and put one of the highest grades in the organization on Kyle Tucker. Justin now leads Marucci's Marketing Department and gave us a tour of their Hitter's House in Scottsdale, Arizona — a baseball performance lab, bat fitting facility, and pro player training space. Justin coaches his 10-year-old son's travel team alongside former big leaguer pitcher Will Harris.

In this episode of the MVA Podcast, Matt Hannaford sits down with Justin at the Hitter's House to get the dual perspective you can't find anywhere else: what the professional baseball industry is actually looking for in your son, and how a dad with that insider knowledge is navigating travel ball for his own kid. Justin explains why the speed of youth baseball is forcing parents into decisions they're not ready to make, why 50 games and 50 practices beats 100 games, and why the best thing he did for his son was make him play flag football even though his son didn't love the idea. Whether your son is 10 or 17, this conversation will reshape how you think about his development.

ABOUT THE MVA PODCAST

Matt Hannaford is an MLB agent who gives you the insider playbook on college recruiting, the transfer portal, and MLB Draft decisions. The Most Valuable Agent Podcast helps parents and players navigate the system with confidence.

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