Tag: 2022 Baseball Recruiting

Jay Johnson has a big plan for Gavin Guidry in 2023

Johnson said the team will work toward training Guidry to pitch.

[autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] came to Baton Rouge as the No. 1 player in the state of Louisiana, the No. 13 shortstop and the No. 65 overall player in the country.

Naturally, you would imagine that he would be in contention for the second base or shortstop jobs. Head coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] has a bigger plan.

He is going to start training the young freshman to pitch. Does that surprise you? If it does, let’s take a look at his stats as a pitcher last season. He compiled an 8-0 record on the mound with a 0.16 ERA and 83 strikeouts against just 11 walks in 45 innings pitched.

According to Prep Baseball Report, Guidry has a four-pitch repertoire. He throws a fastball, changeup, curveball and a slider. There is no doubt he has the talent to be a great pitcher.

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LSU baseball has the No. 1 recruiting class for the second year in a row

Jay Johnson continues to stockpile talent in Baton Rouge.

For the second year in a row, coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] and the LSU Tigers have signed the No. 1 recruiting class. Although the Tigers lost a few of their commitments to the 2022 MLB Draft, there is still a very talented group of freshmen that will be on the field for LSU this spring.

LSU boasts six recruits that are listed by Baseball America as top 500 draft prospects. [autotag]Jaden Noot[/autotag] (No. 71), [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] (No. 83), [autotag]Chase Shores[/autotag] (No. 93), [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] (No. 215), [autotag]Aiden Moffett[/autotag] (No. 495) and [autotag]Ethan Frey[/autotag] (No. 499).

Last season, LSU went 40-22 overall and 17-13 in conference play. Their season ended with a loss to Southern Miss in the Hattiesburg Regional.

LSU lost a lot of talented guys from that team last year (to the MLB Draft and the transfer portal) but with this type of recruiting class, it will be a fun Spring at the Box.

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LSU baseball commit Brady Neal reportedly not signing with Brewers, heading to Baton Rouge

Neal was a 17th-round pick in the 2022 MLB draft.

On Tuesday, the Tigers learned that at least one of the drafted commits in their vaunted, No. 1-ranked 2022 recruiting class will make it to campus.

Five-star catcher [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag], who was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 17th round earlier in the day, will reportedly not sign and will enroll at LSU instead, according to a report from The Advocate’s Leah Vann.

Neal played his high school ball at powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. He was one of two Tigers signees Milwaukee took a flyer on late in the draft as it also drafted [autotag]Jaden Noot[/autotag], who is still yet to make a decision regarding his future.

The 2022 MLB draft saw a total of eight LSU signees drafted, and a number of those were high picks who are expected to go pro. But getting Neal — the No. 74 overall prospect entering the draft — to come to campus is a nice win.

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Gavin Guidry, 2022 LSU signee, announces decision to attend LSU

Guidry is the third 2022 signee to withdraw from the MLB draft.

LSU entered the third day of the 2022 MLB draft with several of its incoming recruits ranked among the best prospects available. But one of those players, four-star infielder [autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag], announced on Tuesday that he will not be going pro and will head to Baton Rouge, instead.

Guidry is a native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, and the 6-foot-2, 180-pound player was one of the best signees in the Tigers’ No. 1-ranked 2022 recruiting class. On the first night of the draft alone, five LSU signees were picked, all of which are expected to go pro. Guidry joins [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] and [autotag]Chase Shores[/autotag], who also withdrew their names from the draft.

It’s a fact of life in college baseball that when you sign an elite recruiting class, it’s going to be raided by major league clubs in the draft. Though several of the best players to sign with LSU this past cycle aren’t likely to make it to campus, it’s still a talented haul for coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] heading into his second year in the bayou.

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LSU signee Rob Snelling hears his name called on Night 1 of the 2022 MLB Draft

LSU’s 2022 signing class took another hit on Sunday night as Snelling became the third incoming freshman that was taken in the first round.

The Tigers signed the top recruiting class in the country in 2022, but it took a hit on Sunday night during the MLB draft as Rob Snelling became the third signee to be drafted in the first round. He was taken by the San Diego Padres with the 39th pick.

Snelling is a 6-foot-3, 220-pound left-handed pitcher from Reno, Nevada. Snelling was ranked as the No. 16 overall prospect in the draft according to MLB.com and was a four-star recruit coming out of high school.

Like fellow first-round pick signee [autotag]Mikey Romero[/autotag], Snelling was committed to play for coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] at Arizona before choosing to follow him to Baton Rouge. Now, his plans may have changed again.

He gets the option to stay a lot closer to home and play with some stars in San Diego, though he still has the choice to not sign with the Padres and come to Baton Rouge.

If he signs with the Padres, he will head to the minor leagues for a few years before hopefully making his way to the bigs.

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Another member of LSU’s 2022 recruiting class flies off the draft board

Mikey Romero became the second LSU signee to be drafted in the first round on Sunday night.

[autotag]Mikey Romero[/autotag] became the latest member of LSU’s recruiting class to get drafted as he was picked with the 24th pick by the Boston Red Sox in the 2022 MLB draft. Romero joins [autotag]Justin Crawford[/autotag], another 2022 recruit who was taken in the first round.

The 6-foot-1, 175-pound shortstop/second baseman from Orange Lutheran in California was ranked as the No. 65 overall prospect in the MLB draft according to MLB.com, but he went off the board earlier than some expected.

He was rated as a five-star infielder in the 2022 recruiting class, and he was committed to play for coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] at Arizona. When Johnson left the desert for LSU, Romero re-opened his recruitment and wound up following Johnson to the bayou.

Now, he is a first-round draft pick with a storied Red Sox franchise. He now has a choice to either sign with Boston or come to Baton Rouge. Regardless, he won’t immediately go to Boston as he will likely spend some years in the minor leagues before hopefully making his dreams come true and becoming a big leaguer.

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Top LSU baseball signee Justin Crawford drafted in 1st round by Philadelphia Phillies

The Tigers’ highest-rated commit in 2022 likely won’t be making it to campus.

One of the best signees of LSU’s No. 1 2022 recruiting class in center fielder [autotag]Justin Crawford[/autotag] — son of former MLB outfielder Carl Crawford — was selected with the No. 17 pick of the MLB draft on Sunday night by the Philadelphia Phillies.

He’s the second LSU player to come off the board after star third baseman Jacob Berry went to the Miami Marlins with the sixth overall picked.If he signs, Crawford would join an outfield in Philly with reigning MVP Bryce Harper.

Seven of LSU’s top-10 highest-rated draft prospects were part of the 2022 recruiting class, and Crawford was the first domino to fall.

He likely will not be the last, either, as LSU may have one or two more incoming freshmen picked tonight. Even though these kids get drafted, they still have the option to go to LSU and play for coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] and the Tigers. But given the slotted values for first or second-round picks, it would be very hard to turn that down.

Though a surprise could be in the works when it comes time to negotiate his signing bonus, Crawford is now likely heading to the minor leagues to grind it out for a while before we hopefully see him in the majors one day.

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