Baseball's Been Cruitin

The Baylor baseball program has been busy on the recruiting trail since their season ended in May.  Less than a month later, they announced the addition of three more players to the 2015 class. The new additions include two pitchers and an infielder.

Blake Allen (MaxPreps 278th ranked player in Texas) is a 6'4" RHP with only 2 years of HS baseball experience to his credit. His senior year, he finished with a 1.76 ERA following up a .18 ERA junior campaign. Blake comes from Anderson HS (12-18 in 2014), and will be a PO (pitcher only) without any question. Considering his size, and the relative inexperience coming in, I would anticipate him being redshirted. Coach Steve Smith was quoted as saying he has a "lot of upside". We can interpret that as meaning he will need work, but Smith finds it exciting to think about what he can do if he ever figures it out.

Kody Hessemer (MaxPreps 153 in Texas out of HS) comes to the Bears by way of MCC where he had a 3.99 ERA and a 6-3 record in 70 innings. I'm assuming MCC could smash because their team ERA was 4.76. Be that as it may, Smith is expecting Hessemer to come in and contribute immediately. It is hard to say for sure if he will be a weekend starter, but he was at the top of MCC's staff, so that is what I expect he was brought in for.

Finally, the Bears went up I35 to Hill College where they snagged Justin Arrington (MaxPreps 10th ranked player in Texas out of HS). During his freshman season at Hill, Arrington batted a respectable .357, but his production fell off a bit as a sophomore coming in at .283. With 13 and 15 stolen bases, though, he will bring a threat to the basepaths on top of being an exceptional defender. Smith expects him to compete immediately for the positions vacated by Doe and Langford.

For a refresher on the rest of the 2015 class, clicky