Every summer, Scott Barnsby falls into the same trap.

He’ll be sitting with his wife, watching his 9-year-old son’s Little League team and, instead of chatting with the other parents or chuckling at the right fielder being chased by a bee, he’ll evaluate each kid’s throwing mechanics, athleticism, footwork and focus. (That right fielder isn’t going to receive a favorable report.)

These are kids who can hardly spell their team name, who are still developing hand/eye coordination, who don’t know the difference between a two-seam fastball and a four-seamer. And there’s Barnsby, assessing their on-field attributes as if the fate of the Indians’ draft depends on his detailed analysis.

“I have trouble turning the scouting brain off,” Barnsby told The Athletic.

It’s understandable, considering Barnsby has scouted thousands of players during his 15 years in the department. He started as an area scout, hunting for talented prospects in Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi. He served as a regional and national cross-checker, assembling and comparing attributes of draft-eligible players in the Southeast and Midwest. This winter, he shifted into the role of director of amateur scouting. He’ll serve as the point person for the Indians’ draft in June.

This is about when the scouting schedule turns silly. For the next four months, scouts will each tack on tens of thousands of miles to their cars as they finalize their appraisals of each prospect.

By May, the Indians will have established their 800-player draft board. They’ll select 40 of those players. They’ll sign 30 or so. And then they’ll pray that a handful will morph into major-league talents one day.

Of course, they’ll have no idea how they fared until a few years down the road.

It all begs several questions: How do the scouts remain motivated to maintain such a grueling schedule when the odds of unearthing a prime prospect are so slim? How do they stay awake (and stay healthy) when completing these taxing trips, all to watch an 18-year-old pitcher log a few innings on the mound? What sort of criteria do the department value when evaluating these hundreds of players, and how does it all fuel the team’s drafting strategy?

This offseason, The Athletic has interviewed Indians scouts, coordinators and other front-office figures to gain insight into the function of the amateur scouting department, the life of a scout and the drafting process. We spent time with Brad Grant, who anchored the team’s drafts for the last 10 years prior to his offseason promotion to vice president of baseball operations, strategy and administration. We obtained perspective from Chris Antonetti, Mike Chernoff, Terry Francona and rival front-office executives. Cody Allen shared his unique viewpoint of the process; because the Indians drafted him twice and he transferred colleges in between, two different scouts led the charge to bring him to the franchise.

What resulted is a three-part series, a head-first plunge into the chaotic world of amateur scouting, from the vantage point of a team that relies heavily upon the unit’s production. It’s an around-the-calendar chase for both quantity and quality, all to supply the organization with up-and-coming talent — assets valued as much by other teams as they are by the Indians.

Sound strategy in the department helped the Indians land Andrew Miller two years ago, with a package of four homegrown prospects. It has contributed to the club’s position as a World Series contender, thanks to the shrewd selections of Allen, Francisco Lindor, Jason Kipnis, Bradley Zimmer and others. The amateur scouting department is the backbone of any organization, especially one with financial limitations.

“There have been a couple times when we’ve been fortunate where our (scouting) staff has been in Cleveland when somebody makes their big-league debut,” Barnsby said. “Watching the scouts so focused on the game, with a lot of pride, it’s almost like they’re watching their kid out there. It’s pretty cool.”

As part of the series, here is an offer with a 30 percent discount on a year subscription if you give us a try for free for a week. Let us know what you think of the series in our comments section of each story.

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Part 1: The life of a scout

Part 2: ‘That’s the one that gives you nightmares’: Inside the Indians’ drafting process — it’s no longer in the cards

Part 3: ‘You guys are idiots’: Cody Allen slipped to the 23rd round, but two scouts made sure the Indians snagged him

Photo: The Indians during spring training 2017 (Allan Henry/USA Today sports)