Colorado Year in Review: 4th Most Viewed Story

December 28, 2014

By John Cackowski
State Director

We're looking back at the top 15 most viewed stories on our website from the year of 2014. Our 4th most viewed story The Colorado Recruiting Notebook from November 11th. Below you can read the interview in its entirety. To see current commits from Colorado click here.

John Cackowski
State Director

On October 30th we highlighted 13 players who recently committed to play baseball in college. To read that article click here. Since then there have been 12 more players who have recently committed, highlighted by 2015 No. 21 3B Matt Schmidt of Regis committing to Texas. There were also two high profile 2016 commitments. Columbine MIF/C Tommy Gillman committed to Texas A&M, and Mullen Catcher Maverick Handley committed to Stanford. Below is a list of the recent commitments out of our state. To see the entire list of 2015 and 2016 commitments we have on record click here.

2015

#15 JR McDermott, RHP, Smoky Hill: Colorado Mesa
6-0, 165 lbs. RHP. Last spring was mid 80's but this fall hit upper 80's. Very smooth and effortless delivery is one of the more polished rhp in our state. Last year for Smoky Hill McDermott pitched 40 innings and struck out 38 pitching in the tough Centennial League.

#16 Blake Goldsberry, RHP/3B, Cherry Creek: Kansas
6-foot-5, 180-pound right-handed pitcher and third baseman impressed as one of the top arms at the Colorado Top Prospect Games. Goldsberry works from a long, loose, high arm slot, tall and fall delivery, toe down at balance point, shoulders stay level throughout, stride direction stays in line with home plate, lands square, repeats delivery well with smooth rhythm. Fastball sat 84-85 mph, touching 87 on a couple of occasions. Breaking ball at 68-69 mph flashed late 11/5 break when he stayed on top/behind it. Goldsberry also throws a change with sink between 70-72 mph.

No. 21 Matt Schmidt, 3B, Regis Jesuit: Texas
6-foot-2, 195-pound third baseman who hits from a tall athletic stance with slight uphill swing with good bat speed. Can produce gap to gap power with leverage at the plate and has a quiet and simple approach. When Schmidt gets in the box he looks like he wants to rake. Has good speed for position. Good arm across diamond with accuracy. One of the top 3B in the state. Good student.

No. 29 Ryan McCarthy, 1B, Air Academy: Santa Clara
6-foot-2, 195 pounds. Bats Right and throws Right. Hits from a balanced athletic stance that creates gap to gap power with fast bat speed and slight uphill path. Utilizes lower half well which produces good power. Good student with a plus 4.0 G.P.A. and 30 ACT score. Has plus power potential at the next level.

No. 34 Aaron Germani, OF, ThunderRidge: Metropolitan State
5-9, 150 lbs L/L. Covers a ton of ground and hits for good power for his size. One of the top Centerfielders in the state, he had 45 putouts last year and collected 26 hits at the plate, and scored 28 runs for the Grizzlies. Germani will once again look to be the spark for a ThunderRidge team that is eying a deep run into may.

Jared Case, RHP, Legend: Garden City C.C.
6-2 175 lb. RHP with large, athletic frame with room to grow and fill out. Throws from 3/4 slot with good extension towards plate. High leg-kick and strong leg drive produces a mid 80's fastball with room to add velocity. Throws three pitches with a plus changeup.

Lane Greiman, RHP, Eaton: Otero
Sidearm pitcher with low 80’s velocity and plus movement on fastball, throws knuckle curve for what appears to be a slider, very tough competitor that wants the ball under pressure, records groundout after groundout on good hitters, getting strikeouts on bottom half of order for WYCO past couple falls and for Eaton in Legion ARHP. Shows great demeanor on the mound with a warrior type attitude and dare you to hit the ball.

Garrett Hammer, C, Rocky Mountain: Cisco Junior College
6-0, 205 lb athletic strong catcher. Has gap to gap power. Was a solid contributor to Rocky Mountain's 5A state championship team in 2014 hitting .417 with 14 RBI"s and 3 HR. Moves well behind the plate with strong arm down to 2nd. Will be one of the Lobo's main offensive weapons in 2015.

Ethan Kapperman, LHP, Eaton: Northeastern Junior College
Side arm delivery who shows a lot of deception. Strike thrower. Gets ridiculous movement on his knuckle curve that acts like a slider, coming in from an angle that starts well behind a left-handed batter and sweeps across the plate with good drop. Considered a left-handed specialist, but right handed hitters struggle off him as well. Also has good movement and deception on his fastball and change-up.

Ryan Koehler, OF, Eaton: New Mexico Junior College
Has division I hitting ability once he grows into full body. Very good approach at the plate and has gap to gap power. Has slight uphill path in his swing causing lift and carry. Natural left-handed hitter. 3A PBR CO All State player in 2014.

2016

Tommy Gillman, MIF/C, Columbine: Texas A&M
8.16.14 5-foot-10, 170-pound switch hitting middle infielder/catcher. Gillman shows swagger hitting from a balanced athletic stance from both sides. Has a smooth load with short strided leg kick. Produces a level path with good extension creating line drive power generating a 82 mph exit velocity off the tee from the left side, and 79 mph exit velocity from the right side. From left side shows the ability to have opposite field power. Throws 84 mph across the diamond from short arm action with accuracy. Plays through the baseball with quick, clean middle infield actions. From the catching position has a 2.03 pop-time. Gillman also ran a 6.80 60 yard dash. Has all the tools and is a player to follow next two years.

Maverick Handley, C, Mullen: Stanford
5-foot-10, 190 pound catcher/2B. Throws and bats right. Handley has a balanced athletic stance that creates explosive bat speed with a slight uphill swing with good extension through the zone. Ball explodes off the bat. In game we watched had a grand slam, and almost another home run. Good looking prospect and very good student with a plus 4.0 GPA and a 30 ACT score.