October Baseball Recruiting Update: Hello, Hello, Hello

Submitted by Raoul on

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.

Comments

mds315

October 26th, 2012 at 2:38 PM ^

So my knowledge of college and high school baseball is pretty much nothing.  Is 79-82 for a fastball typical for someone in high school?  I know their juniors so that means still two full seasons, but that seemed kind of low.

Raoul

October 26th, 2012 at 3:33 PM ^

You and the guy below may already know this, but I think it's important to keep in mind that few baseball prospects get full scholarships. Giving partial scholarships to Vancena and Jaskie may make sense given their potential upside; another scouting site, Perfect Game, called them "talented" prospects and called Jaskie "a crafty pitcher, topping out at 81 with his fastball earlier this summer." I think it's important to note that MSU was very interested in Jaskie, and it's critical that Bakich win some in-state recruiting battles with the Spartans.

Along the same lines, there's no way a northern school can succeed in college baseball without getting top in-state players. Reuss is clearly one of them, so getting him to commit is a coup for Bakich (as was the earlier commitment of Jackson Lamb, the no. 1 player in Michigan in the 2013 class).

(There, I'm at a nice round number and can now retire.)

mgoblueben

October 26th, 2012 at 2:39 PM ^

I really hope Vancena projects to another position.  Fastball sits at 79-82? curve at 59-62?  That's just asking for a new Big Ten record for highest ERA.  Reuss sounds like a nice get but were far from competing for the B1G, forget nationally. 

bacon1431

October 26th, 2012 at 7:57 PM ^

I wouldn't pay too much attention to that. As was stated below, scouting report was old and he's still filling out his body. Will probably see an increase in velocity with college S&C program and better coaching to improe the fundamentals. Even if his velocity is low, he'll be fine if he has movement on his pitches. Just look at Doug Fister. Very successful in the MLB and never tops 92 but has great movement on every pitch. Yes, that's higher than 82 but it's also against the best hitters in the world, which none of our pitchers will face.

baseball dream

October 26th, 2012 at 4:10 PM ^

PBR has not updated his profile in a year...below are a few posts from the fall league he played in over in Cleveland..he was also selected to the perfect game world underclass all tournament team recently held in fort Myers ,Florida October 5-8..

SCOUTS NOTES ON PLAYER’S FROM ALL PROSPECT LEAGUE: sept 16

WEEK 3

Jayce Vancena-RHP 2014

Big strong body that projects out to the pro level.  Fast ball sat at 86-88mph, and touched 89-90mph several times.  Showed late breaking curve ball at 73-74mph, and change up had arm side run and good arm speed.  When he worked ahead in the count with his fastball he was dominant.

OCT
1
2012
TOP PITCHING PERFORMANCES FOR SEPTEMBER 30TH WEEKEND
Sunday at All Pro Freight Stadium, there were a lot of impressive high school arms on display, here’s some notes from Sunday, 9/30.  Position Player notes will also be posted in the coming days.

TOP RIGHT HANDER SHOWINGS FROM 9/30:

JAYCE VANCENA: He showed good command of his fastball, and it sat between 86-88mph, and topped at 90mph.  He showed a sharp breaking ball that was between 71-74mph, and has a big league body at 6’4” 225lbs (at 16 years old).