Baseball Recruiting

Per 247,4 players have hit the portal.

Seems like some good housecleaning. Don’t think we could have expected to get much from any next year. Martin is frustrating that he was so highly regarded coming in. He couldn’t get playing time against a less than inspiring OF minus Levenson and Villegas was solid and Jacoby wasn’t given much of a chance until recently.
 
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Seems like some good housecleaning. Don’t think we could have expected to get much from any next year. Martin is frustrating that he was so highly regarded coming in. He couldn’t get playing time against a less than inspiring OF minus Levenson and Villegas was solid and Jacoby wasn’t given much of a chance until recently.
It really speaks to Jacoby's character as patient as he was awaiting his opportunity.
 
I just think Long's defense was the separator from all the other outfielders. Martin wasn't playing over him.
 
I just think Long's defense was the separator from all the other outfielders. Martin wasn't playing over him.
His defense was but he was nearly hitting 500 through 30+ at bats before he got put into the lineup on an everyday basis. Plus he is an absolute terror on the bases. Gomez was given 30+ starts of .600 OPS baseball. While Long is a better fielder with more speed, even if he wasn’t giving us anything in the lineup you would seemingly have given him a chance much earlier.
 

This kid is an absolute stud. Hoping someone doesn't pull the trigger on him in the draft because he's a super advanced hitter. He should make it to campus, start day 1 and hit middle of the order.

Also haven't figured out why we aren't all over his teammate Herick Hernandez. LHP that is local to the area.. didn't really pitch until college. Smallish but sits 88-92 with a big breaking ball. Elite spin rates and deception. Easily a P5 weekend arm, especially if he dials in his control. Good K/9 and strong ERA, W/L, WHIP, etc. against a good schedule. He was the Miami Dade ace. Probably could slot in to be the Sunday guy. I've always though JD does a better job with lefties than he does righties anyway.

Miami Dade has another kid who pitched in relief that was low-mid 90s as a freshman named Julian Hernandez - originally out of Westminster Christian. Wipeout slider too. Could be a guy to watch next year but I'd be trying to get him to leave early and enroll before he blows up - similar to how we got Andrew Walters. He could easily pencil into the back-end of the bullpen next year.
 
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Not Miami related but one of my favorite guys who went in the portal just committed to Wake. Seaver King. D2 kid at Wingate.

Has it all but wants to prove it at the highest level. Was hoping we would make a run. But unlike the football portal we really dont know much about what is going on with D1 baseball.
 
Seems like some good housecleaning. Don’t think we could have expected to get much from any next year. Martin is frustrating that he was so highly regarded coming in. He couldn’t get playing time against a less than inspiring OF minus Levenson and Villegas was solid and Jacoby wasn’t given much of a chance until recently.
I warned some about Kaden Martin.. not that he's bad just knew it would be an adjustment period. I know his old coach, Caleb Moore, at Knox Catholic pretty well. Saw him play quite a bit until he moved to Georgia. He wasn't the polished player everyone thought he was. Tennessee HS baseball has gone way down in competition from the 2008-2013 time frame when it was elite from Nashville into East Tennessee. Especially in the Knoxville area.

He tore up TN HS baseball seeing low 80s regularly but struggled mightily in the showcase circuit when you see 90s and a plus breaking ball. Don't know how he fared in Georgia to be honest. Still productive but not elite.

The tools are there but I was worried he wouldn't stick it out 2-3 years to develop or that Gino and Co would even be able to develop him.
 
Not Miami related but one of my favorite guys who went in the portal just committed to Wake. Seaver King. D2 kid at Wingate.

Has it all but wants to prove it at the highest level. Was hoping we would make a run. But unlike the football portal we really dont know much about what is going on with D1 baseball.
Probably the best pitcher in all of D2 was at Wingate as well. Mitch Farris. He's from the St. Pete area with a year of eligibility. Absolutely dominated everyone he pitched against this year. Saw him throw 8 innings with 18 K's against Lincoln Memorial. Unreal. Also, threw a CG 2 hit shutout against Newberry who was number 5 at the time.
 
Probably the best pitcher in all of D2 was at Wingate as well. Mitch Farris. He's from the St. Pete area with a year of eligibility. Absolutely dominated everyone he pitched against this year. Saw him throw 8 innings with 18 K's against Lincoln Memorial. Unreal. Also, threw a CG 2 hit shutout against Newberry who was number 5 at the time.
Farris would be a great pickup. Even if he doesn’t totally translate to ACC baseball he could be a big innings eater. Farris is the type of player that makes a huge impact in the postseason. He’s used to going 7, 8 or 9 innings a start. You could conceivably have him go game 1 in a regional and give you 6 innings and still be able give you another 2-3 innings throughout the rest of the regional.
 
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I warned some about Kaden Martin.. not that he's bad just knew it would be an adjustment period. I know his old coach, Caleb Moore, at Knox Catholic pretty well. Saw him play quite a bit until he moved to Georgia. He wasn't the polished player everyone thought he was. Tennessee HS baseball has gone way down in competition from the 2008-2013 time frame when it was elite from Nashville into East Tennessee. Especially in the Knoxville area.

He tore up TN HS baseball seeing low 80s regularly but struggled mightily in the showcase circuit when you see 90s and a plus breaking ball. Don't know how he fared in Georgia to be honest. Still productive but not elite.

The tools are there but I was worried he wouldn't stick it out 2-3 years to develop or that Gino and Co would even be able to develop him.

This is an example of the lazy recruiting under Gino. We hear that Martin is a big superstar name so we grab him. But even a guy on a message board saw that the kid wouldn't be ready to play at the ACC level. Meanwhile, kids who are actually good at baseball get overlooked and have success somewhere else, all because they aren't part of the bro south Florida travel ball scene.
 
Its not just SFLA. JT Caruso from NY who is part of this class is not Miami material at this point. Maybe someday. But he didnt dominate an average NY league. Should go to Herkimer or Lackawanna and add weight and see what happens because there is something there. But probably 2 years away from being high level D1 unless he takes an absurd leap in just 8 months.

The only thing I can say is he is a unique arm slot so maybe they see the next Rafe...so I guess I should say the kid has potential...but can we develop in 1-2 years. I'd almost we rather go the portal route and get some established guys
 
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This is an example of the lazy recruiting under Gino. We hear that Martin is a big superstar name so we grab him. But even a guy on a message board saw that the kid wouldn't be ready to play at the ACC level. Meanwhile, kids who are actually good at baseball get overlooked and have success somewhere else, all because they aren't part of the bro south Florida travel ball scene.
His HS coach at Catholic told Gino he would need an adjustment period... a guy who led the NCAA in batting average and played minor league ball. If they didn't take that seriously that's their own fault.

I won't complain much about our recruiting of position players. They've went quiet a few times but certainly good enough to get to Omaha.

How we identify pitchers and their development, or lack thereof, is mind-boggling. How UM is short on guys that can throw strikes and get outs and the number of guys we trot out that throw mid-80s.. I can't figure out how JD still has a job here.
 
I won't complain much about our recruiting of position players. They've went quiet a few times but certainly good enough to get to Omaha.

We can disagree on this. As soon as we leave the ACC, the bats seem to disappear.

Regional offense:
2023 - 1 run in the 1-0 game
2022 - 1 run in the 1-0 game, 3 runs in the elimination game
2021 - 5 runs in the entire regional. 1 run, 2 runs, 2 runs. Thankfully Rosario was on.

We've had some nice players, but we are about a thousand miles from having an Omaha offense.
 
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We can disagree on this. As soon as we leave the ACC, the bats seem to disappear.

Regional offense:
2023 - 1 run in the 1-0 game
2022 - 1 run in the 1-0 game, 3 runs in the elimination game
2021 - 5 runs in the entire regional. 1 run, 2 runs, 2 runs. Thankfully Rosario was on.

We've had some nice players, but we are about a thousand miles from having an Omaha offense.
Totally agree they disappear when it matters. I still think Yoyo, Kayfus, Cyr, Levenson, etc are good enough hitters and the draft and minor leagues will show that. There aren't many teams with a better lineup or that wouldn't trade places with us to get our lineup.

It has to boil down to terrible scouting or a terrible approach they're coaching. We can't seem to hit anyone that is "good".. but above average, average, or worse.. we pound them 90% of the time.

The post season faltering of the offense is inexplicable as well. The names and bats are there and they're good college hitters that CAN hit good pitching but they do disappear. We're also not as good OOC or mid-week as we should be.. that's typically scouting and/or preparation. They're capable of hitting it.. it's just not consistent to score runs and not strung together against good pitching.
 
We can disagree on this. As soon as we leave the ACC, the bats seem to disappear.

Regional offense:
2023 - 1 run in the 1-0 game
2022 - 1 run in the 1-0 game, 3 runs in the elimination game
2021 - 5 runs in the entire regional. 1 run, 2 runs, 2 runs. Thankfully Rosario was on.

We've had some nice players, but we are about a thousand miles from having an Omaha offense.
Kind of mirrors Dom’s post season career, despite improving in the last regional. He went 6 for 35- good for a .171 average in the post season.
 
Maybe if we stopped trying to reach everyone that they are homerun hitters. What if we just let a kid like Lala be who he is…and get in base in front of guys like YoYo.

From UT:

Lala, a senior from Tampa, Fla., was presented as a third-team All-American by ABCA/Rawlings. The top hitter in the SSC was also a third-team D2CCA All-American. Finishing the season with a .445 batting average, Lala was also a first-team all-SSC selection. He was also named first-team ABCA/Rawlings, NCBWA and D2CCA all-region. He set a school record with 79 runs scored in 2023 while his batting average went down as third in Spartan history. Lala was also the team leader with 32 stolen bases, 54 walks and a .569 on-base percentage. His walks also place him fifth in the nation, and first in the SSC. Lala also led the SSC in on-base percentage, OPS (1.109, .569OB%-.540SLG%), runs and stolen bases (32). He also excelled defensively with a .972 fielding percentage as his 104 putouts led all UT outfielders. He performed against top competition, hitting .435 with a .565 on-base percentage against ranked opponents.
 
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Just a couple thing from guys brought up earlier.

2025 Commit from NJ with another dominant outing today. 85-89. He works out of BPC with 2024 commit Tate DeRias (who a stud…I’d let him be a two way).

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He will be 92-94 and college ready by the time he is heading to Miami. Only about 6’0 180. But he will be over 200 by the time he graduates. Prob a Gage Ziehl type.

DeRias is all of 6’4 190. Power and 90-94 on the bump with a really nice repertoire. Didn’t throw this high school season but mashed. (I don’t think it was anything bad plus his team was loaded on the mound.)

If DeRias takes another step we may have to sweat it out for him next year.
 
Maybe if we stopped trying to reach everyone that they are homerun hitters. What if we just let a kid like Lala be who he is…and get in base in front of guys like YoYo.

From UT:

Lala, a senior from Tampa, Fla., was presented as a third-team All-American by ABCA/Rawlings. The top hitter in the SSC was also a third-team D2CCA All-American. Finishing the season with a .445 batting average, Lala was also a first-team all-SSC selection. He was also named first-team ABCA/Rawlings, NCBWA and D2CCA all-region. He set a school record with 79 runs scored in 2023 while his batting average went down as third in Spartan history. Lala was also the team leader with 32 stolen bases, 54 walks and a .569 on-base percentage. His walks also place him fifth in the nation, and first in the SSC. Lala also led the SSC in on-base percentage, OPS (1.109, .569OB%-.540SLG%), runs and stolen bases (32). He also excelled defensively with a .972 fielding percentage as his 104 putouts led all UT outfielders. He performed against top competition, hitting .435 with a .565 on-base percentage against ranked opponents.
I agree but my son plays at UT and some of the Friday night starters they went against
were 82-84. They’re finding with the portal not many DII kids are getting drafted like in the past. If they don’t make it at UF, FSU etc they go to FAU, N Fla,or other lower end DI. Those kids used to go DII.
 
WWBA 17U this week, in Marietta

Lots of talent there, far too many to name.


Ole Miss Commit, but how do you miss a guy like this

Duke Commit, another miss out of IMG



Miami Commit, exciting prospect


ODU Commit, kid can hit
 
Modugno went to Don Bosco originally I believe. Had an older bro who went there too. Really good programs up there. We have the Reyes kid coming in from Bergen who I think has a chance to be special.
 
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