Why do scouts go to major league games?

[MadScientist]

What scouts can help with is seeing how well the particular pitcher is hiding their pitches I suppose. But again, if you are talking about an established player, how relevant is one or two scouts' opinions? The proof is in the pudding. How has that pitcher been performing against major league players? If I have a projection based on a large sample size, I'm probably going to weigh that something like 90% and scouting 10%.

 

There are always players who don't have a large sample size yet, so scouts are your best bet. How often have the Brewers made a guy just called up look really good, and then watch as the next time out he gets shelled, possibly because the next team had a chance to scout him properly.

 

Also the projections are based on consistency, and people are not always consistent. If the scout can pick up a little change that a batter is doing that is opening up or closing a hole in his swing, that could be a key as to why a batter is on a hot streak or a slump and will go into adjusting the attack. Short term trends by definition don't have a large sample size.