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Post by chinmusic on Nov 20, 2019 22:28:10 GMT -8
One week after National Signing Day, Baseball America has announced their Top-15 college recruiting classes for 2020. Here's their view FWIW.
1. Texas
2. Vanderbilt
3. Arkansas
4. UCLA
5. Mississippi State
6. Florida
7. Oklahoma
8. Miami
9. LSU
10. Arizona State
11. Arizona
12. TCU
13. Stanford
14. South Carolina
15. Virginia
A couple of interesting notes:
A. UCLA's top recruit is the #1 ranked catcher in the class, Tyler Soderstrom. The son of a former SF Giant player, Tyler was committed to Oregon State for almost a year prior to changing to UCLA.
B. Arizona State's class was bolstered by the late addition of infielder Hunter Haas who flipped from OSU.
C. Arizona State also received help when touted catcher Logan Paustian flipped his long time committment from Nebraska to ASU. Logan's advanced defensive skills and strong arm will help ASU early in 2020. Logan was injured all of 2019 but was a standout for 3 years at LaGrande, Oregon HS.
D. Arizona's class ranking feceived a bump when switch hitting catcher, Daniel Susac switched from OSU to Arizona shortly before NSD.
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Post by shelby on Nov 21, 2019 7:36:24 GMT -8
Of all the rankings, in all of the sports, this may be the most meaningless. Baseball is a very difficult sport to project, especially based on high school performance. We have all seen bloated batting averages coming into their Freshman year, become anemic - and bench time becoming the norm. Yes, there are hits & misses in this type of compilation.
Perhaps, more accurately, if one could look at the class purely from a standpoint of pitching talent, you may get a better picture of what a particular class might actually deliver.
I like that our class does not have a lot of pressure from the start and that the kids will be challenged. Can't wait to see them rise to the challenge. Go Beavers !
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Post by baseba1111 on Nov 21, 2019 8:18:11 GMT -8
In and of itself the supposed class ranking isn't pressure on individual recruits. The pressure is being at an elite baseball school and making the roster.
College freedom, academics, straight into Fall ball is what makes or breaks a baseball recruit. It's the fans and media that care about rankings. Players are trying to adapt and get better. To learn what is expected of them by these coaches.
Just like individual rankings, class rankings (especially since both are mainly based on word of mouth and not actual indepth scouting and vs varied competition) mean zero once you hit the field in college.
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Post by chinmusic on Nov 21, 2019 16:27:18 GMT -8
Exactly, class rankings are for the fans. Coaches and players aren't concerned with that. Polls, rankings, lists, etc. are compiled for the purpose of providing readers/subscribers with "content". They are a method of soliciting clicks and revenue for the enterprise.
My take? Oregon State recruits regionally, primarily in the Pacific Northwest. Not an ideal climate for the game, not a heavily populated area outside of the Seatte and Portland metro. High Schools tend to have smaller enrollments, a shorter season, and far less exposure during the prep season. A lot of the Pacific Northwest's best baseball comes during the summer season when travel teams and elite tournament teams are assembled for tournament play and national competition.
The scouts see our kids year around but the writers and internet publications do not, they get a quick look during their coverage of summer tournament play. The summer months are a flury of activity and opportunity for northwest kids. Showcase events, Regional and World Series events everywhere. USA Baseball, World Wide Baseball Association, Baseball America, Prep Baseball Report, Perfect Game, MLK Foundation, and many others conduct a series of tournaments at different locales every summer.
I have always felt Oregon State classes were undervalued. The difference between the #50 ranked player in the country and OSU's # 378 player is maybe a twitch here and there, if that. You need look no further than Adley or Jacoby to make that case. Our kids punch way above their weight. The Beavers recruit potential and they are terrific at developing it.
This stuff is just baseball information you may or may not care about. It has little relevance to what teams are able to accomplish on the diamond.
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Post by qbeaver on Dec 12, 2019 19:41:20 GMT -8
The class rankings mean nothing until the deadline ends,and you see who signed with an MLB team and who doesn't. Who shows up on campus and who doesn't is the only thing that matters in the end...
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