re: LSU Baseball 2018 (and beyond) Recruiting Thread *Old Thread*

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Project IYO what are the chances of both C Garza & Willis making it to LSU?

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Chances are higher with Garza. He passed the draft up after high school because he wanted to play college baseball. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the 30-something round. The articles I've seen about him lead me to believe that he wants to prove himself in big time college baseball.

There's just not a lot of news out on Willis right now. He missed a lot of his senior year with injury. Because of that he's fallen down the rankings. But he's got a good frame and loud tools, so teams are going to like him. I have no idea what he's asking for though to know what kind of chance we have with him.

Some other schools commits that may affect where our guys get taken: Mike Vasil was a pretty surefire first rounder that withdrew his name from the draft pool to ensure he is at Virginia next year. There are a couple of top 5 round guys committed to Tennessee that have pretty much said they're signing with whoever drafts them, a pitcher and an infielder. Vanderbilt has one pitcher commit that's already supposedly negotiating an underslot deal and Ethan Hankins is supposed to be a pretty easy sign for whoever drafts him.

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I understand Garza can also play first base.

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Of the 3 catchers committed, Mathis is the only one that has pretty much only caught (in the field, he's also DH'd).

Garza played 1B, C, and DH for Howard. Willis mostly caught, but can play third and may project long term at 1B due to his frame and mobility. In this case, long term projections don't really matter. He could catch for us.

I haven't looked at the sheet I have with the recruits birthdays (that I could find), but I read today that Cole Henry would be a draft eligible sophomore if he got to campus.

All else being equal, that's tick mark in the positive column for us getting him.

I'll look this evening at my sheet and see if I can figure out any other DES in this incoming class.

The league that Garza played in is loaded with draft prospects and D1 commits. Koeneman came from a much weaker league.

But your point still stands. The things I like about his performance that I think will translate are a decreasing K% over the course of his freshman season and a high OBP. It may take a bit for the raw power to become game power, but if he gets to campus we have him for at least two years since he would be coming in as a sophomore vs a junior.

ETA: Scratch that, I think he would be a draft eligible sophomore next year based on age. Which is a double edged sword. It makes him a little more likely to get to campus, but it may mean we only have him for one year.

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Project, not recruiting related but what's your opinion on Cam Sanders? I know he's draft eligible. I'm assuming teams are intrigued because of his stuff, but is that enough to get him drafted in the top 10 rounds and forego his senior season?

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He was drafted last year out of JUCO and supposedly his number was in the $250k range but the Padres didn't meet it. He flashed the ability that gets scouts excited in the SECT against known quantity bats. He probably increased his stock significantly last week. I have no idea what kind of bonus he's looking for, but it's probably better for him to be drafted outside the first 10 rounds where only the amount over $100k counts against the bonus pool.

I could see him signing to begin his pro career. There are others on this board with more insight on him though.

Sorry if already covered in the thread, but any idea how Mathis ended up in juco after being committed to Louisville? I respect the hell out of McDonnell so being linked there speaks well of his talent. Just curious if he got caught in a numbers crunch there or if it was draft eligibility related.

Found an article about Riggs Threadgill from the local paper where he's at: LINK.

There is speculation that both he and the Baylor commit on his team could skip college if they're drafted. There isn't much info available on him, so it's reasonable to take this info seriously.

LINK

This podcast talks about Turang starting around the 6 min mark. Says he wants top 10 money and some scouts think he might be tough to sign outside the top 15 picks

Also, Jaden Hill hit .540 with 11 hr this year and also had a .51 era. That’s impressive, I wonder what his competition is like

I’m not saying he’s going to make it to campus for sure, but his interest in lsu is legit. He’s not just using his commitment as leverage. His whole family went to college so it’s something he’s going to make teams pay for if they want to take the opportunity away from him.