baseball recruiting

U-M baseball recruiting update, with a trio of hellos

By Raoul — October 4th, 2012 at 5:28 PM — 5 comments
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When Erik Bakich made an appearance on WTKA a couple of weeks ago, he mentioned having a total of 12 commits for 2013. Here's a link to the podcast and an embed:

These 12 include several who have been noted here with Hello posts, including Jackson Lamb, Johnny Slater, Nick Kowalczuk, Keith Lehmann, Hector Gutierrez, and Trey Miller, as well as some earlier committed prospects such as Brett Adcock, T.J. Shook, and Harrison Wenson (listed in Michigan Baseball Prospects' 2013 rankings). (Adcock was the subject of this recent Prep Baseball Report interview.) Another 2013 Michigan commit is Carmen Benedetti, although he's not listed as such in his Perfect Game profile.

Here's one of the other 2013 verbals, who committed in mid-September:

Hello: Ramsey Romano

Romano is a 6-3, 185-lb shortstop out of Valhalla H.S. (El Cajon, CA). Here's his Perfect Game profile. Romano is also the QB on his school's football team, and there's now some speculation about him possibly switching to football at the college level:

Today, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior is the section’s leading passer, having thrown for 1,571 yards in five games, nearly 400 yards more than the No. 2 quarterback.....

He has already committed to play shortstop for the University of Michigan’s baseball team. That may change, though, as colleges study tape of his breakout football season.

“If something for football were to come up, I would obviously have to consider it, talk to my parents and make the best decision,” he said.

In addion to the long-committed Brandon Hughes (PG profile; Hughes is ranked #5 in the state of Michigan by both PBR and MBP), two more 2014 commitments have since come to light:

Hello: Drew Lugbauer

Lugbauer, according to his PG profile, is a 6-3, 190-lb. catcher from Arlington H.S. in Pleasant Valley, New York. Couldn't find much else about him.

Hello: Jake Bivens

Bivens, who just committed yesterday, is a 6-0, 175-lb. middle infielder from Battle Creek Lakeview H.S. He's ranked #7 in the state by PBR and #9 by MBP. Here's his PG profile and his PBR profile. PBR has this scouting report:

Battle Creek Lakeview HS, SS/2B, Class of 2014: Bivens is one of the top players in the Class of 2014 who has the ability to pick it in the middle infield. The 6-foot, 175-pound agile athlete displays smooth hands, superior glove actions and demonstrates the ability to turn two on either side of the bag.  Bivens lateral ability is a plus which assists to define him as one of the top middle infielders in his class.  At the plate, Bivens swings it from the left side. He has a balanced neutral stance and takes quality approaches allowing him to spray the field. Running home to first on a bunt Bivens is a speedy 3.8 and averages 4.1.

This PBR item also indicated the other schools he considered:

Bivens was a Midwest Futures Games participant and has seen his stock continue to rise.  After taking visits to Michigan, Michigan State, and Wake Forrest, Bivens decided to stay close to home and attend Michigan.

PBR also did an interview with Bivens back in May, and in July they had this to say about him as part of a rundown of in-state middle infielders:

Bivens is another strong middle infielder in the state of Michigan. He has flown under the radar but Bivens has good upside. Bivens is one of the premier middle infielders in his class. He runs well (6.73 60-yard dash) and uses his athleticism at short to display some smooth footwork. He was 78 MPH across the diamond but that is sure to improve over time. At the plate, Bivens has excellent balance with gap to gap power. He consistently displayed pop to the opposite field and showed a "get-on-base" approach.

Just a final note: Bakich is also off to a good start on the 2015 class with the previously noted commitment of Charlie Donovan, ranked #2 in Illinois according to PBR.

Update on Donovan: PBR released new rankings for the Illinois class of 2015 and have bumped Donovan up to the #1 position.

Hello: Charlie Donovan (baseball)

By Raoul — August 30th, 2012 at 7:25 PM — 9 comments
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Erik Bakich keeps reeling 'em in. And he has his first 2015 commit: Charlie Donovan, ranked #2 in the state of Illinois' 2015 class according to Prep Baseball Report:

Westmont is a western suburb of Chicago.

Here's about all the scouting-type info I could find on Donovan (from a PBR item from April 2012):

Charlie Donovan, Westmont HS, Class of 2015 came in for relief and might be one of the best freshmen in the state.  The 6-fooot, 160-pound RHP/SS ran his fastball up to 83 mph and features a 69 mph breaking ball with tight spin and sharp break.

His travel team, Gravel Baseball, recently won the 15u Perfect Game World Series, with Donovan leading his team with 10 RBI during the tournament.

Original caption: Westmont's Charlie Donovan shifts from shortstop to pitch in relief in the Sentinels home game with Lisle on Monday, April 23, 2012 (photo source).

Hello: Hector Gutierrez (baseball)

By Raoul — August 17th, 2012 at 10:33 AM — 23 comments
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Hector Gutierrez has committed to play baseball at Michigan, according to Prep Baseball Report:

Google led me to little information about Gutierrez. But in addition to being PBR's #9 player in the state of Michigan for 2013, Michigan Baseball Prospects has Gutierrez ranked #7 in their 2013 rankings. So along with Jackson Lamb, this is the second top-10 in-state player that Erik Bakich has landed in the short time since his hiring.

Original caption: Detroit Western Cowboys sophomore pitcher Hector Gutierrez tries to close out the 5th inning during the quarterfinal MHSAA baseball championship game in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, June 14, 2011. Photo source.

Hello: Keith Lehmann (baseball)

By Raoul — August 15th, 2012 at 3:36 PM — 8 comments
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After getting a commit from Prep Baseball Report's #14 prospect in the state of Illinois in the 2013 class, Nick Kowalczuk, a couple of weeks ago, Erik Bakich has followed up by nabbing the player ranked #5 in that state, Keith Lehmann. This latest commit was reported earlier today by PBR:

EDIT: His PBR profile lists his fastball at 87-90 mph. Here's part of their scouting report:

The 6-foot-1, 170-pound Lehmann was impressive in all facets of the game, but perhaps his biggest upside is on the mound. His arm works with little effort, as he sat 84-85 mph with his fastball, topping at 86, and with sink. He also showed advanced feel for his 74-75 mph changeup, which had run and sink as well. . . . Overall, Lehmann looks to be a high-level prospect—both as a pitcher and as a position player.

There's also a newspaper article on him from June titled Uniquely versatile junior Keith Lehmann leads title quests that emphasizes his ability/willingness to play multiple positions, including pitching and catching in the same game. Here's an excerpt:

That all-around game will help Lehmann at the next level, wherever that may be. For now, he’s received offers from Big Ten schools among others.

“He can play catcher, he can probably play any position,” [coach George] Ushela said. “He could be an outfielder easily.”

Part of that versatility comes from Lehmann’s mindset. He typically played third base in the field this year, but doesn’t view pitching much differently than any other position.

“I kind of just look at pitching as another position and when you move up you’re usually just a pitcher, but I’m hopefully looking to play the field in college if I play and pitch,” Lehmann said. “I really wasn’t even really a good pitcher up until I got to high school and I realized I could throw hard and then I learned some pitches and got it done.”

Link for Darth Wolverine: What Is Baseball?

Hello: Trey Miller (baseball)

By Raoul — August 4th, 2012 at 5:18 PM — 17 comments
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The latest in a string of Michigan baseball commits for 2013 is Trey Miller, a 6-0, 170-pound shortstop out of Lexington Catholic H.S. in Lexington, Kentucky. Here's one of the tweets announcing his commitment:

About the only scouting-type info I could find on Miller was this brief item from a recent Prep Baseball Report post titled Top 15 Uncommitted Players from Midwest Baseball Classic:

Trey Miller, SS, Lexington Catholic HS, Kentucky
True shortstops seem to get more scarce by the week, but the 6-foot, 170-pound Miller showed that he has the feet and arm strength to do it. Aside from all the actiony things he does with his hands, Miller showcases an unquantifiable energy in his legs and feet as he played through the ball.

It seems that he also has some speed on the base paths, given this:

Hello: Nick Kowalczuk (baseball)

By Raoul — July 30th, 2012 at 10:30 PM — 8 comments
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Erik Bakich is certainly on a bit of a roll here—he got another commitment over the weekend, and his first one from outside Michigan: Nick Kowalczuk. Prep Baseball Report has the details:

Nick Kowalczuk, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound 1B from Oak Park-River Forest HS, has committed to the University of Michigan. Ranked No. 14 in Illinois’ Class of 2013, Kowalczuk is one of the best right-handed hitters in Illinois. He played a critical role in Oak Park’s Class 4A state championship, finishing with 34 RBI and 40 hits.

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