Returning players and recruiting class

Top Recruits By Conference | Perfect Game USA

Perfect Game listed the top 119 incoming Freshmen/2022 Recruits who actually signed with a Big 12 team. Does not include transfers, JC players, portals, etc.

Note, TCU and Tech look pretty strong, along with us:

Rank Name College Pos City State
1 Anthony Silva TCU SS San Antonio TX
2 Karson Bowen TCU C Anaheim Hills CA
3 Travis Sanders Texas Tech SS Copperas Cove TX
4 Nolan Schubart Oklahoma State OF Durand MI
5 Alvin Keels West Virginia SS Portsmouth VA
6 Fisher Ingersoll TCU SS Lehi UT
7 Collin McKinney Baylor RHP Houston TX
8 Gage Harrelson Texas Tech OF Kathleen GA
9 Jalin Flores Texas SS Helotes TX
[most commenters put Flores as the best position player among our incoming Freshmen class]
10 Brennan Phillips Oklahoma State LHP Owasso OK
11 Pierce George Texas SS Lakeway TX
[Huge dude who throws hard. If he's top 10-11, that will be great!]
12 Beau Sylvester Oklahoma State C Kailua HI
13 Braeden Sloan TCU LHP Roseville CA
14 Tavion Vaughns Oklahoma OF Grand Prairie TX
15 Cade McGarrh Texas Tech SS Frisco TX
16 Jeric Curtis Texas Tech OF Cypress TX
17 Carson Queck Kansas State OF The Woodlands TX
18 Carson Turnquist Oklahoma RHP Paso Robles CA
19 Brandon Rogers Oklahoma OF Chicago IL
20 Gabe Davis Oklahoma State RHP Midwest City OK
21 Jared Thomas Texas 1B Waxahachie TX
[Big bat. Aside from, or along with, Flores, he's most often mentioned as our best incoming Freshman position player]
22 Justin Hackett TCU RHP Winterset IA
23 Elgin Bennett Kansas State OF Fayetteville GA
24 Gavin Van Kempen West Virginia RHP Castleton NY
25 Matthew Porchas Texas RHP Ladera Ranch CA
[Somebody please spill the beans on WTF happened to Porchas. Is he still on the team? The scouts really liked this guy.]
26 Jordan Medellin Baylor SS League City TX
27 Tracer Lopez Texas Tech SS Rosebud TX
28 Benjamin Abeldt TCU LHP McKinney TX
29 Zane Petty Texas Tech RHP Corsicana TX
30 Max Belyeu Texas OF Aledo TX
[Another really good bat]
31 Murphy Brooks TCU RHP Cypress TX
32 Rylan Galvan Texas C Sinton TX
[May be an apprentice to Guillemmette for a year or two; really good C with a good bat]
33 Julien Hachem Oklahoma LHP Oak Park IL
34 Jax Traeger TCU RHP Spring TX
35 Marshall Lipsey TCU OF Longview TX
36 Chase Hoover TCU LHP Santa Barbara CA
37 Luke Fernandez Oklahoma State RHP Cumming GA
38 Cade O'Hara Texas SS Tustin CA
[Nice bat during Fall Ball]
39 Manning West Oklahoma State RHP Winder GA
40 Louis Rodriguez TCU RHP Long Beach CA
41 Maxx Yehl West Virginia LHP Portville NY
42 Jayden Duplantier Texas SS Houston TX
[Special glove; could be future star w/ much potential; c'mon, no snarky remarks about Grand Slams guys...]

...

60 Grant Fahrlander Texas C Austin TX
[don't know anything about him]

...

76 Max Grubbs Texas RHP Arlington TX
[#76? Rolls eyes, rolls eyes again; push this guy up to the top of the list. Ready to be our #1, top, go-to reliever right now! See his Fall Ball performance. Pierce is also really high on this pitcher.]

...

106 Collin Valentine Texas LHP Dallas TX
[Crafty control and breaking ball guy. Still could use a bit more meat on the bones and a few more MPH on his fastball, but he's no longer considered a "project". Could see some decent innings in relief as early as this year.]

...

 

Rankings don't buy a ticket to Omaha

 

2022: A freakish batting lineup with 2 massive power hitters plus 2-3 more good power hitters, with 3 guys batting in the high 300s, plus a stud starting pitcher bought our ticket last year.

2023: This year: A stud staff Ace + otherwise competent (or better) starting pitchers + an above-average bullpen (not kidding) + a chain-with-no-weak-links type of lineup with a handful of pretty good and good power hitters smattered in = back to Omaha again! 39th time in 2023.

 

Oh yeah, and much less of the stupid base-running mistakes this year will help us buy our ticket back to Omaha.

We had to be the dumbest base-running team in Div 1 last year...

 

Looks like the S&C program has been working with some baseball players...

 

man, on paper, TCU and Tech look to be salty. May have to go to that TCU series.

 

The Big 12 looks young, but talented all around, us included. When it comes to starting pitchers, OU and OSU must replace all 3 weekend starters. I think TCU and Tech have to replace 2 out of 3 (as do we).

 

In case anyone forgot (or didn't know in the first place):

as of 5/23/2022 (regular season over)

2022 Big 12 Starting Pitcher Rankings by ERA

1. Lucas Gordon........2.55
2. Brandon Birdsell.....2.75 (Tech)
3. Pete Hansen..........3.28
4. Justin Campbell......3.71 (OSU)
5. Jake Bennett...........3.83 (OU)
6. Blake Corsentino......3.98 (KSU)
7. Riley Cornelio..........4.03 (TCU)
8. Ben Hampton..........4.50 (WV)
9. Andrew Morris.........4.54 (Tech)
10. Bryce Osmond........4.75 (OSU)
...
13. Tristan Stevens.....5.04

 

Pre-Season Big 12 Freshman of the Year: Jalin Flores, 3B, Texas



"The Longhorns have several newcomers to watch. USC transfer pitcher Charlie Hurley will have a huge role, potentially even the weekend rotation, and TCU transfer outfielder Porter Brown had an impressive fall and made some tweaks with his swing and approach. The ‘Horns expect big things out of him this spring as well. But more than anyone, I’ve got my eye on freshman third baseman Jalin Flores. Flores, a 6-foot-2, 185-pounder, is advanced for his age and showed an impressive offensive approach in my look during fall ball. He has power in that frame of his and has massive upside. Don’t be surprised when he’s a Freshman All-American."

https://www.ncaa.com/news/baseball/...ig-12-baseball-predictions-projected-finishes

 

Better pencil in Flores as a starter this year and a 15+ homerun hitter.

This isn't the first report saying he's going to be a star.

 

Not on our radar (yet). But this is just awesome.

Meet Dennis Kasumba. He's from Uganda and wants to play baseball in the USA. He had to make his own equipment, and his training regimen (while bada$$) is about 150 years behind modern training methods. That's him squatting on bricks, catching the baseball with a cardboard square "glove", with his "glove" arm weighed down with an iron weight tied to a rope. I hope he realizes his dream. I think I may see Texas State or UTSA in his future. Go Dennis!

D-E-S-I-R-E

 

Several years in the future... Dennis after his first year in Minor League ball: "I had no idea that they would feed, house, and treat us like royalty!"

 

How many Denny’s specials are we giving up?

 

I think the Coaching Staff will have MUCH LESS PATIENCE this year with pitchers who take them mound and give up a bunch of walks and grand slams. So not many. Everybody will get their chance, and maybe their second chance, but I don't see us trotting out guys to the mound who keep walking multiple batters per inning or giving up grand slams. Not this year.

 

More media looking at Witt.

https://www.si.com/fannation/mlb/fa...orns-pitcher-potential-mlb-draft-pick-in-2023

 

That great paragon of newspaper journalism (Austin-American Statesman) does a story on Witt's return:

"He wants to pitch," Pierce said. "I think earliest would probably be mid-April. That would be the earliest timeline and we'll be smart with it."

As far as Witt's rehab goes, Pierce said he has handled that "like a pro." Fellow pitcher Lucas Gordon reflected that "he's the same old dude that he was even when he wasn't hurt. He's always worked hard."

"I feel good. The elbow feels really good, which is a relief," Witt said. "I haven't had any problems, any setbacks, feel really strong."


Texas outlines timeline, comeback plans for pitcher Tanner Witt

 

Chop, looks like you and I were reading same article at same time as I just posted link in 2023 season thread. Taking it slow with Witt stinks for the team but is best for his future and hopefully Texas is positioned to take advantage of the huge infusion he will provide. Feels analogous to the pros where you trade for Verlander at the deadline kind of thing to give a team that boost in its run to Omaha.

 

Texas outlines timeline, comeback plans for pitcher Tanner Witt

"While Witt works his way back, Texas will lean heavily on Gordon. A third-year left-hander, Gordon replaced Witt in the rotation last season and went 7-2 with a 3.05 ERA. He joined Witt on the Big 12's preseason honor roll.

Returnees Andre Duplantier II, Zane Morehouse and Travis Sthele all started at least three times in 2022. Transfers Charlie Hurley and David Shaw earned starts last season at USC and Rice. Texas, which was No. 32 nationally last season with its 4.28 team ERA, has a new pitching coach this year in former MLB hurler Woody Williams."

Shaw-- he must be a lot better than I thought he was. That's great if I was wrong about him. We need more and more good arms.

Travis Sthele - an enigma. He's got really good stuff. One inning he'll mow them down. 3 up 3 down. The next inning he'll walk 2 batters and give up 2-3 hits. Then he'll come out the next inning and mow them down again. Maybe a 1-2 inning sort of pitcher that sees action in multiple games per week. He also seems quite a bit more nervous on the mound than most pitchers. This dude needs a low dose tranquilizer, or a shot of Rye before taking the mound.

Hurley -- he's good. Pencil him in as a starter.

Morehouse -- he's good. His fastball easily sits in the mid 90s and hits the upper 90s at times, and his slider/breaking stuff really breaks, and it breaks near the plate. I can't really explain why he had struggled from time-to-time last year. His control was spotty at times, but overall, he didn't walk all that many batters when compared to the frustrating play of many of our pitchers last year (he still probably walked too many). Despite throwing hard and with some sauce on it, sometimes he just got hit. Maybe he was too "easy to read" or too predictable? Coaching and chemistry with the catcher may be the key. Bottom line, Zane's got the arm, and he looked REAL GOOD during Fall Ball.

DuPlantier -- I supported Coach giving him chance after chance last year. He's got the stuff with some of the nastiest breaking movement in the conference. His control simply must improve for him to play a lot this year. And none of this ball 1, ball 2, ball 3, then throw a fastball right down Broadway for a homerun stuff... He should get his chance, and second chance, etc. this year, but don't expect Pierce and Woodrow to be as patient with him as the coaching staff was last year. When he's on, he's very good. Just get that control nailed down...

 

Oh, I really hope Coach will take it slow and easy with Witt. Full healing of his arm is the most important thing. He can ease in during April. 1 inning in relief. Next week 2 innings in relief. Next week 3 innings in relief. Etc. That would put him up to 5 innings, if necessary, by playoff time--which is probably the most he'd go anyway.

 

Class of 2023 - top 20 pitchers

Travis Sykora, sr., RHP, Round Rock (Texas)
As his fastball velocity has risen, so has Sykora's ranking in MLB Draft projections. He hit 100 mph on the gun over the summer at the Perfect Game All-American Classic, and the 6-foot-4 Texas commit keeps getting stronger with age.

Just give us 2 years at UT, Travis...

https://news.scorebooklive.com/geor...the-country-entering-the-2023-baseball-season

 

This guy flew under my radar.
We've got a new Burke this year. Quite a bit better on the mound than the last Burke we had...

DJ Burke
RHP - relief pitcher
6'2"
220 lbs
San Jac JC (originally from San Antonio-Clark)
24 Strikeouts in 22 innings in 16 games
2.45 ERA

Fastball sits easily in the low-90s, up to the mid-90s, with good control. A many-pitch guy, he has a changeup, slider, and a curve as well. Looks like he's comfortable living high in the zone.



Here he is popping up Skye Messinger for an out, then getting dinged by Murph (no shame in that) in a UT vs San Jac exhibition:



DJ Burke - Baseball - University of Texas Athletics

Prep Baseball Report - Player: DJ Burke

 

Here's a nice 2023 Longhorn Baseball "primer" by a writer at one of the other sites...

2023 Texas Baseball Primer

I think LBJ is quite a ways ahead of DuPlantier. LBJ may end up our weekday starter, or if either Zane or Hurley doesn't pan out, LBJ might even be a weekend starter this year.

"Zane Morehouse is a strong candidate for a weekend rotation spot after starting 6 games in 2022. Morehouse, who has flashed a mid 90's fastball and nice slider, has spent a lot of time this offseason working on his command after issuing 22 walks or HBP's in 39 innings last year."

"Johnson Jr. (LBJ) has an electric fastball that can sit in the upper 90's but has struggled with control (11 walks in 17 innings in 2022). He has been stretched out throughout the fall and could be in line for some work as a starter to begin the season."

"The most notable is USC transfer Charlie Hurley, who stands 6'8 and started 13 games for the Trojans a year ago. Hurley has a fastball that can touch 93-94 and a nice curveball. He will push for a spot in the weekend rotation right away. "

"In addition to Hurley, Texas also added LHP David Shaw (Rice), RHP Heston Tole (Arkansas), RHP Cody Howard (Baylor), LHP Chris Stuart (San Jacinto junior college) and RHP DJ Burke (San Jacinto junior college). Stuart is the most likely out of the group to push for time in the starting rotation. The lefty struck out 106 batters in 78.1 innings at San Jac in 2022. The other 4 will be competing for innings in the bullpen. Burke and Howard could both end up in the backend of the bullpen in high-leverage roles."

"RHP Kobe Minchey and RHP Max Grubbs are the two freshman most likely to see time on the mound." (y'all are going to be very pleased with Grubbs' pitching this year)

 

I feel like Porter will hit more than 10, 12-15 range and I don’t see Flores hitting that high a number as a freshman but if he does?? Holy smokes we might be the biggest dark horse in the country.

 

Flores showed very good contact hitting and getting on base skills in the Alumni Game.

 

The best part of this lineup this year for me isn't just the HR potential, whats just as dangerous to me are the productive at bats and reduced strikeout potential that I see in this lineup. I imagine the freshmen will lead in the strikeout category but I believe they will still be an improvement over the strikeout leaders from last season. Those combinations make for a very dangerous lineup.

Only thing I'm not sure about is the patience of this team at the plate and we won't know until we get into the season. For as long as I can remember, Texas has always been very disciplined with the strike zone and took a lot of pitches, making even the best pitchers work and work hard for an out. This will be something I watch closely early in the season.

 

Valentine is now gone... or at least off the official roster on TexasSports.com

Porchas is the other one I wonder about. What happened with these players?

2023 Baseball Roster - University of Texas Athletics

 

Grossman is also gone. He hasn't done anything here yet, but he had a good Summer Ball season.

I think the roster has to be cut to 35, or something. Porchas isn't the sort of talent you'd run off unless there's a serious "lack of fit" for some off-the-field reason... Valentine was still too skinny, but he looked like he could be pretty good at this level in a year or two.

 

Here are some videos of Kobe Minchey, who until recently flew under my radar:

(Working the outside of the plate with a fastball in the low-to-mid 90s.)

 

Something else to think about with Minchey:

Having been home-schooled, he likely benefited less from coaching than most high school pitchers. Sure his private league coaches helped him. But I doubt that's the same as the coaching at some of these big Houston area baseball factory schools, or the baseball coaching at the top-notch California Catholic league schools. I suppose that means he's likely to improve even more than most Freshman. I think he'll benefit greatly working with our coaching staff.

The experts are saying we'll see plenty of Minchey this year.

 

You know, Minchey is REALLY GOOD. It's probably the home-schooled thing that kept him flying under the radar of the "usual websites" for baseball prospects.




Good job scouting by our Coaching Staff!