August 15 - Baseball Deadline

[bomanishus]

A week from today is when draftees are off limits and are secure in school.

Any word on our signees getting last minute pressure?

What about the QB/Baseball player at LSU - is he sticking with school?

Also, Jacoby Jones - never saw that he had signed, either.

Thanks
</p>

 

[Todd4State]

the one that I am the most worried about signing is Hunter Renfroe, who was drafted by the Red Sox in the 31st round. Following him, the next players that are getting pressure to sign in order would probably be Taylor Stark- as a pitcher by the Nationals, DeMarcus Henderson- infielder/outfielder by the Astros, Daryl Norris- as a pitcher by the Rangers, but will be a dual position player in college, and then finally C T Bradford, an outfielder drafted by the Indians.

I think that we stand a pretty good chance of getting all of those players in, but until then I am keeping my fingers crossed. All of those players have said that they are probably going to go to MSU, and all of them are "far apart" from the money that they would want to go pro. Obviously, that can change a lot in the upcoming week as it is going to get really hectic.

As far as Zak Lee- I believe that's his name- the LSU QB/baseball player- the Dodgers drafted him knowing that they may not be able to sign him. What the Dodgers are hoping for is another first round pick in the next baseball draft. I know- it's crazy. The Dodgers have a lot of financial things that are up in the air with the McCourt divorce, and it's caused some unrest throughout their entire organization. And that's what I think a lot of that pick was about. Remember, next year there is also likely going to be a slotting system in place, so the Dodgers might end up saving some money. I expect Lee to be at LSU next year. It will be interesting to see how he handles playing football and baseball because QB is so demanding. It's a lot different when a punter plays both sports or even a safety like Chad Jones.


Jacoby Jones- As far as I know, he has not signed. Personal opinion from an outsider here- I think he wants to go pro, but he was drafted WAY lower than he wanted. I think it will go down to the last day, but I think he signs. He was going to be tough to sign anyway because he wants a good bit of money.

 

[dawgtalk03]

I am the most worried about DeMarcus if he were to get an offer somewhere in the ballpark of 300-350K i've heard that he may sign. I think he is the only one that we could possibly lose but I agree with Todd that I think we should be ok with all of our signees. Hunter Renfroe went to Boston for a workout with all of their drafted guys on the 4th of July weekend and said he was not offered. He asked his area scout what ballpark figure they could offer him and it wasn't even close to what it would take for him to pass up MSU.

As for Jacoby, he has been DH'ing some this summer for the Mississippi Prospects and I think he will sign close to the last day. I think he wants to go pro and will get a deal somewhere in the 1.5-2 million dollar range. JaCoby was called by the Astros before the draft and they said they would take him with the 8th pick if he would sign for 1.2 million. He declined because he really wants close to 2 million to turn pro. I think the Scott Boras factor and signability is what led to him being drafted low. I've heard that the Astros think he could be there shortstop of the future and they are willing to put up the money to sign him.

 

[maroonmania]

given we know that Chase Lewallen won't be coming. We really need some options for middle infielders.

 

[Todd4State]

given we know that Chase Lewallen won't be coming. We really need some options for middle infielders.

IF we lose DeMarcus. But rememeber we also signed Adam Frazier and Garrett Pitts, both of who are capable and could play the middle infield. We also have Taylor Stark who could play there.

And then in this current class that we are signing, we are after two guys that I think we will get commitments from in Mookie Betts and Todd Wilkerson that project as middle infielders and we have a commitment from Philip Casey, who is a SS from Texas.

We also have Sam Frost (don't laugh).

We should be OK there for the foreseeable future.

 

[DirtyLopez]

going to have competition for positions. By being able to get this many recruits that are all pretty highly thought of, many at the same positions, we are bound to find some good players. And this is what it will take inthe current landscape of college baseball. Kudos to Cohenfor being able to getthis many to come and compete forplaying time. We just need to get those topflite pitchers in here.

 

[Todd4State]

they will push each other to be the best that they can be. When you've got a guy behind you that wants your innings and at bats, you've got to stay on top of your game.

LSU a couple of years ago had to sit an outfielder that was pretty good named Leon Landry because they couldn't get him in the lineup. That's the kind of problem you want to have.


And the thing about baseball players, they are all going to go through slumps. They are all going to get tired, they may have injuries, some may get kicked out of school, or drafted or whatever. And we have to have someone that can fill the void and contribute right away if needed. Otherwise, we're going to have some major holes in our team.

Also, I agree 100% about bringing in good pithing. We need at least seven quality pitchers at a minimum. And that is my complaint about this last class- I think we are gambling on some guys, when we don't need to be gambling as far as the pitching recruits. Like Evan Mitchell, Victor Diaz, Jamie McMahon, Ross Mitchell, and Luis Pollerena. In the SEC, you have to be good now. You can't redshirt, and then develop for three years and then contribute as a senior.

But, I will say that two things that I do like about this current class:

1. We have gotten some quality pitchers in Trevor Fitts, hopefully a healthy Jacob Lindgren, and Brandon Woodruff, and Jonathan Holder.

2. There are no JUCO recruits in this class so far.

That is the one thing that we really need to be focusing on in recruiting right now- getting the best arms that we can find.