2/14/2016 8:42:16 PM
The LSU Tigers made a splash once again on the JUCO scene as they add another arm in the righthanded Hunter Kiel (No. 97 in Perfect Game’s top 150 Junior College rankings) out of Pensacola State. Having already locked down Perfect Game’s top ranked Junior College prospect with Kyle Weatherly of Grayson Community College (TX), it’s plausible that the Tigers have committed two of the top JUCO arms in the entire country. When you factor in Kiel, Weatherly, and hard hitting Nick Coomes of LSU-Eunice, the LSU coaching staff has assembled one of the top recruiting classes in the county and one that’s already ranked No. 5 when looking at just high school commits.
What the Tigers are getting in Kiel, a Florence, Alabama native, is a fresh, electric arm who has low mileage in terms of innings but big time stuff. Listed at 6-foot-3, 214-pounds Kiel made his Perfect Game debut this past summer after throwing just 5.2 innings as a freshman at Pensacola State. The type of stuff he showed at the 18u WWBA World Championship was noteworthy in and of itself as Kiel worked 91-94 mph with his fastball and showed a hard slider in the mid-80s. With continued repetitions and additional time on the mound Kiel has seen his production increase as well as pure stuff as I was told he worked 92-96 mph with his fastball in his most recent outing (has been up to 97 mph) with the same overpowering type slider up to 87 mph.
Naturally with his frame and a fastball that climbs into the upper-90s Kiel’s going to attract the attention of pro scouts and will certainly be an arm to keep an eye on as the June draft approaches.
On a side note, Kiel is a graduate of Florence High School in Alabama and is the first of what could be a few impact type arms to come out of there over the next couple of years. Set to begin their senior and sophomore seasons respectfully is Perfect Game All-American lefthander Braxton Garrett (No. 32 nationally and Vanderbilt signee) and 6-foot-4 righthander Cole Henry (No. 30 nationally and LSU commit) forming a trio of arms any coaching staff would be happy to have.