Georgia high school baseball is in full swing. The weather is warming and so are the position players and pitchers. This week we got to see a big, 2018 arm in Cole Wilcox. He is the number 16 overall prospect in Prep Baseball Report's High School Draft 100.  We also got to see a rematch of the 2017 state finals with Woodstock beating Etowah behind the bat of 2019 Georgia Commit Spencer Keefe, and an impressive power display by 2019 Ryland Goede who is committed to Georgia in both baseball and football.    

Wilcox lead Heritage high school on the mound and at the plate in their 12-2 beating of Southeast Whitfield.  At the plate, Wilcox was 2-4 with 3 runs batted in.  This included a towering home run deep in to the trees over the left field fence.

Cole Wilcox RHP / Heritage, GA / 2018 Rankings  OverallRank: 16 / POS: 7 HS Draft 100Rank: 14 / POS: 6 PBR Draft BoardRank: 27 / POS: 12 Wilcox is a physically mature high school right-hander with a power arm. He comes from a low 3/4 slot using a fastball, slider and change. He has an aggressive delivery with a long arm swing. He pushed his fastball up as high as 94 and pitched 90-92, he also flashes a power slider (80-84), when he was out front and on top of it. As with most high school arms Wilcox did not need his change-up too much (85). There is no doubt Wilcox's fastball will play down in the zone with heavy sink, but the true test of his ceiling will be determined by his command and the consistency of his secondary stuff out of his low 3/4 arm slot.

On Wednesday, in the annual "Battle of Towne Lake" we saw a power display from Spencer Keefe. The 2019 Woodstock third-baseman was on fire, going 4-4 with a single, double and 2 home runs, both of which came on the first pitch of the at bat. The first pitch he saw was a fastball that he lifted way out to Left, and the second was a breaking ball that Keefe stayed back on and drove out.

Spencer Keefe 3B / Woodstock, GA / 2019 This was my second look at Keefe and he showed off the power this go around. Was very impressed with the way he stayed back and used a simple short stroke. Going to be fun to watch this speed and power combo over the summer.

 

Got a treat Friday night as one of the top high school football players in the country, Ryland Goede, showed off his plus raw power. He is committed to play baseball and football for Georgia. Keep an eye out for a future spotlight on Goede and his unique talents.

Ryland Goede 1B / Kennesaw Mountain, GA / 2019 Goede is easy to spot on a baseball field. The 6-foot-7 first-baseman moves well around the bag and offers a considerable target. At the plate Goede shows a solid approach with good leverage and plus raw power. He is going to swing and miss some as most power hitters do, but should show significant rewards on contact. Goede has the skill set to hit in the middle of the line-up in Athens and will be a strong addition to a young Georgia baseball team.

 

At the end of the week, I realized how many Georgia commits I had unintentionally seen in a row. It's safe to say that power is heading to Athens, both in terms of bats and arms. Georgia already has a young team and is off to a 21-7 start.

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