UNLV Baseball Recruits for 2014

UNLV Baseball Recruits for 2014

The second place team in the MWC last year didn't make it to the NCAA Tournament and I suspect that irritated more than the players. However, they lost two of three in the MWC Tournament and I think that did them in. In any event, that's not why we're here. How did a decent season affect recruiting? Let's take a look.

Morgan Stotts, INF/OF, College of Southern Nevada
Morgan is a pretty good hitter with some pop (.378 with 9 dingers). Received POY for Region 18 and defensive POY which stands out for me. He had no errors in 258 chances as a first baseman. That's impressive. However, bad throws not handled means the shortstop, or whatever, gets the error and not the first baseman. Just sayin'.

Joseph Lauria, RHP, College of Southern Nevada
He was used mostly as a starter and his record was unimpressive at 5-3 and 4.58. He does know how to strike batters out as he had 52 in 59 IP. His WHIP was a mediocre 1.51. This all was a bit of a slip after a pretty good freshman campaign.

Jonathan Torres, OF, Cypress CC, CA
He hit .344 this past season with no homeruns. He was second in hitting on a good team. He doesn't strikeout but he walks little also. In 189 ABs he had 8 walks to go along with 17 strikeouts. I'd like to see him walk a bit more. This kid had two good years in a row while at Cypress.

David Kuzma, RHP, Silverado HS, Las Vegas, NV
I have him signed on with College of Southern Nevada also but I think D1 trumps a juco. I know nothing about legalities about this. Maybe he's just hedging a bet. I also could find no stats on him other than a mid-season mention of 5-2 and 2.14 for a losing team which is impressive. He made the Baseballnews.com pre-season AA list as an honorable mention. Post-season he made All-Southern Nevada Second Team and USA Today Honorable Mention All-State. I think a big starting pitcher that gets some recognition is always a good signing.

Andrew Encinas, LHP, Gahr HS, Cerritos, CA
Andrew was 8-1 and 1.27 this past season after a good junior year. In 68 IP he struck out 66 and walked 8. He can certainly find the plate. Being a lefty is always a bonus.

Connor Clark, 1B, Camarillo HS, Camarillo, AZ
He's a big kid at 6'5" and 190 so 1B looks right for him. He hit .329 his senior year with no homeruns. I always expect big kids to hit at least one. Gain a little more weight and learn to extend those long arms might be all that it takes.

Coltin Motley, MIF, Raymond Kellis HS, Glendale, AZ
I'm sure he's heard this one already so I think he should be called Motley Crue. Right? Oh, alright, let's just move along. He played short and pitched a little his senior year. He's 5'9" so middle infield looks like his lot in life; it was mine. He hit .342 in 2013 with 1 homerun.

The standouts in this group are Stotts, Kuzma, and Torres. Stotts and Torres are both juco transfers and should get a good chance at starting or at least as important replacements. Kuzma looks good enough to get a chance at getting in the starting rotation.