3/1/2016 5:56:04 PM
Another weekend of college baseball and another Monday that followed with a couple of high end recruits making their verbal commitments to some high end programs. While players are coming off the board at a rather moderate pace now, one that has been picking up since the start of the season, keep an eye on the overall pace of things come March 15th when coaches are allowed back on the road and high school baseball is well underway in most parts of the country.
The University of Texas is coming off a four-game split with Stanford this past weekend but on Monday they found out that their 2019 class grew by one of Sanson Faltine III become the second member of the Horns' class, joining outfielder Austin Wallace. Faltine, a Texas native and freshman at William B. Travis High School, is listed as a primary shortstop according to his Perfect Game profile but shows as much, if not more, upside on the mound, at least in my initial look this past October at the WWBA Freshman World Championships. Already a long and loose 6-foot-2, 170-pounds, Faltine is very well coordinated for a player his age and size and that’s something that helps him repeat his delivery rather well and fill up the strike zone.
His arm action is similar to his frame in that it’s long and loose and he worked comfortably in the 80-82 mph range with his fastball showing nice whip at release with downhill plane. Reports have Faltine’s velocity working more in the mid-to-upper-80s now and given how projectable and young he was last fall it’s easy to believe. What stood out as much as the velocity, if not more, was the comfort and feel Faltine showed in throwing both his low-70s changeup and late breaking curveball that proved to be a swing-and-miss type offering. The athleticism is evident as Faltine is also a switch-hitting shortstop with a smooth swing and looseness in his hands from the right side.
Texas wasn’t the only team around the Gulf to make a splash on the trail Monday afternoon as Louisiana State and Recruiting Coordinator Andy Cannizaro brought the latest Tiger on board with 2017 righthander, Ma’Khail Hilliard. Listed at 6-foot, 145-pounds in his Perfect Game profile, the in-state Hilliard may actually be taller and stronger than his listed measurables but either way is full of quick-twitch muscle and is highly projectable.
A righthanded pitcher out of Central High School in Baton Rouge, Hilliard’s fastball regularly works into the upper-80s with a fast and very live arm action coming through the back. When he gets on top of the pitch and works to the bottom of the zone the No. 498 ranked prospect in 2017 is able to generate hard cutting life to his glove side. As good as the fastball velocity and life are his hard upper-70s breaking ball may be his best offering. It’s a swing-and-miss type pitch at present and with the type of hand speed he’s able to generate to produce both the velocity and bite, there should be additional fastball velocity on its way with physical growth.
Overall the Bayou Bengals have 14 commits in the 2017 class, all of which are ranked within Perfect Game’s top-500. The coaching staff has shown a willingness as a whole to pluck from all over the country (top ranked commit Nicholas Storz is from New York) but they’ve also done a nice job of cleaning up in their own backyard with five in-state commits.