Fresno State Recruits for 2018 Baseball
Coach Batesole and his crew of assistants can certainly recruit. Think Aaron Judge. Every year when I start looking at recruits for the conference, his class ranks tops on my list. He loses some to the draft, but not all. Read on.
Isaiah Haddad, INF, Edison HS, Fresno, CA
Not drafted. He hit .415 with 1 HR his senior year which was, by far, the best on the team. He was on the draft’s radar but it didn’t happen as here he is. He made Honorable Mention California Region for Rawlings-Perfect Game.
Jamison Hill, RHP, Rancho Bernardo HS, San Diego, CA
Not drafted. Jamison was 8-3 and 1.62 with 84 strikeouts in 69 IP.
Kevin Larson, RHP, Independence HS, Bakersfield, CA
Not drafted. He was 4-4 and 2.82 as a senior with 76 strikeouts in 44 IP. That’s a little less than two an inning which makes me wonder how he lost four games. Hmm, maybe because he walked about one an inning which needs to come down, a lot. He also could hit a bit as he had four dingers. At 6’9” I’m sure he gets great extentsion. He will probably never grab a bat.
Dylan Johnson, LHP/OF, Palo Verde HS, Blythe, CA
Not drafted. I couldn’t find senior stats for him but he was nominated for All-State honors by CalHiSports.com.
Emilio Nogales, 1B, Saint Francis HS, San Jose, CA
Not drafted. Emilio hit .313 and 1 his senior year. Not outstanding but it was in one of the toughest conferences in California if not the US. Bay area folks know what I’m talking about when I say the WCAL. With those stats he was nominated to CalHiSports All-Region team.
Zach Presno, C, Buchanan HS, Clovis, CA
Not drafted. He hit .323 with 4 and is a solid 6’1” and 210 which is catcher size. Buchanan annually is ranked among the best programs in the US so he faced some of the best pitchers throughout the year.
Nate Thimjon, OF, Franklin HS, Elk Grove, CA
Not drafted. I couldn’t find anything.
Miles Tomczak, OF, Argonaut HS, Ione, CA
Not drafted. He’s listed as Seth on the max preps site. Then again, I could be confused. Was this a brother? He hit a ton at .423 and 0 in 2017. He was a Preseason AA nominee by Perfect Game.
Omar Veloz, C, Cathedral HS, Los Angeles, CA
Not drafted. I found incomplete stats for Omar. Injured? Anyway, he was ranked as the 11th best catcher in California so he must have done something good. Two good catchers on this list.
Chad Wilson, OF, La Mirada HS, La Mirada, CA
Not an early recruit. I’m guessing he’s an invited walk on. Anyway, he hit .360 with 2 his senior year. He played for a team that had a good year. It sometimes surprises me when a good player plays for a mediocre or bad team. See, kiddies, you’ll be noticed wherever you are. He made first team all-league.
Robbie Peters, Jenks HS, Jenks, OK
Not an early recruit. I couldn’t find much. Oklahoma? I betcha he played football.
Eddie Pena, INF, Fresno CC, Fresno, CA
Not an early recruit and a junior transfer. He hit .320 and 4 last year at FCC which shows a little pop.
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Nikoh Mitchell, LHP, Hayward HS, Hayward, CA
Not an early recruit. He was 2-3 and 2.09 last year. He struck out 84 in 47 IP but also walked 39. Looks like he has good stuff but needs to work on command. Team had a bad year which partially explains his wins and losses.
Joseph Mendez, OF, Saugus HS, Saugus, CA
Not an early recruit. His senior year was 2016 when he hit .361 and 4. The LA Daily News had him as a player to watch, but that was in 2014. Still, shows talent.
Nolan Dempsey, INF, De Anza CC, San Mateo, CA
Not an early recruit. He hit an unremarkable .247 and 5 last season. The five home runs was good for second on the team.
Austin Chastain, OF, Sacramento CC, Sacramento, CA
Not an early recruit. Led his team in BA at .322 and 1.
Jaime Arias, LHP, Woodland HS, Woodland, CA
Not an early recruit. He was 4-4 and 1.54 with 87 K’s in 54 IP. Pretty impressive.
Coach doesn’t have to battle the pros for any of the recruits listed above. I don’t know if the program has signed any more than this; say, juco players to fill a certain need. I checked the roster on October 14, 2017 and found a few more recruits that weren’t on the list from November last year. Mostly position players on the late signees. Most of these kids were on draft watch lists which mean little other than they are pretty good. Most go nowhere. I wish I had been that good but times have changed. So who catches my eye? Haddad, Larson, and Nogales, that’s who.