signee's???

[tigerh8er]

has anyone heard about who we signed??

 

[bamabaseballfan]

Three from Shelton State. 1B/C Clay Jones (Bibb County), P Jonathan Smartt (Holt), and P Adam Scott (Hueytown). I'm assuming the kid from Louisiana(I can't remember his name) signed as well.

 

[JoJoforHeisman]

Taylor Dugas, a lefty-swinging OF from Lafayette, Louisiana, and football commitment Destin Hood, a SS/OF from St. Paul's in Mobile, the highest-rated prospect in the class.

Speaking of St. Paul's, I see that one of that school's alums that wasn't considered good enough to play for us just picked up his first career Cy Young Award today...talk about one of your all-time backfires. :banghead:
Most egregious failure of talent evaluation in the program's history.

 

[bamabaseballfan]

Do you think Hood will even make it to campus? If he does he more than likely wouldn't play his first year because Saban's policy is you have to go through one spring practice first. Ex. Justin Woodall. BTW, is he still planning on playing?

 

[JoJoforHeisman]

The last reports all indicated that Woodall was planning to pitch next season. It would probably be in his best interests to just quit football altogether and concentrate on the sport that could actually make him a millionaire. Let's face it - if he can't even beat out Marcus Carter for playing time in football, then he must be awful. The key to Woodall's future as a professional athlete is his left arm, plain and simple.

A lot can happen between now and June, but Hood clearly has first-round potential. A premium athlete with the chance to develop four legitimate plus tools (his arm strength is slightly below average) won't be sitting out there very long. Unless his football commitment and/or bonus demands deter big league clubs from signing him, the odds of Hood ever appearing at Sewell-Thomas are probably not in our favor at this point. But again, you just never know what might transpire over the next few months. Keep your fingers crossed.

 

[JoJoforHeisman]

If he does he more than likely wouldn't play his first year because Saban's policy is you have to go through one spring practice first.

Maybe he can be convinced to allow players to participate in both, as Franchione did. After all, spring practice lasts only a couple of weeks, and if football is still given priority (as it was under Fran), it's not like they'd be missing any of it anyway. Either way, I'm just glad that Saban even allows his players to play baseball, unlike his fervently anti-baseball predecessors (Don Shula's kid and that drunken geezer who was there for a spring before he got canned for hanging out in seedy strip joints...I think he eventually took a new job over in Juarez...aha, Price, that's it).

 

[bamabaseballfan]

I definitely agree about Woodall. If you throw mid 90s as he did in high school from the left side, you can almost add as many zeros as you want to a contract. I still don't understand why he turned down a million dollars from the Mets. At the point I'm wishing JPW would come on down to Sewell-Thomas as well.

I hope Hood does the same thing that Kevin Patterson did when he signed with Auburn. Set the price so high that no one will match it and he'll drop down in the draft.

Speaking of Auburn, Bama better step it up. They signed another very good class. The next coach they have is going to inherit a gold mine. They signed the #1 rated player in the state in Upchurch from Faith Academy in Mobile and Tyler Stovall from Hokes Bluff. I hope neither of them make it to campus.

 

[bamabaseballfan]

alaprospects.com has a list of people who have signed where. These are only the ones that they, their parents, high school, or college coaches have submitted. Also, it's only instate kids. Kelby Deerman LHP/1B Madison Academy, Kent Myer IN/OF/RHP Jackson High, Troy Sutherland RHP Bob Jones High School, and Jade Todd LHP Shades Valley High School. Look for Deerman's future to be at 1B. Myer will probably be an OF. Sutherlands is a big kid, listed at 6'4" 205 with a fastball in the high 80s-low 90s. Todd is a lefty who throws mid to high 80s with a very good curve.

When you throw in Destin Hood, the three from Shelton, and the kid from LA, this looks like a very nice class. I wasn't aware that Wesley Neighbors is one of the top baseball players in the state. Does anyone know if he is considering trying to do both? IMO, I doubt he would.

 

[JoJoforHeisman]

Thanks for that info, bamabaseballfan.

One of our fellow posters, bamajake (whose knowledge and opinion are valuable), umpired a few of Kent Myer's games and came away highly impressed. Hopefully bamajake can elaborate on Myer some more for us.

The scouting report on Troy Sutherland from last January's Baseball Factory All-American Tournament: "[A] big-bodied righthander...upper-80s velocity with two above-average offspeed pitches. He has a loose arm with a good delivery and overall control. He needs to stay consistent with finish as he tends to fall off on occasion...also improved hitting and is a solid-average hitter while using his lower half well from a balanced approach."