UNLV Baseball Has Quality in Recruits for 2016

UNLV Has Large List of Newbies on the 2016 Roster

As I said in a previous post, starting pitching is in pretty good shape but the position players will be looking for six starting players. That will be either from the returning players or from this list below. For the most part I'm only going to evaluate the recruits from the list of announced players back in November, 2014. Many of the new players on the roster (if posted) are walkons and I have enough work to keep me busy. Anyway, read on.

Nick Ames, 1B, Canyon Del Oro HS, Tucson, AZ
Nick did well in 2014 as he made second team all-state in Arizona. Unfortunately I didn't find a lot about him for his senior year in 2015. The talent appears there, that's for certain.

Tevita Gerber, LHP, Cottonwood HS, Salt Lake City, UT.
The kid knows how to strike out batters. One article in early May said he had 85 K's in 44 IP. That kind of stuff can bore the hell out of the infielders. He won the All-Tribune MVP award for 2015 which is bestowed on the best player in Utah. He finished 10-1 (seven shutouts and two no-no's) and 0.97 with 112 strikeouts of the 239 batters faced. Very impressive. He can hit, too (.402) but I doubt he'll ever hold a bat again at Vegas. With all the above being said it's no surprise he made first team All-State.

Kyle Isbel, INF, Etiwanda HS, Fontana, CA.
I'll start with second team All-State for California. That's always a good place to be. Hit .297 with 6 dingers. Oh, good, power. He was also on some draft watch lists. With the losses in position players, expect to see him get a chance to start - somewhere.

Dean Kremer, RHP, SO transfer, Delta CC, Stockton, CA.
Dean was drafted but was unsigned and showed up on the roster. Draftees who decide on the college route are always more than welcome. He speaks Hebrew which isn't surprising as he was born in the US to Israeli parents. A real rarity. He was 13-1 and 2.00 in 112 IP. He was part of an excellent team as Delta College went 41-7 in 2015. He averaged about a strikeout an inning and three walks a game. This gave him all he needed to make third team JC AA. All very good.

Sam Pastrone, RHP.
drafted and signed

Austin Pritchard, 1B.
Not on roster.

Larry Quaney III, RHP, Cimarron-Memorial HS, Las Vegas, NV.
Larry was 5-1 and 2.15 in 39 IP. Why so few IP? He struck out 44 in those innings and walked only four. Pretty good. In any event he made first team All-State for Nevada. Somebody noticed.

Max Smith, OF/P, Canyon Del Oro HS, Tucson, AZ.
Couldn't find a lot about this kid. Uh, let me restate that. He made Arizona Daily Star's POY for 2015. He hit .380 in the leadoff position and was 8-1 on the mound. He's a teammate of Nick Ames (above).

Vince Taormina, C, Silverado HS, Las Vegas, NV.
I'll start with his inclusion on Louisville Slugger's Pre-Season AA list. That's not a good start, that's a great start. It means people (usually other coaches) think you are a pretty good player before play starts. Did he live up to the accolades? Well, yeah, he did. He hit .440 and 4 his senior year and a career of .462 and 7. With that he made All-State first team by way of USA Today. So, I think this kid is a keeper.

This is a pretty impressive list. Guys that catch my eye and should/might help the lineup are Gerber and Kremer for the pitching and Taormina, Smith, and Isbel for the position players. Wow, anyone left? My gold star goes to Taormina.