baseball

Tigers have signed OF Rajai Davis to a two-year deal, in the range of $9-10 million ($4-5 million/year). Here's a link to his stats page. And a summary from MLB Trade Rumors:

Davis, 33, hasn't played in an everyday role for the Blue Jays over the last three seasons, but has seen enough action to rack up nearly 1,200 plate appearances, recording a .252/.299/.369 slash line. The speedster has also added 125 stolen bases over that period. That batting line may not be particularly impressive, but his .297/.363/.455 line against left-handed pitchers dating back to 2011 certainly is.

Not a blockbuster signing, but I like it. He's got good speed, can hit for average, and looks to be about an average-to-below average fielder. I think this could turn out to be a good signing.

Just a day after gaining a big commit from an in-state southpaw in the 2015 class, Collin Goslin, the Michigan baseball staff this afternoon got more good news, adding the top in-state player in the 2016 class to its recruiting haul: Karl Kauffmann, a 6-1, 180-lb. right-handed pitcher out of Brother Rice H.S. Not only the #1 player in the state, Kauffmann is also ranked #6 overall in Prep Baseball Report's 2016 rankings for their 10-state region.

Here's what PBR had to say about him in an October piece about top players in each state:

A 6-foot-1, 180-pound righty that already sits in the mid 80s. Kaufmann, ranked sixth overall, pitches with poise, a smooth delivery and easy arm action. He has been up to 87 and shown an improved breaking ball this summer with tighter spin. It sits 73-75 now. He also shows smooth actions in the infield and good bat speed, but looks like more of an asset on the mound at this time. He has already received interest from nearby schools like Michigan and Michigan State, but is also on North Carolina’s radar.

In addition to North Carolina and MSU, he had also attracted the attention of Vanderbilt, indicating how highly sought after he was. Needless to say, the commitment of Kauffmann amounts to a stellar start to Michigan's 2016 class. It also shows a continued tapping of the Brother Rice pipeline, with two other future Warriors-turned-Wolverines upcoming: 2014 signee Ty Kiafoulis and 2015 commit Nick Plummer.

photo of Kauffmann from PBR profile page

The Michigan baseball coaching staff, which has been actively pursuing a number of 2015 and 2016 pitchers, today landed a big one: 6-3, 180-lb. southpaw Collin Goslin—one of the top in-state players in the 2015 class. He attends Dearborn Divine Child, so with his commitment to Michigan he's following in the footsteps of two notable former Wolverines, Alan Oaks and Patrick Biondi. Goslin also continues a strong trend from the 2014 class of the Michigan staff stockpiling left-handed pitchers; recently signing with the Wolverines in that class were lefties Michael Hendrickson, Oliver Jaskie, and Grant Reuss.

In a Chris Webb blog item posted in October, Goslin indicated that Vanderbilt, Louisville, Michigan State, and Ohio State were the main schools recruiting him, in addition to Michigan; Kentucky and Northwestern had reportedly also expressed interest. His full list of offers isn't known, but he did pick one up from OSU in October. Webb said that Goslin has "a strong three-pitch arsenal led by an upper-80s fastball," and he also notes that Goslin has played quarterback for Divine Child for the last two seasons. (Note that Goslin's Divine Child teammate, Dion Henderson, who's mentioned in Webb's post, recently committed to Kentucky.)

Here's a more detailed scouting report from Prep Baseball Report, included in an October rundown of top left-handed pitchers:

Ranked third in the state, Goslin is a strong-bodied lefty with a projectable 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame. He sat 86-88 at the Midwest Future Games and featured a mid-70s curveball that has swing-and-miss potential. He also mixes in a changeup at 78-79. He’s a good athlete with some effort to his delivery and pitches from a high three-quarter slot.

PBR has Goslin ranked #43 overall in the 2015 class.

photo of Goslin from PBR profile page

Below are the PBR overall rankings (encompassing their ten-state coverage area) for Michigan's six 2015 commits. Note that Nick Plummer was recently bumped up from #30 to #20. Plummer and Goslin are PBR's #2 and #3 players from the state of Michigan in the 2015 class, so Erik Bakich and his staff continue to do well with their in-state recruiting efforts.

• 14. Charlie Donovan 5-10 SS (Hello post)
• 20. Nick Plummer 5-10 OF (Hello post)
• 43. Collin Goslin 6-3 LHP
• 67. Ako Thomas 5-8 2B (Hello post)
• 228. Andrew David 5-10 SS (Hello post*)
• 235. Nick Azar 6-3 SS (Hello post)

*Hello post is Ace's from the front page. David will be on a football scholarship, but he evidently also plans to play baseball at Michigan.

The new FieldTurf at Ray Fisher Stadium at the Wilpon Baseball Complex has been completed and painted. It looks pretty nice. Really like the Block Ms.

I also notice the outfield wall padding with retired numbers has been removed. Perhaps they're redoing the designs to (hopefully) include all the championship years and not just put "35 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS" and then the most recent year like it was.

Alumni Field is next. Hope they paint it up nice. Maybe an M in center field.

The new HD video board being tested while the work was being done on the field. Updated logos as well. Very nice.

Continuing to clean up in the Chicago area, Erik Bakich, recruiting coordinator Nick Schnabel, and the entire Michigan staff received more good news tonight, with word of the verbal commitment of Ako Thomas, a 5-8, 150-pound second baseman from Chicago's Mount Carmel High School, class of 2015. Prep Baseball Report had this to say about him in a July 2013 hotlist:

At 5-foot-7, 150 pounds, Thomas may be one of the smallest participants at the Midwest Future Games, but he plays big on the field. He served as Mount Carmel’s starting second baseman on the Caravan’s Class 4A state championship squad, teaming with shortstop Jerry Houston (Oregon recruit) to comprise arguably the best infield in Illinois. Thomas is a hard-nosed player who makes everything look routine. He also has a knack for barreling up baseballs and getting on base.

Here's more from PBR taken from an August rundown following the Midwest Future Games:

It’s not often that a high school second baseman, much less one that is 5-foot-8, stands out. But Thomas proved over the three days that he can flat hit. He seldom swings and misses, and always seems to find the barrel. He led Team Illinois with five hits, including a leadoff double.

PBR also published a feature on Thomas in September—Diminutive Ako Thomas Not Limited by Size—that mentions him planning to visit Michigan in November and also having been in contact with Missouri and Iowa. Perfect Game mentioned Thomas in an item on a September event:

Ako Thomas is also an intriguing prospect. Listed at just 5-feet-8, 150-pounds, he hits cleanup in Gravel’s batting order and has proven time and again he can handle himself well both at the plate and while patrolling second base. Thomas (2015, Chicago) was named the Most Valuable Player at the 15u PG World Series after hitting .455 (10-for-22) with 12 runs scored and five RBI.

“I was just feeling good; that was the best tournament I had that year,” he said Friday. “I knew there was a ring in it for us and I really wanted to win that ring.”

PBR has Thomas ranked #15 in Illinois and #69 overall in the 2015 class. I don't know his current Perfect Game ranking, but in late 2012 he was ranked #150 nationally.

Here are the PBR overall rankings (encompassing their ten-state coverage area) for Michigan's five 2015 commits:

• 8. Charlie Donovan (Hello post)
• 30. Nick Plummer (Hello post)
• 69. Ako Thomas
• 193. Nick Azar (Hello post)
• 217. Andrew David (Hello post*)

*Hello post is Ace's from the front page. David will be on a football scholarship, but he evidently also plans to play baseball at Michigan.

Just two days before the beginning of the early signing period, Michigan has added to its impressive 2014 class with the commitment tonight of Ryan Nutof, a 6-2, 185-pound right-handed pitcher who emerged during the summer as one of the top uncommitted 2014 prospects in the Midwest. PBR posted this eval in a July rundown of players creating buzz:

It’s not often that high-end prospects fly under our radar for this long, but that has been the case of the hard-throwing Nutof. In a 10-day span this June, Nutof lit it up in three short-pen outings. The first was at the Black and Silver, when he came out firing 89-91 mph fastballs. His arm is quick, loose and athletic. He showed feel for three pitches and the ability to pound the strike zone. He was 88-91 in his other two outings as well. South Elgin doesn’t have a track record of producing high-level prospects, but the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder has significant upside and a live arm.

In a PBR feature posted in September, Nutof said he had taken visits to Michigan State, Northwestern, and Ball State and had "also received considerable interest from Wichita State, Pepperdine and several other schools." PBR has Nutof ranked #15 in Illinois and #68 in their ten-state region. As the chart below of the Wolverines' ten-member class shows, Michigan has now gained commitments from six prospects in PBR's overall top 100 for 2014—and three of those six are from the Chicago metro area, which has turned into fertile recruiting ground for Erik Bakich and his staff. Michigan also landed two 2013 players from Chicagoland—Nick Kowalczuk and Keith Lehmann—and they have a commitment from the #1 player in Illinois for 2015, Charlie Donovan from Westmont H.S.