DirtyLopez said:
who are the "difference makers" that we are recruiting for this class?</p>
"difference maker" correctly, but I'm going to assume you mean someone that can help out on day 1?
I'd say Trevor Fitts, Brandon Woodruff, Jacob Lindgren- if he is healthy, and I will be watching this in the spring, who are all committed.
Then I would say of the guys that we're still recruiting-
Mookie Betts- from Nashville, he hit well over .500 and hit seven home runs, and I believe he stole over 20 bases. He is a middle infield/CF type at 5'8". He has offers from MSU and UAB, and has be asked to visit Vanderbilt and UT.
Spencer Turnbull- from Madison Central. He is 6'3" 215 and is a RH pitcher. He tops out at 92 and is consistently about 87-90. He pitched very little last year because he had an injury while playing first base- did not affect his pitching arm, and also because of the fact that MC is absolutely loaded with pitching. They had two D-I commitments that were seniors, and then they have two more D-I prospects that were juniors, and they have another pitcher who is a sophomore that will be a D-I prospect as well in a couple of years. He has a good curveball, and I saw him pitch (post injury) in the State Championship against Petal, and he did pretty well.
Josh Laxer- also from Madison Central. He is a 6'1" 195 pound RH pitcher who tops out at 95 and is consistently in the low 90's. He is probably a better prospect than Turnbull. Unfortunately, he is an Ole Miss lean. But he certainly would be an instant impact guy.
Todd Wilkerson from Hazel Green High School in Huntsville, Alabama. He is a 5'10" middle infield prospect and despite his size, he was able to hit 11 home runs and more impressively, he stole 40 (that's not a typo) bases. He hit .401 last year as well. (Offers from MSU, UT, Bama, and Auburn- he wants to go out of state, so it's between MSU and UT)
Those are the main guys that I think can come in right away and help us out. Philip Casey, who just committed, falls in this next category for me.
Jonathan Holder- from Gulfport. He is a potential dual position guy in college that has had a really good summer. He is 6'3" and he projects as a first baseman/outfielder. He hit 8 home runs last year, but he only hit .380. As a pitcher, he only went 3-5 and had an ERA in the 2.40's. We are looking at him to maybe do both, and he will probably commit this week. He has an offer from MSU and USM. I think he will end up as a position player first baseman/corner outfield guy, but I'd like to see him get his average up and his ERA down.
Tyler Fullerton- from Tennessee. The coaching staff really likes him and compares him to CT Bradford. That said, they also really like Trey Johnson who did jack squat. He is a CF type, but again his average was in the high .300's, which again I would like to see him get up. He did have over 20 stolen bases, so he has good speed, and since they are comparing him to CT Bradford, I'm assuming that he's a hard nosed player.
Those are the main guys that I am aware of. BDJ- which is now kicking Gene's *** in baseball coverage to, is saying that we are only going to sign about 10 guys this year. Personally, I think it will be more like 12 or so. If Cohen sees someone that he thinks can help us out right away, we'll recruit them and find a place for them. Also, Cohen's staff is recruiting all over- I heard about him going to Delaware to look at a pitcher after the extravaganza in Jackson, so there could very well be guys popping up that very few know about. Philip Casey is an example of that.