Grant Reuss

As StateStreetApostle suggested in my last baseball recruiting update, cue the Three Stooges:

Hello: Jayce Vancena

Prep Baseball Repot (PBR) reported in mid-October the verbal commitment for the 2014 class of Jayce Vancena, a 6-4, 210-lb. right-handed pitcher out of Lake H.S. (near Millbury, Ohio, southeast of Toledo). His PBR profile has this scouting report:

Vancena is a big, projectable right-handed pitcher and definite follow over the next two years. On the mound, he uses an over the top arm slot and short arm action. With his delivery, he hides the ball well. His fastball sits between 79-82 mph. When throwing his 59-62 mph curveball, he tends to slow down his arm speed. His changeup, which sits between 69-72 mph, shows some fading action. At the plate, the right-handed hitter shows pull tendencies has he creates solid contact with power potential.

Hello: Oliver Jaskie

Also in mid-October, another 2014 prospect committed to Michigan: Oliver Jaskie, a 6-4 southpaw pitcher from Forest Hills H.S. (Ada Twp., near Grand Rapids). In addition his profile, PBR has this brief scouting report from a September scouting notes item:

Jaskie continues to show that he knows how to pitch and pitch effectively.  His breaking ball was tighter than what he have seen in the past and his change up again was a really effective pitch.  His change is advanced for such a young age.

An earlier rundown indicates that PBR had Jaskie ranked #12 in the state:

Jaskie continues to improve this summer.  A Midwest Futures Games invitee, Jaskie is an intriguing lefty that is only going to get better.  His velo might not jump off the page right now but he knows how to pitch. His changeup is his best pitch and he uses his height, 6-foot-4, to create good tilt.  Jaskie is currently ranked No. 12 in his class.

See also this PBR Q&A from August, in which he indicates he also considered MSU and CMU. In their 2014 rankings, Michigan Baseball Prospects (MBP) has Jaskie #15 in the state.

Hello: Grant Reuss

Apparently the most highly ranked of this trio of 2014 commits is Grant Reuss, another left-handed pitcher, who's 6-5, 210 lbs., out of Cranbrook Kingswood in Bloomfield Hills. Reuss verbally committed to the Wolverines earlier today. PBR has Reuss as their #3 prospect in Michigan for 2014 and offered the following scouting report in this July rundown:

Reuss is one of the best lefties in his class and currently checks in at No. 4 [now #3] ] in the class of 2014.  He has been up to 89 mph in the past and he was 86-88 mph on this day.  Reuss continues to raise his stock. Standing at 6-foot-6 Reuss is long and loose.  He also has the makings of a good breaking ball. Consistency in his delivery will be the key to Reuss' development.

MBP ranks Reuss #2 in the state, and they also have a profile page for him with several videos.

With the addition of these three commits, Erik Bakich now has six commits for the class of 2014, with the others being Jake Bivens, Brandon Hughes, and Drew Lugbauer (see the previous recruiting update for details).

Michigan's 2013 baseball class includes about a dozen commits, including Ethan Cohen.