4/16/2016 9:43:24 AM
It was another busy week out on the trail as several of the top schools throughout the country brought high level commits aboard, locking down solid pieces for their respective classes prior to the summer circuit getting under way.
Mississippi made arguably the biggest splash of the week with the commitment of righthanded pitcher Gunnar Hoglund, a 6-foot-4 2018 graduate out of Hudson, Florida. Ranked No. 31 in the country according to Perfect Game’s national rankings, Hoglund possesses one of the easiest arm action in the class and it’s one that can produce a 90 mph fastball while looking as though he’s playing catch. Along with the hard running life to his fastball, the fifth commit in the Rebels 2018 class shows both a curveball and changeup for strikes and is the summer teammate of fellow commit Hunter Townsend, an outfielder out of Texas.
Another “big” prospect to make his commitment was 6-foot-9 righthander Ben Jordan who elected to stay in-state and commit to the University of Kentucky. A well known prospect since the beginning of his high school career, the class of 2017 graduate now works into the low-90s with his fastball and there’s plenty of reason to believe there’s more, especially as he continues fill out with additional strength. The 67th ranked prospect in the class, Jordan is the second commitment within the 2017 top 100 joining Bryson Hutchinson as two of the seven total commitments in the Wildcats’ class.
One of those other five 2017 Kentucky commits is righthander Trip Lockhart who also gave his verbal to Coach Gary Henderson and the rest of the coaching staff. A long and projectable 6-foot-2, Lockhart features a fastball that works into the upper-80s and touches 90 while showing an advanced slider and a strong overall feel for the strike zone.
The new coaching staff at the Auburn have done a nice job of hitting the trial rather frequently and have come away with their latest piece in ultra-athletic 2017 outfielder, Bubba Thompson. An Alabama native, Thompson is a plus-runner with reports of him clocking in around 6.4 in the 60-yard which obviously puts his athleticism on display. A righthanded hitter, the 6-foot-2 Thompson shows a feel from the barrel from the right side and is the eighth commit in the Tigers 2017 class.
Kody Milton is another talented sophomore, class of 2018, who gave his commitment over the last week. Staying in-state by committing to Coach John Szefc and the rest of the University of Maryland coaching staff, Milton, who is the son of former MLB pitcher Eric Milton who’s also a Maryland alum, brings another potential power bat to the Terps' class. Listed at 6-foot-2, 180-pounds Milton left a big impression after the WWBA World Championships where he earned All-Tournament honors after showing highly projectable bat speed and a willingness to use all fields, both of which helped him finish with a .400 average for the tournament. In terms of the Maryland class, Milton is the fifth commit to an already highly impressive 2018 class.
Ranked No. 222 in the class of 2017, righthander Jack Leftwich’s commitment was the ninth for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and he’s also their top ranked recruit in the 2017 according to Perfect Game’s national rankings. By no means a stranger to PG events as he’s thrown in several while competing for the Orlando Scorpions organization, Leftwich is a strong bodied arm who’s capable of running his fastball up to 90 mph and he’s one you can project upon rather easily for additional velocity. The arm action is loose and throughout an outing Leftwich is capable of showing three different pitches for strikes.
One of the top ranked players who remained uncommitted, talented righthander Anthony Molina recently gave his commitment to the coaching staff at Northwest Florida State College. Ranked No. 136 in the class of 2016, Molina has been a highly touted arm ever since his Perfect Game debut back in 2012. An extremely loose and projectable 6-foot-4, 185-pounds, Molina regularly works into the low-90s with his fastball, bumping 94 without hardly any effort at release and could gain additional velocity with continued physical strength.