The Balk Blog: "State by State" Rankings: Alabama

Recruiting 101: State by State

Alabama

The state of Alabama has recently become more of a baseball hot bed than normal. Surrounded by several powerhouse baseball states, Alabama really had no choice but to turn into one themselves. With two SEC conference schools located inside the state, Alabama and Auburn, as well as on the rise programs Troy and South Alabama, there is enough talent to go around it looks like. I will break this up into three different categories, “Arms,” “Bats,” or “Dual.” We will listed there high school, height and weight, their college commitment, as well as what we believe to be their overall ranking.

“Arms:”

Cole Billingsley LHP 6’0 175 Pell City High School South Alabama 8.5

Cole is an interesting kid. He is a bit smaller but will more than likely put on weight. His fastball sets 85-87 and has been up to 88. He throws a curveball as well as a change. His fastball has the run that it needs, secondary pitches are getting there. He is committed to South Alabama. We ranked him a 8.5 because of his size and secondary pitches, but could one day but a 10.0 guy with “front-line” stuff. He is also considered to be an outfielder by some, not by us.

Ray Castillo RHP 6’2 180 Russell County HS Alabama 8.5

The first SEC commitment we get to today, Ray is a small body kid who has some surprising velo behind him. He’s been up to 92, but doesn’t seem like a good athlete as far as how it will develop into 95 plus in the future. Change up and curveball to go a lot with his plus arm, not real sure how good the secondary stuff is though. He has a chance to be good, headed to Bama.

Parker Curry RHP 5’11 160 Pelham HS Samford 8.0

Parker is also a smaller kid who seems to have some power behind his fastball. He might should have been in the Dual category but I believe with his 89 mph arm he will see more time on the mound than at SS for Samford.

Cole Lipscomb RHP 6’2 185 Edgewood HS Auburn 10.0

The first 10.0 guy that we have had the opportunity to label with the new site. Cole is a bigger kid who looks like he will put on weight. Most likely going to end up around 6’4 200 and add some velo to what is already a 92 mph arm. He’s headed to Auburn, although I seriously doubt he makes it to school.

Zach Lovvorn RHP 6’2 185 Oxford HS Samford 9.0

Zach is 6’2 RHP who is in the 88-90 who is still figuring out how to “pitch.” His secondary pitches are coming along quite nicely, and seem to be getting better and better each time out. I would normally rate someone like this at the 8.5 range, with room to “bloom” but from what I’ve heard from scouts he’s close to becoming the complete pitcher. Samford is getting a still. He plays on a highly stacked Oxford high school team.

Hunter Soleymani RHP 6’2 195 Pelham HS South Alabama 8.5

Hunter is a big kid, standing 6’2. He is sitting 85-87 right now, with huge room for growth. South Alabama’s pitching coach is one of the best around, and he is getting a good size project. The risk vs reward for Hunter is a no brainer, from what I’ve heard and saw, he’s going to blow up and pass everyone as he puts on the weight and velo.

Jackson Stephens RHP 6’4 185 Oxford HS Alabama 9.5

Oxford high school keeps rolling them out, to the point where I’m not sure who the “ace” is. Although I don’t know who the ace is, there can’t be many better than Jackson, this kid is the real deal. I was really really close to making Jackson a 10.0 player, even to the point where I’m thinking about changing it right now. His breaking ball has a way to go I believe, although I think he will still be a draft pick this year. He needs to put on weight, even though he is sitting 91 right now.

“Bats:”

Jordan Ebert INF R/R 6’1 170 Baldwin County HS Auburn 9.0

Jordon is a pretty good sized outfielder, who ran in the 6.7 range while throwing 88 across the infield. He is a middle infielder, who is also considered to be a pretty good outfielder. He has been labeled as a hitter who hits the ball to all sides on the field, with raw power.

Daniel Gardner C R/R 6’2 200 Sparkman HS Mississippi St 8.5

Daniel is a catcher from Sparkman high school, who has also seen limited action on the mound. He is 83-85 off the mound, with a 1.81 pop time from behind the plate. The thing I noticed about Daniel when I watched him play was how he received the ball, showing a good firm target to the pitchers. Has some work to do blocking, but he’s on the right track.

Sam Gillikin OF L/R 6’3 185 Hoover HS Auburn 9.0

Sam is a left handed hitting outfielder who hits to all sides of the field. He is a pretty good runner, 6.8 ish. His 6’3, 185 frame looks like it will add plenty of weight to it, where he will become more of a power it when he attends Auburn. He attends Hoover HS, where he holds a 4.0 gpa.

Mathew Goodson OF R/R 6’0 210 Oxford HS Alabama 10.0

Mathew’s parents couldn’t have picked a better last name, this kid is “good son.” On a more series note, he’s the real deal. A sub 6.6 in the 60, and 94 from the outfield, how can it really get any better? He is somewhat of a pull hitter, but has what some scouts believe to be “unbelievable” power for his age. He is headed to Bama.

Jalen Goree INF R/R 5’9 185 Bibb County HS 9.0

Jalen Goore is the only player we added to this list who was uncommitted. He is the real deal, most likely staying at second base whenever he decides where he is going to college. He is an oppo hitting player, who can run like it’s nobody’s business. He should be a leadoff batter from a SEC powerhouse sometime soon.

Kyle Overstreet INF R/R 6’0 200 Boaz HS Alabama 10.0

Kyle is the real deal, who has massive pop to his pull side. He is a R/R hitter, who can hold his own at second base. I saw him go deep dead center last summer on a 0-2 breaking ball off of one of the best pitchers of last year’s draft class. Rumor is that he also play third base, as well as throw it a little bit. He has been up to 91 on the mound, as well as 90 across the infield. He should play a big role in this coming draft.

Dylan Smith INF R/R 6’3 210 Chalkville HS Auburn 8.5

Dylan is somewhat of a mystery on the market, has I haven’t seen him play that as much as some of the other kids from Alabama. He is a 6’3, 210 third baseman from Clay-Chalkville High School, and is committed to play his college ball at Auburn. From what I do know, he hits to all sides of the field, showing great power.

Mikey White INF R/R 6’2 190 Spain Park HS Alabama 9.5

Mikey is the real deal, he’s one of those rare, natural shortstops. He attends Spain Park High School and is committed to play at Alabama. He is what most considered to be a top 100 player in the nation. His frame looks like he will put on weight while at Alabama, increasing his power.

“Dual:”

Colton Freeman LHP/OF 6’1 200 Spain Park HS Alabama 10.0

You talk about stud, that’s what Colton’s nickname should be. He was in the running for our “Best of the Best” selection, which goes to the best players in that state. He has a 93 mph fastball, and has touched 95 from the outfield. He ran a 6.65 this past summer, as well as showing that he could hit for power. He should be a high draft pick, if not he’s headed to Alabama.

Mitchell Greer RHP/ C 6’3 220 Edgewood HS Alabama 10.0

Mitchell is a switching hitting catcher who can really hit for power to all sides of the field. Only problem with this kid is that he’s also 92 of the mound. It’s hard to pitch and catch at the same time, so I am sure at some point he’ll have to choose. I put him down as a dual player simply because of the power that he packs inside his bat. He has a bright upside on the hill.

Perry Rigby RHP/INF 6’4 195 Way Home HS UAB 9.0

Not only is Perry the real deal at shortstop, he is also a 88 mph arm off the mound. He has a 6’4 frame, who looks like he will put on weight. He might shift over to 3^rd with his big frame. That also leads me to belief that he has a chance to pitch when he adds on weight. He is committed to UAB.

Georgie Salem RHP/OF 5’11 205 Vestavia Hills HS Alabama 9.5

George is a left handed hitting outfielder who can RUN. He’s been clocked as low as a 6.42 running in the 60, and has a cannon from the outfield, hitting 96. He’s been up to 89 as far as I know off the mound, throwing the ball right handed. He’s kind of a bigger kid, 5’11, 205 but when you can run like that who cares. He has great power, and is a great athlete.

David Dahl* RHP/OF 6’3 190 Oak Mountain HS Auburn 10.0

*See listed below…

Tucker Simpson* RHP/1B 6’8 225 Oxford HS Georgia Tech 10.0

*See listed below…

Jameis Winston* RHP/OF/SS 6’5 215 Hueytown Florida St 10.0

*See listed below…

The Best of the Best:

This is the new part of the “State by State” that we are excited to add, who is the best? That’s a hard question for a scout or writer to answer because you don’t see these kids play enough to really know. There was a clear cut favorite here, and there was a kid that I was blown away as far as how good he could be. “The Best of the Best” for the state of Alabama was a tie between Florida St. signee Jamies Winston, Auburn signee David Dahl, and Georgia St. signee Tucker Simpson. We will take the people who we consider to be the Best of the Best and let the fans vote on who they consider the best later on, for The Balk Blog Preseason Player of the Year fan vote.

Winston, who I’m sure was most peoples clear cut favorite as the state’s best, is a remarkable athlete. He is the number one rated quarterback in the nation, as well as having a 94 mph arm off the mound. His 6’4, 210 pound frame is unbelievable when you consider the fact that he ran a 6.59 as well. He is a right handed thrower, but a switch hitter. He is 81 across the infield and 93 from the outfield. In my opinion he has first round stuff written all over him. The only problem with him that I see is where do you play him? He looks really smooth at short, and has big league actions but he’s only 81ish across the infield. He is 93 from the outfield, which is fine especially when you can run like that, but the real question is how do you take a 94 plus power arm off the mound? His breaking ball is also better than average, so the possibilities are endless. He is also like I said the number 1 quarterback in the nation, which is saying a lot. A lot of people compare him to Cam Newton, you know, the Heisman winner! Who knows what Winston will decide, I am going to try to get an interview with him at some point, I know he is busy with football right now. We here at Balk Blog wish him the best of luck in both sports. He was also a Perfect Game All American.

Alabama has another Best of the Best in the 6’8 frame of Tucker Simpson. Tucker has some work to do to be considered elite, the part that I like about him is, is it an elite hitter or pitcher? He’s inches away from being considered one of the best hitters in the draft, and anybody that knows anything about pitching knows that this kid has MLB rotation written all over him. He attends the Alabama powerhouse Oxford HS, so I know that he is getting the best coaching available. He stands 6’8, 225 and has been up to 93 mph. His breaking ball is what it is, almost great! If you saw him hit in the Perfect Game All American HR derby you know that this kid has a chance to hit as well. There’s no chance that this kid ever attends Georgia Tech in my opinion. I think his bigger upside is on the mound, I’m sure either way he’ll do just fine. We wish the best of luck to him at GA Tech and the Draft.

David Dahl is an absolute beast. He has a 6’3,190 frame and he signs it from the left side. He can hit to all sides of the field for power, as well as run. He ran a 6.45 when I clocked him, and was 97 from the outfield. He shows incredible power to all sides of the field, but especially oppo, he’s really an advanced hitter. The interesting thing is, he’s also 91-93 off the mound. I say you leave this kid in the outfield with an arm and speed like that, but we’ll see what Auburn does. He is considered by most to be a top 20 player in the nation, as well as a top 5 outfielder. We wish him best in the draft, or at Auburn.

An Ending Note:

Wow, we are finally coming to end with our State by State rankings of Alabama. We hope no one was disappointed with their ratings, as we hope you understand everyone isn’t a 10.0 player. If you feel there has been an error or misleading info please contact us and we will fix it. If there is someone who should be on this list, let us know we will add him right away. We will continue to add players all pre-season long. We would like to congratulate David, Tucker, and Jamies on being selected as the “Best of the Best.” We will have a fan vote next week, all week long to decide who the winner is. You get (1) ONE point for commenting on Facebook and choosing, and you get (5) FIVE points for commenting on our website. We hope everyone enjoyed, as we are excited about the new young talent coming out of Alabama.

BB29

Jameis Winston (take into account this is an older video)