I saw a post by Yancy on Ole Miss Spirit that links to all the profiles of our baseball prospects. Because I was bummed on the baseball team, I thought it important to look and see whether the inbound prospects are any good.
Newsflash: They're amazing. Or at least, their offer lists are the best of any class we've signed. I'd like to point out that I'm not divulging any information that requires paying Scout. I don't believe in doing that. They work for their information.
That being said, we signed ten prospects. One of the most glaring differences about this class is their height. We're about to get tall.
First is 6'5" RHP Aaron Barrett out of Wabash CC in Illinois. Aaron's fastball tops out at 94 mph. His self-proclaimed best pitch is his slider. His other offers were from Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, and Miami. So far this season at Wabash, Barrett has a less than stellar ERA of 4.18 in 23.2 IP. However, he has 26 Ks and only 9 BBs.
Next is 6'0" LHP Kyle Barbeck out of Blue Spring HS in Missouri. Barbeck is in Baseball America's top 100 prospects. His fastball tops out at 94. His other offers were from Arizona State, Missouri, and Wichita State. I can't find any information on his senior season thusfar, but just know that this kid is incredible. He's the high school ace we recruited this year (since we only get one a year even though we could probably get two or three if we set our sights higher). He and Pomeranz will be an excellent duo of left-handed speed pitchers.
But wait... there's another high school ace! 6'3" RHP Brett Huber from Althoff Catholic HS in Illinois is another solid arm with solid offers. Along with his offer from Ole Miss, the pitcher picked up offers from Clemson, Missouri, South Carolina, and Virginia. Perfect Game USA rates him as a 9.5 out of ten. According to their scale, we should worry about losing him to the pros.
6'4 RHP Kyle Thornton is the first in-state prospect on the list as he is from Tupelo High School right here in the dirty dirty. Thornton's other legit offer was from Mississippi State. Throwing in the low 90s, it's incredible to think that he will be near the bottom in speed of all the pitchers we sign this year. Much like Will Kline, this is the type of player from which you just have to get production, a Mississippian who has always liked Ole Miss.
Memphis University School gives us a 6'1" RHP who stepped in for Michael Park this year in Blair Wright. Sure, he's not as decorated as Park and had no other offers, but it's good to see a guy like this want to follow a teammate. Still... I wonder about players like Wright. I'm sure he's fine, but he appears to be filler. In a college baseball world where the scholarships are so tight, it seems strange to tie one up for (at least) four years in a guy like this. EDIT: Blair Wright is on an academic scholarship, thus not counting towards the 11.7. Thanks NAFOOM.
6'2" Righty Chris Corrigan from San Jacinto CC in Texas adds even more solidity to the pitching class. While his ERA as a freshman at San Jacinto was just above 4.00, he faced more batters than anyone else on their staff, and he was only a freshman. Expect that ERA to go down as he builds on the experience he gained last season.
That's it for the pitchers. Then there's the matter of the four remaining signees, and all of them are outstanding.
Probably the biggest name remaining is 6'1" C Taylor Hightower out of Cartersville HS in Jawjuh. Hightower was recently named the #1 Catcher in his class. While not a legitimate home run threat, Hightower brings a solid average to the plate. With great ball speed from home to second (1.84 seconds), he should be the best of both worlds offensively and defensively. Hightower's other offers are from Auburn, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and Virginia. In his Perfect Game Profile, he is rated a ten out of ten. This means he could go VERY early in the draft. Pay attention when it rolls around.
6'3" 1B/OF David Phillips of Texarkana CC is a guy who we may never see on the field. I feel like he could be lost in the depth chart for his years here. His other offers were from Kentucky, Nebraska, and A&M. His numbers just aren't monumental, and he's a first baseman. We have Matt Smith and an incoming outstanding freshman.
Now we get to my personal favorites, the twins.
At 6'5", brothers 1B Matt Snyder and 3B Mike Snyder from Westfield HS in Virginia will be towers at the corners of the infield. Both were heavily recruited, with Matt's other offers coming from Clemson, LSU, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. Mike's other offers were from Alabama, Clemson, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. Matt was rated the #74 player in his class by Baseball America. Mike was only in the top 250.
Newsflash: They're amazing. Or at least, their offer lists are the best of any class we've signed. I'd like to point out that I'm not divulging any information that requires paying Scout. I don't believe in doing that. They work for their information.
That being said, we signed ten prospects. One of the most glaring differences about this class is their height. We're about to get tall.
First is 6'5" RHP Aaron Barrett out of Wabash CC in Illinois. Aaron's fastball tops out at 94 mph. His self-proclaimed best pitch is his slider. His other offers were from Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, and Miami. So far this season at Wabash, Barrett has a less than stellar ERA of 4.18 in 23.2 IP. However, he has 26 Ks and only 9 BBs.
Next is 6'0" LHP Kyle Barbeck out of Blue Spring HS in Missouri. Barbeck is in Baseball America's top 100 prospects. His fastball tops out at 94. His other offers were from Arizona State, Missouri, and Wichita State. I can't find any information on his senior season thusfar, but just know that this kid is incredible. He's the high school ace we recruited this year (since we only get one a year even though we could probably get two or three if we set our sights higher). He and Pomeranz will be an excellent duo of left-handed speed pitchers.
But wait... there's another high school ace! 6'3" RHP Brett Huber from Althoff Catholic HS in Illinois is another solid arm with solid offers. Along with his offer from Ole Miss, the pitcher picked up offers from Clemson, Missouri, South Carolina, and Virginia. Perfect Game USA rates him as a 9.5 out of ten. According to their scale, we should worry about losing him to the pros.
6'4 RHP Kyle Thornton is the first in-state prospect on the list as he is from Tupelo High School right here in the dirty dirty. Thornton's other legit offer was from Mississippi State. Throwing in the low 90s, it's incredible to think that he will be near the bottom in speed of all the pitchers we sign this year. Much like Will Kline, this is the type of player from which you just have to get production, a Mississippian who has always liked Ole Miss.
Memphis University School gives us a 6'1" RHP who stepped in for Michael Park this year in Blair Wright. Sure, he's not as decorated as Park and had no other offers, but it's good to see a guy like this want to follow a teammate. Still... I wonder about players like Wright. I'm sure he's fine, but he appears to be filler. In a college baseball world where the scholarships are so tight, it seems strange to tie one up for (at least) four years in a guy like this. EDIT: Blair Wright is on an academic scholarship, thus not counting towards the 11.7. Thanks NAFOOM.
6'2" Righty Chris Corrigan from San Jacinto CC in Texas adds even more solidity to the pitching class. While his ERA as a freshman at San Jacinto was just above 4.00, he faced more batters than anyone else on their staff, and he was only a freshman. Expect that ERA to go down as he builds on the experience he gained last season.
That's it for the pitchers. Then there's the matter of the four remaining signees, and all of them are outstanding.
Probably the biggest name remaining is 6'1" C Taylor Hightower out of Cartersville HS in Jawjuh. Hightower was recently named the #1 Catcher in his class. While not a legitimate home run threat, Hightower brings a solid average to the plate. With great ball speed from home to second (1.84 seconds), he should be the best of both worlds offensively and defensively. Hightower's other offers are from Auburn, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and Virginia. In his Perfect Game Profile, he is rated a ten out of ten. This means he could go VERY early in the draft. Pay attention when it rolls around.
6'3" 1B/OF David Phillips of Texarkana CC is a guy who we may never see on the field. I feel like he could be lost in the depth chart for his years here. His other offers were from Kentucky, Nebraska, and A&M. His numbers just aren't monumental, and he's a first baseman. We have Matt Smith and an incoming outstanding freshman.
Now we get to my personal favorites, the twins.
At 6'5", brothers 1B Matt Snyder and 3B Mike Snyder from Westfield HS in Virginia will be towers at the corners of the infield. Both were heavily recruited, with Matt's other offers coming from Clemson, LSU, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. Mike's other offers were from Alabama, Clemson, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. Matt was rated the #74 player in his class by Baseball America. Mike was only in the top 250.