Fresno State Baseball Recruits
Fresno State, welcome to the world of top snubs for the NCAA Tournament. You guys join Nevada and San Jose State in a select group. What group is that? Regular season champ that didn't quite make it in the ill-planned conference tournament. Other mid-majors which have season-ending tournaments sometimes lose out the same way especially the one bid conferences of which there are many. I'm hoping that Coastal Carolina paves the way to a fairer choosing of participants in the future. I'm a bit tired of watching fifth place teams in "big" conferences getting at large bids. Oh, oops, I'm ranting aren't I? Well, the Bulldogs are still a victim and that's coming from a Spartans fan, mind you. In recent years, the mutts have had some of the best talent in the MWC and last year was no exception (case in point, have you seen what Aaron Judge has done for the Yankees?). This past season it was the pitching and the team loses a lot for the coming year. Coach Batesole and his assistants always get good talent to come to the Central Valley. Again, this list was posted in November but let's see what has happened.
JT Arruda, INF, Buchanan HS, Clovis, CA
JT hit .344 with 2 home runs his senior year in 2016. If there's a hotbed for California high school baseball, it's Clovis. Three teams in the area were highly rated in the state as well as nationally (how do they do that, anyway?). What that tells me is that this kid played with and against top competition for the whole season and that counts. Not drafted.
Oscar Carvajal, RHP, Gahr HS, Cerritos, CA
I couldn't find any current stats for Oscar, just from 2015. Not drafted.
Isaiah Davis, OF/RHP, Carter HS, Rialto, CA
This kid has a lot of upside. His senior year he hit .347 with 8 (8!) home runs. He only pitched 1/3 of an inning so I don't know why he was signed as a pitcher along with a position. I looked at his sophomore year and he pitched 5+ innings and struck out 11. Maybe that's why. I think the power says position player. He also made the All-Area team for 2016. Not drafted.
Ryan Jensen, RHP, Salinas HS, Salinas, CA
Ryan has a mixed bag of stats. He was 2-5 and 2.75 his senior year which is ok for a reliever (he had no starts). In 40 IP he had 48 strikeouts but also walked 35. The walks are a red flag but, when he threw the ball over the plate, they weren't hitting what he was throwing. He gave up 24 hits in those 40 innings. I'm guessing he's a hard thrower that has promise but he'll have to work on his control. Not drafted.
Tiegen Jones, LHP, Capital Christian HS, Sacramento, CA
Tiegen was 5-3 and 1.84 in 49 IP with only one start. He struck out 82 and walked only 18 which is very good on both counts. He also gave up only 37 hits which adds up to a good WHIP. Decent hitter, too, for what that's worth. At 6'3" a good basketball player. Not drafted.
Adam Medrano, RHP, Charter Oak HS, Covina, CA
From what I saw, he had limited stats in 2016. He was 1-1 and 4.36 this past season in only 17 IP. His junior year was much better with more innings so I don't know if he was injured or what. Even with those limited state he made first team all league. Not drafted.
Joey Mendez, OF, Saugus US, Saugus, CA
Joey hit .361 and 4 his senior year. He was a freshman to watch as he had good numbers that year but his stats fell off the next two years. He made up for it his senior year. Not drafted.
Davis Moore, OF/RHP, Los Osos HS, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
He's a big kid at 6'4" and 185 so he could develop into a bigger kid. He hit .313 and 3 his final year. His record was 1-7 and 4.62 which sounds horrible but I'll give the kid a break. He played for a team that wasn't all that good and sometimes that can affect performance on the mound. He has some pop at the bat and the coaches saw something. He was drafted in the 37th round but decided on becoming a Bulldog which, in my estimation at least, was a good idea. Drafted but did not sign.
In the past I've seen some drop dead gorgeous recruits go to FSU. This year only a few but only the fire of competition will really tell. Ones to watch? Davis Moore and Isaiah Davis. Draft choices, power, and strike outs. Those always catch my eye and I suspect you readers are not very different. Oh, top notch competition in high school counts for something.