re: LSU Baseball 2027 (and beyond) Recruiting Thread

Analytics:
Exit Velocity, Infield / outfield throwing velocity, 60 times, etc. I think analytics are important and should be a tool to recruiting but it's become way more than just a tool in college / professional baseball. I disagree with you in that 92mph can't get SEC hitters out. A kid throwing 92 with good movement / good off-speed that can spot pitches can eat all day in the SEC. Unfortunately, many never get the chance. LSU's 2026 staff was perfect example of a bunch of hard throwers but few good pitchers. I see a lot of these top recruits that have a lot of power at the plate & occasionally hit 430' bombs but when facing good pitching can't hit. Recruiters place a ton of emphasis on 60 times and I get that one b/c speed kills but very few of these kids steal bases or utilize their speed in games. The one that really gets me is the throwing velocity b/c if you watch these kids at showcases, it's ridiculous how they are throwing b/c it's nothing they would ever do in a game not to mention a lot of the throws aren't accurate. I just see a lot wrong in the game and would love to see some of the old school eye test come back in the game when evaluating talent. Just me opinion but I think today's athletes are off the charts physically but skill wise are not as good as they were even 10 years ago.

I agree with that but some of the data and how it's gathered is stupid. Who cares if a kid throws 96mph from the outfield. Can he track a fly ball, does he get consistently great jumps off the bat and can really field his position at a high level or is that 96mph throw accurate or did it sail into the stands. Does the pitcher have command of several pitches or is he just a thrower that might figure it out? I've sat through a ton of these showcases, futures games, Area Codes, you name it, and I can tell you a lot of the 'data' is misleading. It's why you see so many JUCO / D2 / mid major guys become the stars on the D1 level. They might not have crazy showcase numbers coming out of high school or didn't choose to play in a bunch of the national showcase tourneys b/c it's expensive to do that, but they can play the game at a very high level. That's my only point really is that so many are getting overlooked early on. I still think you can be very successful in the SEC throwing 92mph with great offspeed that you can dot. It works at every level. Kids just aren't being trained to do that anymore. Now it's all about seeing how hard you can throw to generate a number that recruiters will see. Same with hitting in trying to hit an EV number to post online. Can you hit though ?

And there are guys that show up to JUCO campuses topping out at 90 all the time that are able to get innings and prove that they can do all the other things a pitcher needs to do to be successful and when they add a few ticks of velo, their recruitment and their professional prospects take off.

Sometimes those guys end up at Southland schools out of JUCO, get drafted and make the majors and you're wondering how bigger schools missed on them when it's really that they're more of steady improvers rather than the "good now" guys that the bigger conference schools have to go after.

Right. It's why there are multiple paths. There are spots and opportunities for all types of players.

They don't just look at the data. The data is just part of the process. They also consider projectability in kids with lesser data points. Like I said, I don't think Nugent has even hit 90 mph yet (and if he has, he doesn't sit there). If and when he breaks that barrier, his moxy and projectabilty will make him that much more coveted. He's already a nice size and his dad pitched for LSU, so the projection is there. He could be a mid-90s guy in a few years but he isn't there yet. You can't completely ignore current data points.

ETA: Beau Stevens is a nice prospect for Rummel.

Not much, personally

Need to add DMJ too !!

He’s committed

Would yall like to give a name more than initials?

ETA: nvm yall must be talking about Dexter from a couple of days ago.