Get your arm ready before you show up
Coaches time your throws from the outfield, across the infield, and from behind the plate - and that all happens early, while you are still cold. Build up a real throwing program four to six weeks out: long toss twice a week, then a proper warm-up routine you can run on your own without being told. Showing up with a dead arm is the fastest way to test below what you actually are.
Know your numbers and be honest about them
Sixty-yard time, exit velocity, throwing velocity, and your primary position. Have them written down and current. Coaches are not looking for the best number in the group; they are looking for a player who knows where he stands and what he is working on. Padding a number only means the stopwatch corrects you in front of everybody.
Play the part in front of the staff
Show up in a clean uniform, hat on straight, and be the player who runs on and off the field. Take every rep like it counts, and when something goes wrong - a bad hop, a missed spot - watch how quickly you reset, because the staff certainly will. Coaches evaluate makeup as hard as they evaluate tools.
