Now that things have slowed down at least to a speed below supersonic I’ll begin to sprinkle in some baseball coverage and get you ready for the 2018 season. Today’s offering look at the signing class from last month and how the Draft could affect things.
It’s early but this should have a general idea. Baseball is a different sport from the standpoint that JUCOs are hard to track down, and it takes a few weeks to discover the full class. I think I have it below, but it’s always possible for junior college players to be late adds as that situation is sometimes necessary.
2018 Ole Miss signing class
High School Signees
Joe Gray - OF, Hattiesburg, Miss.
Gunnar Hoglund - RHP, Hudson Fla.
Kaleb Hill - LHP, Pine Bluff, Ark.
Doug Nikhazy - LHP, Winter Garden, Fla.
Josh Hall - OF, Homewood, Ala.
Aaron Green - RHP, Vicksburg, Miss.
Logan Savell - RHP, Madison, Miss.
Trent Jeffcoat - SS, Pensacola, Fla.
Justin Bench - SS, North Redington Beach, Fla.
Kevin Graham - 3B, O’Fallon, Missouri
Knox Loposer - C, Madison, Miss.
JUCO
Zackarie Phillips - LHP, Texarkana, Texas
Taylor Broadway - RHP, Tyler, Texas
Tyler Myers - RHP, Paris, Texas
Here are some early thoughts on the class from a Draft standpoint. It’s a solid overall class that didn’t score that high in the rankings from Perfect Game. Some of that is the lack of top 100 prospects and some of it is the size of the overall class. But, as you know from a few years ago, too many top 100s and you’re sunk come Draft time.
The headliner is obviously Gray. He was the No. 3 overall player in the class the last time we looked at it, and he’s fallen to No. 10 now. He can stick in center and has a great glove.The bat is advanced, as noted by him leading off for the Evoshield Canes and playing a year ahead. The rubs from a Draft scenario are that he’s right-handed and he doesn’t run at an elite level. He’s not slow, but he’s not a scorcher either. To believe in him you have to trust the bat to an incredibly high level.
Also, his advisor is Scott Boras, and he’s notorious for holding franchises to high dollar figures and not giving in to lower numbers at the last minute. If you made me bet, I’d say Gray goes pro, but it’s not a Gavin Cecchini situation. There’s a path to college, as some scouts don’t rate him higher than the sandwich round or second round because of the relatively lacking of a couple tools. I think he’s offered $1.1 million or so no matter what, but his number is going to be close to double that, and I’m just not sure. To this point Gray indicates he’s not scared of going to college, but we won’t know a lot more until a team picks him and he has to turn down a seven-figure check. That’s when it gets real. He’s a lottery ticket, but it’s not a longshot. It’s more like a blackjack hand with the dealer showing a face card.
I like Hoglund a lot, and my early guess is someone offers him just short of but close to half a million. His number is higher than that so chances are good of him showing but he’s one to watch.
Hill is in that same boat but probably has more upside. I’ll bookmark and follow him closer until the Draft because some things go right and he could see close to a seven-figure deal. That wouldn’t be a surprise, so you need him to kind of stay at his current tier. Inch toward $1 million and it’s trouble for Ole Miss.
Phillips, the JUCO lefty, could see some money come his way, and you never know with the junior college players. I always lean toward them signing unless I really have a read on them. I have zero read on him right now. Frankly, I couldn’t remember his first name when I sat down to write this. A few hundred thousand is typically a number that sways JUCO arms.
I like Broadway and Myers. Both are 90-94 right-handers. Somewhat prototypical but there are worse things to have on the college roster. Maybe late Draft picks but shouldn’t be concerns.
Overall, if Gray shows and things go as scratch elsewhere, it’s a 7-12 national class when you consider who shows up across the country. There’s no dominant face to the group without Gray, but nonetheless a solid SEC signing class that has a lot of projectable arms. My criticism would be the same as past classes, as Ole Miss needs some true outfielders. That’s a complex question and answer, but I think it remains a viable criticism.
I’ll update my projected 2018 lineup and get into the current roster in the coming days.
It’s early but this should have a general idea. Baseball is a different sport from the standpoint that JUCOs are hard to track down, and it takes a few weeks to discover the full class. I think I have it below, but it’s always possible for junior college players to be late adds as that situation is sometimes necessary.
2018 Ole Miss signing class
High School Signees
Joe Gray - OF, Hattiesburg, Miss.
Gunnar Hoglund - RHP, Hudson Fla.
Kaleb Hill - LHP, Pine Bluff, Ark.
Doug Nikhazy - LHP, Winter Garden, Fla.
Josh Hall - OF, Homewood, Ala.
Aaron Green - RHP, Vicksburg, Miss.
Logan Savell - RHP, Madison, Miss.
Trent Jeffcoat - SS, Pensacola, Fla.
Justin Bench - SS, North Redington Beach, Fla.
Kevin Graham - 3B, O’Fallon, Missouri
Knox Loposer - C, Madison, Miss.
JUCO
Zackarie Phillips - LHP, Texarkana, Texas
Taylor Broadway - RHP, Tyler, Texas
Tyler Myers - RHP, Paris, Texas
Here are some early thoughts on the class from a Draft standpoint. It’s a solid overall class that didn’t score that high in the rankings from Perfect Game. Some of that is the lack of top 100 prospects and some of it is the size of the overall class. But, as you know from a few years ago, too many top 100s and you’re sunk come Draft time.
The headliner is obviously Gray. He was the No. 3 overall player in the class the last time we looked at it, and he’s fallen to No. 10 now. He can stick in center and has a great glove.The bat is advanced, as noted by him leading off for the Evoshield Canes and playing a year ahead. The rubs from a Draft scenario are that he’s right-handed and he doesn’t run at an elite level. He’s not slow, but he’s not a scorcher either. To believe in him you have to trust the bat to an incredibly high level.
Also, his advisor is Scott Boras, and he’s notorious for holding franchises to high dollar figures and not giving in to lower numbers at the last minute. If you made me bet, I’d say Gray goes pro, but it’s not a Gavin Cecchini situation. There’s a path to college, as some scouts don’t rate him higher than the sandwich round or second round because of the relatively lacking of a couple tools. I think he’s offered $1.1 million or so no matter what, but his number is going to be close to double that, and I’m just not sure. To this point Gray indicates he’s not scared of going to college, but we won’t know a lot more until a team picks him and he has to turn down a seven-figure check. That’s when it gets real. He’s a lottery ticket, but it’s not a longshot. It’s more like a blackjack hand with the dealer showing a face card.
I like Hoglund a lot, and my early guess is someone offers him just short of but close to half a million. His number is higher than that so chances are good of him showing but he’s one to watch.
Hill is in that same boat but probably has more upside. I’ll bookmark and follow him closer until the Draft because some things go right and he could see close to a seven-figure deal. That wouldn’t be a surprise, so you need him to kind of stay at his current tier. Inch toward $1 million and it’s trouble for Ole Miss.
Phillips, the JUCO lefty, could see some money come his way, and you never know with the junior college players. I always lean toward them signing unless I really have a read on them. I have zero read on him right now. Frankly, I couldn’t remember his first name when I sat down to write this. A few hundred thousand is typically a number that sways JUCO arms.
I like Broadway and Myers. Both are 90-94 right-handers. Somewhat prototypical but there are worse things to have on the college roster. Maybe late Draft picks but shouldn’t be concerns.
Overall, if Gray shows and things go as scratch elsewhere, it’s a 7-12 national class when you consider who shows up across the country. There’s no dominant face to the group without Gray, but nonetheless a solid SEC signing class that has a lot of projectable arms. My criticism would be the same as past classes, as Ole Miss needs some true outfielders. That’s a complex question and answer, but I think it remains a viable criticism.
I’ll update my projected 2018 lineup and get into the current roster in the coming days.
