BATON ROUGE, La. — The 2016 LSU baseball recruiting class is rated No. 4 in the nation in the annual D1 Baseball recruiting rankings.
Ole Miss is No. 1 in the D1 Baseball recruiting poll, followed by North Carolina, TCU, LSU, Florida, Stanford, Florida State, Washington, Arizona State and South Carolina.
LSU’s class was also ranked No. 4 earlier this month by Baseball America magazine.
The 13-man recruiting class includes seven pitchers and six position players. The new Tigers are participating with the veteran players in fall workouts and scrimmages, which began on September 25 and continue through November 6.
The 2017 season opens on February 17 when the Tigers play host to Air Force in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
Below is the full D1 Baseball evaluation of LSU’s recruiting class:
Overview: Another year and another powerhouse class for LSU, as these types of potent crops no longer surprise us. It’s a class that once again the coaching staff believes is more than just college players, but instead they believe it’s filled with future early draft picks as well. Some of these players will require significant development, but the pure upside of this group is as good as any team in America.
The Stars: A 6-foot-6, 200 pound high upside righty like Zack Hess is a great way to headline any recruiting class, and the LSU couldn’t be more excited about this one. Hess has been up to 96 mph with his fastball and pitches consistently at 92-94 with a razor sharp, plus slider. He has future first round draft pick type of potential and has a chance at the Sunday spot in the rotation. A 39th round draft pick in 2016, infielder Josh Smith represents the headline portion of this group of LSU position players. A plus defender at shortstop, Smith has a top of the order skillset highlighted by an easy, crisp lefty line drive swing path.
The Sleepers: LSU feels like they’ve greatly boosted their bullpen with junior college transfer righty Hunter Kiel. The 6-foot-3 righty hit 98 mph with his fastball last spring and shows a swing and miss, devastating slider. He’s viewed as a potential weapon late in games. 6-foot-3 infielder Jake Slaughter could help the team rather quickly as either a second or third baseman, and he’s shown a strong, power profile from the right side. 6-foot-4 righty Will Reese has shown plus athleticism on the mound and has topped at 93 with his fastball. His upside is as high as anyone on the staff. Massive 6-foot-5, powerfully built righty Todd Peterson is known for his heavy bowling ball of a 91-94 mph fastball and he has a power curveball to go with it. He could be a potential rotation anchor in the future as well.
D1 Baseball’s entire summary of its Top 10 recruiting classes may be found at http://d1baseball.com/premium/2016-recruiting-class-rankings-1-10/.