The Recruiting Game - 2016

With the college season well under way and high school also in the thick of things throughout most places in the country, coaches have been able to start getting out and hitting the trail. And as a result commitments have continued to pour in from all parts of the country with teams locking down pieces and filling up spots in their recruiting classes.

• Georgia Tech was the last team to make a bigger move that we detailed in “The Recruiting Game” with lefthander Brant Hurter. Since Hurter made his decision roughly a week ago Coach Danny Hall and crew have brought two additional 2017s on board, bumping the class to 12 commits, all of whom are from Georgia. Catcher Jamie Taylor of Marist High School offers plenty of athleticism and a strong righthanded bat to a position the Jackets needed to help round out the class.  Along with Taylor, Tech’s most recently brought aboard 6-foot-3 first baseman/lefthanded pitcher Joseph Mannelly who offers intriguing potential as a two-way prospect after running his fastball up to 89 mph this summer. Ranked No. 473 in the country, Mannelly is the seventh Georgia Tech commit ranked within Perfect Game’s top 500.

• The coaching staff at the University of Miami continues to show no fear in leaving the Sunshine State in pursuit of talent and their latest commit brought them across the country and into California. A well put-together 5-foot-11, 175-pound lefthanded hitting catcher, Jared Thomas of Lakewood, Calif., represents the fifth commit in 2019 for the Canes, joining the likes of Tristan Casas, Matthew Allan, Jake Holland, and Mykanthony Valdez, all of whom of Florida residents.

• Ranked No. 365 in the 2018 class, righthander Jahred Butler gave his verbal commitment to the coaching staff at Cal State Fullerton recently, joining catcher Kameron Ojeda as the two future Titans according to the Perfect Game database. A strongly built righthander who’s listed at 6-foot-2, 205-pounds, Butler has been up to 85 mph in past Perfect Game events and there’s reports that he has since touched higher. Showing an easy and loose arm action Butler complements his fastball with a tight spinning slider and a nice changeup, both in the mid-70s.

• For the second time in their 2017 recruiting class the Duke Blue Devils dipped their toes into Ohio, coming away with lefthander Matt Dockman. Listed at a long and projectable 6-foot-3, 195-pounds Dockman has seen an uptick in velocity this spring, working into the upper-80s as opposed to the lower-80s he showed this summer with the Ohio Elite. Though he’s already seen on jump in velocity, there’s reason to believe there more in the tank and his commitment adds a nice lefthanded option to the class that’s now eight commits deep and hadn’t previously had a lefthanded pitcher.

• Herbert Iser, a Perfect Game All-American this past summer, is currently ranked No. 65 in the class of 2016 and he recently gave his verbal commitment to San Jacinto (TX), a perennial powerhouse in the junior college ranks. A highly sought prospect ever since he entered the prospect scene a couple of years ago, Iser shows outstanding tools across the board with arm strength from behind the dish that would rival any in the 2016 class. Despite the top of the charts arm strength it’s Iser’s lefthanded power that has had people stop and stare, as he’s capable of hitting them as far as anybody and does so with relative ease.

• The University of Arkansas closed out the weekend and came away with a couple of young pieces for their 2018 and 2019 classes. Caden Monke, a very projectable 6-foot-1, 148-pound lefthanded pitcher, recently impressed at the Perfect Game Indoor Showcase where he showed a loose and clean arm action that produced a top fastball of 84 mph. Already capable of spinning a slider in the low-70s that features tilting life, Monke will undoubtedly add velocity with continued physical strength and is an easy one to project on. While Monke was the third Razorback commit in the 2018 class, catcher Nathan Stevens is the first commit in the 2019 class and one the coaching staff is happy to have on board. Yet another young talent out of the ever blossoming Midwest, Stevens offers a very short and quick stroke from the left side with plenty of bat speed and a frame that’s only going to continue to add strength and power to the profile.