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Top 20 Preseason Baseball Players – Nick Plummer of Brother Rice tops list, Shilling of ND Prep is No. 2

By: Tom Markowski, April 12, 2015, 3:28 pm

 

 

 

 

  1. Nick Plummer, 5-11, 205, OF, Birmingham Brother Rice: A possible first-round draft pick in the upcoming Major League Baseball amateur draft, Plummer batted .573 with eight home runs and 34 RBI last season. He signed with Kentucky.

  2. Luke Shilling, 6-5, 255, RHP/1B/DH, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep: The starting catcher for three seasons, Shilling is one of the state’s top pitchers and perhaps the best hitter on his team. His fastball has been timed in the mid 90s. Shilling signed with Illinois.

  3. Evan Kratt, 6-3, 180, C, Richmond: A first team (Division 2) all-state selection last season, Kratt batted .400 and led Richmond to the state finals. He’s been timed at 1.7 seconds from home to second. Kratt signed with Central Michigan.

  4. Nate Grys, 6-2, 220, CF, Madison Heights Bishop Foley: A three-year starter, Grys signed with Western Michigan. Grys hit .400 last season, remarkable given the fact he played most of the season with a broken wrist. Grys is 100 percent now and is expected to bat leadoff.

  5. Jacob VanderWal, 5-10, 180, OF, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central: A three-year starter in center, VanderWal batted .350 last season. He bats leadoff and is an excellent base stealer. VanderWal will be called on to pitch in the late innings at time. He signed with Ohio State.

  6. Eric Gilgenbach, 6-1, 195, SS/OF/P, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek: A four-year starter, Gilgenbach signed with Notre Dame. Gilgenbach also started on the basketball team the last three seasons. He batted .471 last season and he throws in the mid 80s.

  7. Chandler Sedat, 6-2, 195, RHP/OF, West Bloomfield: Sedat returns as the ace of the Lakers’ staff. He uses three pitches and his fastball consistently reaches the mid-to-upper 80s. Sedat was 5-2 with a 3.20 ERA and he batted .376. Sedat signed with Indiana.

  8. Collin Goslin, 6-4, 225, LHP/OF, Dearborn Divine Child: A three-year starter, Goslin signed with Michigan State. His fastball has been clocked in the low 90s. Last season he was 6-3 with one save. Goslin struck out 71 in 58 1/3 innings and he had a 1.95 ERA.

  9. Trent Theisen, 5-11, 170, C, Saline: A four-year starter, Theisen signed with Ball State. He batted .385 last season and was 15-of-15 on stolen base attempts. He bats left-handed and is expected to hit third in the lineup.

  10. Riley McCauley, 5-11, 205, SS/P, Sterling Heights Stevenson: A three-year starter at shortstop, McCauley signed with Michigan State. As the closer last season McCauley had 11 saves and a 0.39 ERA. He also batted .360 with 13 stolen bases.

  11. *Tommy Henry, jr., LHP/1B/OF, Portage Northern: Henry was 7-1 with a 0.84 ERA last season. He throws in the mid-to-upper 80s and Henry is expected to bat leadoff this season. He’s committed to Michigan.

12. Ricky Karcher, 64, 190, RHP, Saline: A transfer from Florida, Karcher signed with Michigan. He throws just two pitches (fastball, change) but has great location with both. Last summer his fastball was timed at 91 mph.

13. Robbie Jones, 6-2, 190, OF/P, West Bloomfield: Jones will bat leadoff this season and coach Eric Pierce said Jones, who signed with Michigan State, “has a great motor and is a five-tool player”.

14. Ben Keizer, 6-3, 185, LHP/1B, Portage Northern: Keizer suffered an injury during the basketball season and was unable to throw in the early part of this month according to coach Chris Andrews but is expected to pitch by mid-April. “He’s a hard thrower but his pitch count gets up sometimes,” Andrews said. “When he’s dialed in he’s really good.” Keizer signed with Michigan.

15. *Karl Kauffmann, 6-3, 210, RHP/3B, Birmingham Brother Rice: Kauffmann is the ace of what is a deep and talented staff at Brother Rice. A three-year varsity pitcher, Kauffmann has committed to Michigan.

Other top players (college choice listed)

  1. Lukas Veinbergs, C, Pinckney: Indiana

  2. Matt Clark, RHP, Adrian: Michigan State

  3. Jacob Garbarino, C, Grandville: Northwestern

  4. *Drew Blakely, C, Richland Gull Lake: Virginia

  5. Daniel Robinson, OF, Grosse Pointe North: Central Michigan

*indicates class of 2016