re: Arkansas Baseball 2022 (and beyond) Recruiting Thread

Reloaded

Another Team USA member commits to the 2020 class in RHP/SS Masyn Winn from Texas.

He was previously a Stanford commit.

PG Profile

An August article - #2 in the state of Texas - LINK

Winn is nationally ranked #8 overall on Perfect Game.

LINK

This is absolutely huge.  He is the #8 player in the 2018 class.

We have dropped down to the #3 class on PG for 2020 which I would think we probably stay #3 behind Miami and Vandy.

Miami is #1 with 16 commits including 9 in the top 100.  They have 167 points.  However, they have 5 commits from Mosignor Edward Pace which means that team has to be absolutely loaded.  They have a huge recruiting advantage being THE program in South Florida.  They have four out of state commits, but the other 12 commits are from South Florida and specifically the Miami area.  Michael Brooks who is the #51 player in the class overall (our 7th highest rated commit) is also from this area.

Vanderbilt is #2 with 16 commits including 8 in the top 100.  They have 163 points.  Unlike Miami, there commits are from all over the country because of the very well documented private school advantage.  However, they also have three commits from American Heritage high school in South Florida.  Miami also has a commit on that team.

We are #3 with 15 commits (before Winn is counted) including 6 in the top 100.  We have 141 points.  Figure Winn will get us up to 155-160 points with 16 commits and another elite guy would put us #1.  Unlike Vandy and Miami, we have commits who are currently high school teammates.  Quite a few are summer teammates, but no single high school has multiple commits.  We basically have 7 in the top 50 with Winn, Wallace, Wohlgemuth, Moore, Griffin, Long, and Brooks.  That is insane.  Props to Thompson and Johnson.

This kid is a stud, hope he makes it to campus

Obviously the following positions are set in stone:

SS - Martin
CF - Fletcher
RF - Kjerstad

No other team in the country starts with that trio of bats. It's all about building around those guys.

C seems to be Opitz's job to lose. Plunkett has more power and a stronger arm, but Opitz could be a .300 type hitter and is an excellent receiver.

1B seems to be a battle between McFarland and Goodheart. McFarland has shown flashes of being as good a hitter as Martin / Fletcher / Kjerstad, but has also had some bad stretches.

As long as Ezell is healthy, it sounds like 2B is his. Nesbit is definitely a solid option and has shown some good hitting ability. I think he also has the ability to play numerous positions if need be.

Kenley seems to be the favorite at 3B. I have always thought he wouldn't hit enough to be a full time player for us. Hopefully he proves me wrong. Otherwise, Nesbit is a solid option.

Franklin seems to be the favorite in LF. DVH loves his defense. It seems like he has been a solid hitter this fall and he has game changing type speed. Maybe not Martin fast, but not far behind.

DH will be a number of people. More than likely Ezell until he can throw full time.

You definitely have a number of good options on the mound. Campbell and Cronin are a nice place to start. You also figure Kopps, Ramage, Kostyshock, Scroggins, Vermillion and Bolden will be options as well before factoring in any newcomers. That is a great place for Johnson to start.

Edit:
This team has the potential to burn some serious speed on the base paths. I would like to see us be a 100 SB type team this year. We have speed to burn especially if someone like Franklin is our everyday LF.

Ezell stole at least 11 bases in his 3 full seasons at SEMO. I would pencil him at 10-15 SBs.

Believe both Goodheart and Franklin have sub 6.6 speed. 15-20 SBs are reasonable if they have good instincts and DVH wants to run. Heck, if DVH wants to run like we did in the early 2010s with the dead bat, 30 SBs isn't out of the question for either one of these two.

Martin could literally steal 2B and 3B every time up if he wanted too. He has true 80 speed. We didn't see DVH unleash him much last year, but opposing pitchers could be in a lot of trouble.

Kjerstad and McFarland both have good speed, but probably are more 5-10 SB type guys.

Fletcher and Opitz should be the guys who don't steal a lot, but are opportunistic if the pitcher is lulled into a sleep.

D1's fall report

quote:

---

The Hogs welcome back the three-headed monster offensively in Casey Martin, Heston Kjerstad and Dominic Fletcher, while the pitching staff has some ultra-exciting pieces back in the mix, too, led by lefthander Matt Cronin, righthander Isaiah Campbell and picks to click Jacob Kostyshock and Zebulon Vermillion.

With Grant Koch gone, the catcher position is an important hole to fill this fall. The Hogs have a pair of backstops to watch — Zack Plunkett and Casey Opitz. Plunkett is a TCU kickback who has waited his return to be in the limelight. Plunkett is a 6-foot-2, 225-pounder, with serious power potential and a strong arm. Opitz is a 5-foot-11, 174-pounder, and isn’t your prototypical SEC catcher. However, DVH said he’s a terrific catch and receive guy with a good arm and smooth, quick release. The easy money here would be Plunkett, but Opitz seems like a gritty and intriguing option.

Graduate transfers are becoming a hot commodity in pretty much every NCAA sanctioned sport these days, and baseball is no exception. The Hogs have added a very intriguing piece to their roster in Southeast Missouri State’s Trevor Ezell. Ezell will play second base for the Hogs in the spring, but is out this fall after his shoulder tightened up this past summer. Ezell is a switch hitter with a terrific track record. Last season at SEMO, he hit .377 with 16 doubles, six homers and 50 RBIs. He also had a .442 OBP.

If you’re looking for an offensive sleeper for the Hogs, remember the name Elijah Trest. Trest has intriguing measurables at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds. He can pitch for the Hogs, but for now, he’s more likely to help at the plate. Trest is a lefthanded hitters with some serious power potential. He’s hit three homers so far this fall.

“He’s a big, strong kid,” Van Horn said. “I really think he’s the type of guy who has a chance to be really good down the road. We’ll see.”

The Hogs were excited about the potential with righthander Kevin Kopps last season, but a season-ending injury kept everyone from seeing it. Well, Kopps is back, healthy, and the 6-foot, 205-pounder, is ready to make a statement in the spring. Kopps is having a solid fall, sitting around 89-90 with every pitch despite being 12 months removed from Tommy John surgery. He has a plus cutter and a good breaking ball. Should he progress as expected, Kopps is a safe bet to get a strong look at the weekend rotation.

“He’s throwing the ball around 90 mph with every pitch, and he has a good cutter and breaking ball. He just got to start throwing his breaking ball the other day,” DVH said. “He was really good in two innings, and we’re kind of hoping he can jump in there and take one of those weekend spots.”

In terns of true freshman arms, keep an eye on righthander Jacob Burton and lefty Patrick Wicklander. Burton is sitting 92-94 mph with his fastball this fall with a very good slider, while Wicklander is a 6-foot-1, 175-pounder, who sits upper-80s and into the low-90s with his fastball. He has a promising changeup and spots up his fastball well.

Righthander Jacob Kostyshock could be the pick to click for the Hogs. Kostyshock is a wiry-framed 6-foot-4, 175-pounder, who didn’t have an important role last season — mainly because of some command issues. Well, Kostyshock was outstanding at the Northwoods League this past summer, and has built on that this fall. Kostyshock has been 93-95 and up to 96 mph with his fastball, and the big key is that he’s throwing it for strikes. The slider was a big-time weapon throughout the summer, and that trend has continued this fall.

---

Any time a scout goes "oh my gosh" you've got a good slider.

LINK

Bump for sticky

Stickied for a bumpy!