Two Baseball Commits

[mike412]

If the first of these is old news, I didn’t see it. Malvern Prep pitcher Billy Corcoran, the Southeast PA preseason player of the year, has committed to Pitt and signed a LOI. Kevin Devereaux, the #2 pitcher at Malvern Prep also has committed to Pitt. Devereaux already touches 90 with his fastball and Corcoran reportedly throws in the 91 to 92 mph range.

Normally, I would be concerned about the quality of opposition they face, but the SE PA preseason team is loaded with players from private schools. And, those are good fastball numbers for HS kids, no matter who they play.

 

[pittchagg]

Has there been any word on the draft outlook for Mason Ronan, the LHP from Johnstown who signed in the fall? He looks like a future all-conference type of talent, and it’d be a real shame to lose him if he signs.

 

[PA_Panther]

If the first of these is old news, I didn’t see it. Malvern Prep pitcher Billy Corcoran, the Southeast PA preseason player of the year, has committed to Pitt and signed a LOI. Kevin Devereaux, the #2 pitcher at Malvern Prep also has committed to Pitt. Devereaux already touches 90 with his fastball and Corcoran reportedly throws in the 91 to 92 mph range.

Normally, I would be concerned about the quality of opposition they face, but the SE PA preseason team is loaded with players from private schools. And, those are good fastball numbers for HS kids, no matter who they play.

No reason to worry about where these kids are playing HS ball at anymore. With travel ball being as serious as it is now, I’m assuming they have played serious competition in the summer.

 

[mike412]

Has there been any word on the draft outlook for Mason Ronan, the LHP from Johnstown who signed in the fall? He looks like a future all-conference type of talent, and it’d be a real shame to lose him if he signs.

Baseball America lists him as among the top 50 high school prospects and draft projections have him going between the 2nd and 5th rounds. I think if he is drafted in the first 3 rounds, he likely will sign. Later than that, he is a shot to enroll at Pitt. With Jerry Oakes having coached up a first round pitcher since he joined the staff, they can try to convince him that he can go from a 4th to a 1st round draft choice if he enrolls.

The pitching on this team has improved remarkably since he joined the program. I think part of it is coaching and part of it is recognizing talent and recruiting it. I would be very surprised if he isn’t the head coach soon.

The good thing about this draft is that it is frontloaded with quality college pitchers. Teams (other than the mindless Pirates) are using less top five round choices on HS pitchers recently because statistically they have the least chance of becoming Major Leaguers.