Baseball Recruiting 2014 class

[collegeballfan]

THE FLATS - Head Coach Danny Hall has announced that six top prep prospects in the state of Georgia have signed their National Letters of Intent to attend Georgia Tech and play baseball for the Yellow Jackets in 2014.

Wade Bailey | 5-9 | 170 | IF/OF | Villa Rica, Ga./Villa Rica HS - Ranked the 17th-best middle infielder nationally by Perfect Game... Played for East Cobb Yankees.

Jared Datoc | 5-9 | 190 | RHP/UTL | Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy - Ranked as the seventh-best right-handed pitcher in Georgia by Perfect Game.

Blake Jackson | 6-2 | 190 | 3B | Warner Robins, Ga./Houston CountRanked the 16th-best third baseman nationally by Perfect Game...

Kel Johnson | 6-4 | 215 | OF/1B | Palmetto, Ga./Home Schooled - Ranked as the 36th-best player overall nationally by Perfect Game... Won a Gold Medal with Team USA's 18U National Team at the 2013 IBAF 18U/'AAA' World Cup in Taichung, Taiwan...

Daniel Gooden | 6-3 | 205 | LHP | Griffin, Ga./Griffin HS - Ranked as the 13th-best left-handed pitcher nationally by Perfect Game...

Patrick Wiseman | 6-6 | 220 | RHP/1B | Roswell, Ga./Pope HS - Ranked as the No. 6 right-handed pitcher in Georgia by Perfect Game... Played for East Cobb Yankees... Is the brother of current Tech RHP Joe Wiseman.

 

[thocut]

Solid looking class as usual. I'm especially glad to see some good arms coming in. I see a lot of potential with how young this team is now, especially after last year's huge group that came in.

 

[Midlands Jacket]

It doesn't matter, Danny Hall will still lead them down same road he always does. A quick exit in the post season.

 

[Nook Su Kow]

I believe Blake Jackson was on one of the Warner Robins LLWS teams if I aint mistaken. I should know this, I live 10 minutes from the Air Force base

 

[collegeballfan]

"THE FLATS - December 6, 2013
Tech's Georgia Tech baseball's freshman class has been ranked No. 9 nationally by Perfect Game USA, the online outlet announced recently.

This is the second time in the last four seasons that Danny Hall's program inked a top-10 class, as the 2010 incoming class was ranked seventh nationally by Baseball America."

Test is whether this results in more wins in the conference and going further in the post season.

 

[awbuzz]

Come on Danny! Let's get them to the promised land ... in this case Omaha

 

[CrackerJacket]

Seems like we are always a pitcher or two short of Omaha. But this list has three pitchers, so maybe this time.

But I don't want to see Hall calling for a sac bunt with runners on 1st & 2nd & no outs in the first inning. (He really did this - versus Duke in 2012. We scored just 1 in the first and eventually lost, 3-2. Still bothers me.)

 

[Midlands Jacket]

Danny Hall could land the best recruiting class for ten years straight and it wouldn't matter. He would still fall short when it counts the most. He is a coach that can recruit top notch talent and coach them to play well short of their capabilities. He has done this time and time again. You know the old saying history tends to repeat itself. Before anyone jumps down my throat, let me say I've been in the dugout with him and know what I'm talking about.

 

[GruffyMcGuiness]

I played homeschool ball with and against Kel for 3 years. Kid is an absolute machine. I doubt he ever steps on campus. He loves Tech though.

 

[CrackerJacket]

Danny Hall could land the best recruiting class for ten years straight and it wouldn't matter. He would still fall short when it counts the most. He is a coach that can recruit top notch talent and coach them to play well short of their capabilities. He has done this time and time again. You know the old saying history tends to repeat itself. Before anyone jumps down my throat, let me say I've been in the dugout with him and know what I'm talking about.

Can you elaborate? What does he do or not do that always leaves us short?

 

[Midlands Jacket]

Can you elaborate? What does he do or not do that always leaves us short?

Have you not been watching Tech baseball for the last 15 years or so? Proof is in the pudding. He falls flat on his face come post season play. He has assembled some of the most talented teams in the country only to flame out in the regionals or super regionals.

 

[CrackerJacket]

Have you not been watching Tech baseball for the last 15 years or so? Proof is in the pudding. He falls flat on his face come post season play. He has assembled some of the most talented teams in the country only to flame out in the regionals or super regionals.

Well, Mids, I live in Tx, so the answer is, "I don't see the 'Jackets as much as I'd like.". I've seen some of what has been on ESPN the past few years. I've combined three Masters trips with GT baseball (vs MD in 2005, NC in 2009, and Dook in 2012). So I've been in the house for seven games during Hall's tenure, all of them ACC tilts.

The repeated postseason flameouts are a matter of record, but posters in the Atl area see a lot more of the team than I do, and I'm interested in what knowledgeable GT fans have to say about Hall's recruiting, handling of pitchers, and in-game strategy. I agree with you there's something lacking. I'm trying to figure out what it is. Here are my observations and opinions FWIW. I hope other posters will elaborate.

1. Pitching depth is an issue. Seems like we are always an arm short as compared to NC and the other conference big boys.
2. Recent history is we rack up a bunch of lopsided wins early in a season, but then the road gets tougher as we get into the meat of our conference schedule. Not surprising, but it makes me think we are not good at situational hitting, and maybe we have been a station-to-station baserunning team.
3. Hall made a really odd move vs Duke. We'd won the first 2 games of the series, bombing their bullpen in game 2. On Sunday, our first two hitters lined hard singles, so men on 1st & second, no outs. "Pitcher ain't foolin' anybody. We are set up for a big inning", I think. But Hall had his #3 hitter - presumably the best hitter in his lineup - sac bunt. We scored just one in the inning and eventually lost the game by 1. There was no real reaction from the crowd when we bunted in that situation - like it was a normal thing for us. This is the one specific instance I saw in-game which made me think, "Stuff like this is why we keep flaming out in postseason. You don't play for 1 in the first like that, you go for the throat."

 

[Stinger90]

Well, Mids, I live in Tx, so the answer is, "I don't see the 'Jackets as much as I'd like.". I've seen some of what has been on ESPN the past few years. I've combined three Masters trips with GT baseball (vs MD in 2005, NC in 2009, and Dook in 2012). So I've been in the house for seven games during Hall's tenure, all of them ACC tilts.

The repeated postseason flameouts are a matter of record, but posters in the Atl area see a lot more of the team than I do, and I'm interested in what knowledgeable GT fans have to say about Hall's recruiting, handling of pitchers, and in-game strategy. I agree with you there's something lacking. I'm trying to figure out what it is. Here are my observations and opinions FWIW. I hope other posters will elaborate.

Cracker, Midland has a relative that played at Tech. He may could tell us some of the talks they have, I hope. There's questions, like some of the one's you stated above in your post, I would like to know as well. Also, there seems to be a good amount of posters form the other sites here, I hope will chime in as the season grows closer.

Living here in NC, I haven't had a chance to watch a live game at the Rusty C in a very long time I do get to see them when they play in the ACC mafia area and have been to several ACC tournaments here.

 

[Stinger90]

Seems like we are always a pitcher or two short of Omaha. But this list has three pitchers, so maybe this time.

But I don't want to see Hall calling for a sac bunt with runners on 1st & 2nd & no outs in the first inning. (He really did this - versus Duke in 2012. We scored just 1 in the first and eventually lost, 3-2. Still bothers me.)

We seem to be inconsistent in our Sat. and Sun. starter's and relief pitching. I hope the one's coming end will fill in the missing pieces in being more consistent.

The Duke game was a mental break down on our coach (imho) . We were a hitting team, and doing pretty good against a good Duke pitching team. We have had problems with our batting when facing a good pitching team. I wonder if Hall was thinking that even though we were holding our own?

 

[CrackerJacket]

We seem to be inconsistent in our Sat. and Sun. starter's and relief pitching. I hope the one's coming end will fill in the missing pieces in being more consistent.

The Duke game was a mental break down on our coach (imho) . We were a hitting team, and doing pretty good against a good Duke pitching team. We have had problems with our batting when facing a good pitching team. I wonder if Hall was thinking that even though we were holding our own?

Some more info, 90. The Friday night game of the Duke series was rained out, so we played two on Saturday. Game 1 was a classic pitcher's duel between Buck Farmer and the Dookies ace Marcus Soter (I think that's his name). We scraped in a run against a reliever late to win 1-0. Game 2 was a blowout; we chewed their bullpen up. So when our first two hitters hit hard line drive singles on Sunday, I'm thinkin' we were a hitter or two away from the start of another blowout and a series sweep. Then Hall had Dove sac bunt. I damn near had a stroke, but the crowd took the play as if it were SOP. We shoulda put the hammer down, but instead we let 'em wriggle out of the inning only down by 1. Maybe Hall was trying to work on his team's small ball, but in a conference game? Sheesh.

 

[Stinger90]

We shoulda put the hammer down, but instead we let 'em wriggle out of the inning only down by 1. Maybe Hall was trying to work on his team's small ball, but in a conference game? Sheesh.

I agree, we should've put the hammer down!

I don't mine playing small (smart) ball...but that was not the time :/

I remember that series. I also remember we had to play a bunch of double headers due to weather.

Duke's ace got drafted pretty high that year. He also got a one year suspension the following year for testing positive for juice.

 

[CrackerJacket]

I wondered if Soter would get a lot of attention from MLB because he's about 5'9". Usually a righthanded pitcher has to be 6'+ to be labeled a significant prospect. Apparently his nasty slider had some artificial assistance.

 

[IronJacket7]

Kel sounds like the headliner to me. All in all a great class.

 

[MWBATL]

While Hall's post-season record speaks for itself, and you can always find issues with how he manages a game (I don't like his base-running decisions, myself), the simple truth is that we have not had enough pitching to advance in the post-season. Baseball is 90% pitching, and good pitching always beats good hitting. Those renowned baseball axioms are generally true in the college ranks as well, especially in the new dead ball era we have entered. When you look at Hall's talent, or GT grads in the bigs, it is almost exclusively hitters/position players. In fact, I can't think of a single Hall pitcher to make the bigs off the top of my head.

I am not close enough to say whether this is poor recruiting, poor player development, or what. It is merely an observation of the facts as I notice them. My personal guess is that in the live ball era, Hall thought you could pound your way to Omaha, with 'just enough' pitching. So he focused on landing hitters. Worked well in the regular season, but failed in the post-season.

I am ever hopeful that he will not get enough pitching talent onto the Flats to make a serious run. I think he now tries to recruit pitching, so we will see what happens.

 

[collegeballfan]

MWBATL - I agree on the lack of pitching depth. Hall usually has 3 pretty good starters but at tournament time the need is 5 pretty good starters.
Recruiting or coaching? All of the above? I just do not know. Maybe you former baseball players can tune in and help us out.