San Jose State Baseball Recruits for 2014

As a followup to the interview with Coach Nakama I thought it would be a good idea to see what newbies he's bringing in to help him effect change. Reviews for the other programs in the MWC and their recruits will follow.

Here?s some info I found on baseball recruits for next year's Spartans. Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Don?t hear that anymore. I've already posted an interview with the coach to see if he has any other commits on board that we don?t know . The list is fairly long which is no surprise as Nakama feels there must be more competition for playing time for a team that did not fare too well last year. Read on:

Andrew Hermanson, 2B, Great Oak HS, Temecula, CA

He batted third in the order for an ordinary team and hit .346. No homeruns but he could hit. Unless he?s hiding something I don?t see him elbowing out Valdez next year.

Carter Johnson, P, La Costa Canyon HS, Carlsbad, CA

Carter looks like he may help the staff. No where to go but up, right? he was 6-4 and 2.49 in 73 IP. 85 strikeouts in those innings is the good part. He had 32 walks also and that should improve. He had 8 games where he went 6 or more innings. That shows trust from the coach.

Andrew Herrera, RHP, San Mateo CC, San Mateo, CA

He?s 6?4? and 225 so he fits the classic mold for a pitcher and went to Wilcox HS which is a public school powerhouse in the San Jose area. He was 6-0 and 2.57 in 56 IP. He had 36/13 K/BB ratio. Not a power pitcher but gets guys out. Another welcome addition.

Jake Swiech, RHP, Paraclete HS, Lancaster, CA

His secondary position is catcher but I doubt he?ll get a look there. He?s 6?3? and 195 which says he?ll get bigger. When?s the last time the Spartans had a tall rangy catcher? Never? That?s about right. His final stats had him at 7-3 and 1.16. He plays American Legion ball in the summer and that is always a plus. They have him listed as a catcher. Hmm.

Alec de Watteville, INF, Oak Ridge HS, El Dorado Hills, CA

Alec hit .379 and 1 his senior year on a pretty good team (19-9). He comes from the Sacramento area and we all know that is a baseball hotbed. Sacramento State is getting fat by just recruiting within an hour?s drive.

Michael Breen, SS, San Benito HS, Hollister, CA

A local kid. He hit .269 with 1. I don?t know what to say about that other than he has a lot of convincing to do. He?ll be trying to win a starter?s position as SS is wide open.

Brett Bautista, OF, Granite Bay HS, Granite Bay, CA

Brett hit .301 with no homeruns. He doesn?t strike out but he doesn?t walk much either. He played in a tough conference so that always counts for something.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa, SS, Mid-Pacific Institute HS, Honolulu, HI

I?ll go out on a limb here. I think this is the kid who will be the shortstop next year. His team was the state champion and he made the All-Tournament team as an infielder. The one article I read said ?he made some dazzling plays at shortstop?. I can live with shortstops and catchers that have trouble at the plate if they deliver in the field. I could find little else (drafted and signed by Texas Rangers).

Michael Wright, RHP, Elk Grove HS, Elk Grove, CA

Michael hit .333 with 4 homeruns this past season. That?s a lot of homeruns for a SJS recruit. He really shown as a pitcher as he ended up 7-0 and 1.68 over 62 IP. He struck out 55 and walked 24 which ain?t bad. His WHIP was a bit over 1.00 at 1.09 which is also quite good. Doesn?t appear to be a power pitcher but gets guys out. Another pretty good high school pitcher. Good enough for third team All-State for CalHiSports.

Tyler Olivet, OF, Cabrillo CC, Aptos, CA

Ty hit .386 with no homeruns this past season. I?m wondering if Mike Gerlach (a graduated player who played at Cabrillo before transferring) gave him the heads up about SJS and its baseball program. He played at Los Gatos so he?s very local. His OBP was a very good .500 so he gets on base; a lot.

Jace Puckett, LHP, Feather River CC, Quincy, CA

As a sophomore at the juco level he was 10-3 and 1.35. Here?s a bit more to whet your appetite. His strikeout to walks ratio was better than 2:1 and his WHIP was under 1.00 as he gave up 55 hits and walked 31 in 93 IP. That is very good indeed. He led his team in just about every category.

Logan Handzlik, RHP, Hoover HS, Fresno, CA

Logan was 2-2 and 1.36 in 36 IP. He struck out 41 and walked 13. His WHIP was just a tad under 1.00 so he certainly has all his numbers in the right place. Notice his home town. He was nominated for All-State honors his junior year while at Oakdale HS.

Logan Lanza, RHP, Rodriguez HS, Fairfield, CA

This Logan was 4-4 and 2.61 his senior season. He started 11 games and the team was just 14-14 so they depended upon him a lot. He pitched 45 innings while striking out 48 and walking 26 (a bit high). Those numbers aren?t ?Holy crap!? good but good none-the-less. He will get the opportunity to pitch in his first year at the D1 level.

Austin Ragsdale, RHP, Bradshaw Christian HS, Sacramento, CA

The list seems to go on and on. Here?s another late signee that happens to be a pitcher. This kid seems to be very good also. Austin hit .446 with 5 homeruns and that?s not his strength. As a pitcher he was 9-1 and 0.60 (not a typo) in 58 IP. He struck out 76 (again, not a typo) and walked 14. I don?t know what he throws but, they can?t hit whatever it is. He gave up 36 hits over those innings which works out to a WHIP of 0.86. Where is he finding these guys??? There?s more; he made MaxPreps? 2013 California All-State Baseball Team.

Jonathan Hernandez, LHP, LA Harbor CC, Wilmington, CA

Another arm from the southland. He was 3-2 and 3.21 for a less than a .500 team. I know, I know, his 3.21 ERA doesn?t sound like much but it was the best on the team (6.39) by more than a run. That stands out. His strikeouts (22) were third on the team but he did it in 33 IP and that also stands out. His WHIP is just over 1.00 so he?s good there also. Overall, a good pick-up.

Jack Veasey, C, Acalanes HS, Lafayette, CA

I couldn?t find a lot about Jack other than an article by Jimmy Durkin (who with the San Jose Mercury seems to have his hand on the pulse of just about everything sports-wise). Before the season started he picked Acalanes as the eventual champion (they were) and had Veasey as one of the players to watch in the division.

Source: http://www.mwcconnection.com/2013/7/28/4565410/san-jose-state-baseball-recruits-for-2014

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