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Here's a story on a catcher - Tory Langley - who has committed to the Jackets. The "small" guy (only 5'10" and they say that's generous) was given quite the honor:
During a recent national showcase, Langley was rated the top defensive catcher in the class of 2006. His POP time (receiving the ball and getting off a throw to second base) was an amazing 1.81 seconds. Only two other showcase players had a time better than Langley's worst effort.
His arm strength also graded No. 1 in the class.
"We have no hesitation in calling him the best defensive high-school catcher in the country," said the scouting summary from the Perfect Game National Underclass Showcase.
As to the offense:
After hitting .456 as a sophomore, with 12 doubles, four triples, six homers and 32 RBI, Langley's power faded a bit this spring. He had nine doubles and three homers, and his RBI total dropped to 19.
"My best friend hit me in my throwing arm (during a high-school game)," Langley said. "So I didn't hit as good as I wanted to."
He was diagnosed with a learning disorder but that hasn't slowed him down in the classroom either:
The monitor wasn't needed by high school. He carries a 3.3 grade-point average and has verbally committed to attend Georgia Tech.
"That's one thing I'm happy about," he said, "getting college out of the way."
But what if he's drafted next spring?
"That will be a hard choice if I get drafted in the top four (rounds)," he said. "Georgia Tech is a great school. There's nothing like GT on a diploma."
Sounds like a good kid!!!!............ Here's mention of Chad Rodgers, a recuit we are after...... A "where are they now" segment with Eric Patterson, who seems to be excelling in the Cub farm system.......
That might explain why Eric Patterson sounded as excitable as an accountant going over tax returns when discussing his Midwest League-leading .354 batting average heading into Friday night's game. The 5-foot-10-inch, 160-pound speedster, who once bragged to a hometown reporter he was faster than his brother, also had 17 stolen bases.
Showing slightly better discipline than Corey, who had struck out 71 times in 277 at-bats heading into Saturday's game, Eric Patterson whiffed 47 times in his first 206 plate appearances--once every 4.4 times at-bat. He has walked 26 times.
Last week Patterson started at second base in the Midwest League All-Star Game and received 44.7 percent of the vote in an on-line poll on the Chiefs' Web site asking fans to name the team's most valuable player.
"I think it's just a combination of a lot of things coming together," Patterson said. "I'm traditionally a slow starter, but in college [at Georgia Tech] I never had spring training before to work through that. Here, by the time the regular season started, I was ready."
A comparison of the stats so far between Eric and Corey:
ERIC CATEGORY COREY
.359 Average .245
206 At-bats 277
74 Hits 68
5 Home runs 10
5 Triples 1
11 Doubles 9
17 Stolen bases 10
47 Strikeouts 71
26 Walks 13
Here's mention of former Jacket Richard Lewis in an article about how the Braves are stockpiling talent. What's new?