Kentucky Picks Up A Pair Of Baseball Commits

[caption id="attachment_197987" align="aligncenter" width="600"] GateHouse Ohio Media/Kevin Whitlock[/caption] The BatCats received commitments from two-way player Christopher Machamer and JUCO outfielder Luke Heyer prior to tomorrow's opening of the Spring Signing Period. Machamer is a top 300 recruit by Perfect Game for the class of 2016. He was previously committed to Vanderbilt before flipping to UK. Heyer comes from College of Central Florida. Heyer is hitting .351 with 12 home runs and 55 RBIs as a sophomore this year. Here is the breakdown of the two commits.

Christopher Machamer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP8j6eNiFw8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNfkzse7NjI Machamer is an Ohio-native who played both ways in high school. Perfect Game charted him at 91 on his fastball, but Prep Baseball Report has him anywhere from 88-92. The 6'3" righty will mix in a curve and a change as well. Machamer is ranked as the #2 prospect in Ohio by PBR behind Louisville-commit Nick Bennett. When he verbally committed to Vandy in 2014, Machamer was the #1 prospect in the state. Scouts like Machamer on both sides of the ball, but I'm guessing Coach Henderson is looking forward to working with him on the hill. With Riley Mahan, Zeke Lewis, and incoming stud Jaren Shelby, it would be a crowded infield if he chose to play shortstop. Time will tell if Machamer steps foot on campus with the MLB Draft this summer. This is still a great pick up for the 2016 class.

Luke Heyer

[caption id="attachment_197986" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Photo courtesy of CCF Athletics[/caption] The JUCO transfer announced on March 29th that he would come to UK. This is news because the spring signing period starts tomorrow and players can officially sign. Heyer has torn up the FCSAA in 2016 with 12 homers in 42 games. The Florida-product has an impressive .473 OBP and a .662 slugging percentage. Heyer has seen his stock rise since attending JUCO in 2014 when he was the #238 outfielder in the country. There are no available of videos of Heyer at any level, so it's tough to give true scouting report on him. It will be nice to add some depth to the outfield for next season alongside Tristan Pompey and Storm Wilson.