2024 Draft Review by Heskin

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2024 Draft Review by Heskin

#1 Post by Sandgnats »

CRYSTAL LAKE HERALD

SPORTS – GNATS NOW
Sandgnats load up on pitching prospects in 2024 Draft
Updated: June 7, 2024 – 08:30AM CDT

By Howard Heskin, Staff Writer – Twitter @HowardHeskin1

This year's 2024 Draft saw Crystal Lake take 4 pitching prospects with the first 4 picks this year. I caught up with Head Scout Jose Luna to discuss the teams evaluation of the following players selected:

Round 1 #25 - P Jeff Green - 22 yrs old Central Florida Univ.
"Green should emerge as a top of the rotation guy one day. He already has command of 3 solid pitches and shows potential to develop them all. He has high intelligence and work ethic. He some how managed to graduate with a 4.0 as a biochemistry major while playing college baseball. Impressive. I am really excited for his chances to develop into a contributor in the near future. But what really put this kid to the top of my list was his collection of Michael Schmidt memorabilia in his family basement when I met to interview him."

Round 4 #24 - P Ken Hoban - 21 yrs old Notre Dame
"Very smart and has a solid knowledge of the game. That combined with his work ethic should help his development. What really impressed me with Ken is his hard work. He showed the ability to improve his statistics each of his 3 years in college. Now I can see why Notre Dame took the risk at recruiting him after terrible pitching stats in high school. His work ethic and intelligence really gives him the chance to overachieve. We thought he was worth the risk to take him in the 4th round. He might be hard to sign since he's indicated he wants to finish his degree at Notre Dame, but I think we might be able to entice him with a good offer."

Round 6 #24 - P Ramón Soriano - 21 yrs old Cambridge
"For a kid, Soriano is very knowledgeable and has an old school work ethic. He is very coachable. He has a full repertoire of pitches to be a future starter should he fully develop. If someone has a chance as a late rounder it will be Ramón. After escaping Cuba with his family as a young kid he excelled both academically and athletically at Cambridge. His college numbers were impressive and we couldn't pass on him at this position in the draft."

Round 8 #24 - P Lou Wells - 21 yrs old Southern Miss
"A baseball rat, he's the first one to the park each day and the last one to leave - is what his coach at Southern Miss told me. I always am looking for smart hard workers who have a chance to overachieve. He has solid knowledge of three pitches and might develop nicely for us. We know he is willing to work for it. I liked his numbers out of college from a very competitive college conference."

Round 9 #24 - LF Jimmy 'Bruiser' Green - 21 yrs Oregon State
"This is another kid who will show up to the office before me in the morning and I will still see his car there when I leave. He won't over power anyone, but he will make contact and shows exceptional speed and the ability to place the ball in the gap."

Round 10 #24 - C Paul Taylor - 21 yrs Stanford
"Very talented and intelligent kid who is known to light up a clubhouse with great practical jokes. Every team needs a guy like this. If he can develop his tools like he does his practical jokes, he could be a future star. We saw him worth this risk here at this position. I like guys from smart colleges that show exceptional leadership ability."

Round 12 #24 - LF Daniel Greene - 21 yrs Central Florida
"Quietly goes about his business opn and off the field. Leads by example. He has the chance to develop great contact and eye ability as a hitter. He hit for a high OBP in college all four years so we feel good about his chances."

Round 13 #24 - 1B Joe Ingram - 18 yrs West Lauderdale HS
"I was impressed with this kid while I was down in Florida on a recruiting trip to some other Florida colleges. I always stop by West Lauderdale to say hi to my friend who is the coach over there. I was really impressed by his hustle and ability to take walks and not swing at everything like you see from most kids his age. Rumor has it he was being recruited from some top schools but just didn't make the grades. I think our coaches will be able to help Joe develop."

Round 14 #24 - 3B Brian Walls - 21 yrs Univ. Conn.
"We had round 14?"

Round 15 #24 - P Floyd Smith - 21 yrs Stanford.
"I think I was in the bathroom for this one."
RJ Ermola
Vice President and General Manager of Baseball Operations
Crystal Lake Sandgnats

*2024 PEBA Champions*
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Re: 2024 Draft Review by Heskin

#2 Post by Leones »

Sandgnats wrote:...
Round 15 #24 - P Floyd Smith - 21 yrs Stanford.
"I think I was in the bathroom for this one."

Yep, we've had picks like that too. ;-D
Patrick Hildreth
- La leña roja tarde pero llega

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