I just talked to Orlando Scorpions head guy Matt Gerber about all the Ole Miss commits and signees from his program. Carl Gindl is the new commit today. He's a 2017 outfielder who probably won't be a draft guy because of his size -- 5-foot-10, 180 pounds -- but he's a true centerfielder. He hits from the left side and really defends.
While he's polished, he hasn't played a ton of travel ball due to academic work in the summer. He's a 4.0 student with a 30 ACT. He had offers from Duke, Florida and Florida State and Vanderbilt and South Carolina were about to offer, per Gerber.
The other 2017 commit from the Scorpions is Michael Spears, a 5-foot-11, 175-pounder. Gerber: "Spears is your ultimate gamer, baller. He’s not going to wow you in a BP session. He does remind me of (Auston) Bousfield. He's very similar. He just hits and finds barrels. I told Lafferty from the beginning he's the next Boz."
Newcomers on campus now
Ole Miss has two incoming freshmen from the Scorpions -- catcher Nick Fortes and infielder Ramon Alejo.
Fortes is a 6-foot, 200-pound catcher, who Ole Miss is probably counting on to catch right way -- something that I'm not sure has happened under Mike Bianco. He would have been a big-time Draft guy but he had no desire to start his professional career right now. Gerber said Fortes had been telling scouts not to draft him since the summer of his sophomore year.
"I think he's ready," Gerber said. "The blocking and receiving is ahead of his throwing. He has a cannon, but he needs to clean up some footwork issues. He will absolutely keep it in front of him. Mainly, though, he's an offensive catcher. He can really hit. I would be surprised if he doesn't have 125-150 at-bats as a freshman.
"He's very good mentally. He thinks the game. He was an IB (high level) academic student down here. He's not an incredibly vocal guy, so I'm sure they will work with him on that. He'll need to command the game."
Alejo played shortstop in high school, but his best position is likely the outfield. He's a 6.7 60-yard dash runner and threw 90 MPH across the infield.
"He’s extremely toolsy," Gerber said. "Swing and miss is a little too much of a thing with him. He's probably a year away but I said that about Bousfield. He just strikes out a little too much. He has power and a great arm with good speed. It all depends how he cleans up the contact."
Just in conversation, Gerber also said he's still incredibly surprised about Tate Blackman's mental-turned-physical struggles. Gerber said he would have bet his house on Blackman hitting .270. He has talked to him this summer, and he's handling things well. Still time for him to have a great career. He said Tate pressed trying to live up to expectations.
While he's polished, he hasn't played a ton of travel ball due to academic work in the summer. He's a 4.0 student with a 30 ACT. He had offers from Duke, Florida and Florida State and Vanderbilt and South Carolina were about to offer, per Gerber.
The other 2017 commit from the Scorpions is Michael Spears, a 5-foot-11, 175-pounder. Gerber: "Spears is your ultimate gamer, baller. He’s not going to wow you in a BP session. He does remind me of (Auston) Bousfield. He's very similar. He just hits and finds barrels. I told Lafferty from the beginning he's the next Boz."
Newcomers on campus now
Ole Miss has two incoming freshmen from the Scorpions -- catcher Nick Fortes and infielder Ramon Alejo.
Fortes is a 6-foot, 200-pound catcher, who Ole Miss is probably counting on to catch right way -- something that I'm not sure has happened under Mike Bianco. He would have been a big-time Draft guy but he had no desire to start his professional career right now. Gerber said Fortes had been telling scouts not to draft him since the summer of his sophomore year.
"I think he's ready," Gerber said. "The blocking and receiving is ahead of his throwing. He has a cannon, but he needs to clean up some footwork issues. He will absolutely keep it in front of him. Mainly, though, he's an offensive catcher. He can really hit. I would be surprised if he doesn't have 125-150 at-bats as a freshman.
"He's very good mentally. He thinks the game. He was an IB (high level) academic student down here. He's not an incredibly vocal guy, so I'm sure they will work with him on that. He'll need to command the game."
Alejo played shortstop in high school, but his best position is likely the outfield. He's a 6.7 60-yard dash runner and threw 90 MPH across the infield.
"He’s extremely toolsy," Gerber said. "Swing and miss is a little too much of a thing with him. He's probably a year away but I said that about Bousfield. He just strikes out a little too much. He has power and a great arm with good speed. It all depends how he cleans up the contact."
Just in conversation, Gerber also said he's still incredibly surprised about Tate Blackman's mental-turned-physical struggles. Gerber said he would have bet his house on Blackman hitting .270. He has talked to him this summer, and he's handling things well. Still time for him to have a great career. He said Tate pressed trying to live up to expectations.
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