Baseball America: Michigan's 2013 Recruiting Class Best since 2005
Baseball America today released their recruiting class rankings for 2013, and while Michigan's class didn't make the top 25, it was included among the "next ten," which were simply listed alphabetically. They said the class is probably the program's best in eight years:
Michigan: It did not take second-year head coach Erik Bakich and recruiting coordinator Nick Schnabel long to infuse talent into their roster; their first recruiting class looks like the Wolverines’ best since their banner 2005 haul. The centerpiece is RHP/IF Jackson Lamb (306), an athletic former all-state basketball player who can reach 93 off the mound and can run a 6.7-second 60-yard dash. OF Johnny Slater has a loose lefthanded swing with power potential and excellent range in the outfield. Ramsey Romano is versatile enough to play all over the infield and owns a short, repeatable righthanded swing. Two-way talent Hector Gutierrez can play shortstop or second and can reach 92 off the mound when he is at his best.
Nebraska, ranked #11, was the only Big Ten team to make the top 25. Minnesota was included among the "other notable classes."
Bakich and his staff are putting together another very good recruiting class for 2014, and they are off to a great start on 2015. Michigan baseball seems on track to return to its traditional place at the top of the conference.
October 22nd, 2013 at 7:18 PM ^
Thanks for sharing this, Raoul.
As for Hector Gutierrez in particular, I know there have been several articles in the past year or so about his recruitment and acceptance at Michigan. There were also a few more about him speaking to kids in Detroit to follow their baseball dreams as he has, or is at least beginning to do. There are some great stories behind this class and hopefully they do well in the coming season.
October 22nd, 2013 at 7:39 PM ^
someone can continue to give us some insight on the board when the season starts, as far as how the team is doing and things to look for.
October 22nd, 2013 at 8:26 PM ^
Besides the weather is there any reason if we invest the money in the program Michigan can't be consistenly in the top10-15 year after year? It's seems like our expectations are pretty low. What does the best team in a terrible conference really get you anyways?
October 22nd, 2013 at 9:02 PM ^
But you can't just dismiss the weather as a minor issue. I just don't see the Big Ten's recruiting disadvantage going away anytime soon (barring a major climate shift).
Right now, I'd be happy to see the program back at the top of the conference—and then see where Bakich can take it from there. There's no doubt that Michigan is investing considerable money in the program. The current overhaul of the stadium is much more extensive than just installing FieldTurf—they're replacing/expanding the dugouts, they've installed a new scoreboard, etc. That's going to help with recruiting, and from what I've heard there's no staff in the Big Ten that's going to outwork Bakich's crew on the recruiting trail. In the long term, I think the expectations are high—you just sound unreasonably impatient.
October 23rd, 2013 at 12:38 AM ^
Agreed - the climate is a huge factor. Having to play 20+ games on the road to start every season is a real drag, and elite players from the major recruiting centers have offers that will make life much easier on them. Softball is the same way - the only reason Michigan is a power there is that we have one of the 2 or 3 greatest coaches in the history of the sport driving our program, and it took her decades to build that kind of success.
I just hope Bakich continues to recruit well & get results on the field, and most importantly, I hope that he is at Michigan for the long haul. If he has the success & will to stick around for 10-20 years, we could see extended control of the B10 and occasional years where we make a bit of noise in the tournament. Unfortunately, more than that is not likely to be feasible until global warming makes everywhere into Florida or something.
October 24th, 2013 at 10:07 AM ^
As for baseball, facilities were something of an issue. Nebraska's coach told me they have a heating system under their infield so warm air comes up through the ground. Nobody else in the Big Ten had that when I was playing. M and MSU had worse facilities than Eastern Mich(Oosterban excepted). When it rained at MSU the dugout flooded and we had to sit on football benches set up on the first base line with an arbitrary "out of play" area. Not to mention the tree behind right field that made calling homeruns a circus. Illinois and Penn St are so close to farms that you smell cow shit all game some days. These things don't help the weather situation at all. At least some of these schools have done major upgrades recently or will soon. But the cow shit smell has to get fixed.
October 23rd, 2013 at 8:00 AM ^
The main reason why Minnesota has had such a good program for so many years is that they could play year round, just like Southern schools. Obviously, this is because of the Metrodome. They even used to host a big tournament with a lot of top schools early in the spring when every other Northern team was heading South. The weather plays a big role. The key is to keep the best regional talent North. If they are able to do that, they will be atop the Conference and be able to mix in long NCAA tournament runs like Indiana did this past year.
October 22nd, 2013 at 9:06 PM ^
he's doing a great job recruiting, but he's running kids off the team to make room. it's not the michigan way to win. baseball not being under the spotlight it won't get attention. He's been surprised when kid's have not wanted to leave when demoted becasue they actually want a Michigan education.
October 22nd, 2013 at 9:35 PM ^
October 23rd, 2013 at 7:55 AM ^
He wants his guys that he is recruiting in there competing and playing. That also means he needs the scholarships of those who will not be. There is a pretty good chance that the guys who he inherited are not as good as the guys he wants to bring in. No way he is against having the old regime on the team as long as they are not bad for team chemistry. This happens everytime there is a coaching change here at Michigan and everywhere else and you are right, it did happen with Maloney. Coaches have to win immediately, especially here at Michigan.
October 23rd, 2013 at 3:56 PM ^