By Justin Burgess
Florida Area Scout

Now that we are well into the month of October, the fall season and recruiting trail is in full swing for high school players. Dozens of players, including a couple of freshmen, have committed to schools over the last month. Some of these players have been on coaches’ radars for the entire year, while others seemed to have jumped on the scene out of nowhere.

No matter if a player commits as a freshman or at the end of their senior year, they have to start somewhere. Exactly when a player starts to get noticed depends on a combination of talent, physical development and exposure. Once a player shows the tools, skills and physical strength, it comes down to showing consistency and some degree of projection.

Here a few infielders from the 2018 class who have recently shown some combination of these factors and if they are not on the radar already, will soon begin to be noticed by schools:

Mitch Donofrio, SS/RHP, Venice HS, FL
Donofrio, standing at 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, has the best physical strength out of this group. He shows an advanced approach at the plate and the ball jumps off his bat. He can occasionally get a little long, which causes him to get under pitches, but for the most part he hits hard line drives and ground balls to all fields. With the physical ability and tools already present, the Venice coaching staff should (like they always do) make him fundamentally sound and mentally prepared for the next level.