Keith Law (Athletic) Top 100 2022 MLB Draft Rankings (SEC Players & Commits)

[PMDawg]

Stolen from The Rant. The article is apparently behind a paywall, so I'm not linking it.


79. Bradley Loftin, LHP, DeSoto Central High (MISSISSIPPI STATE COMMIT)

Loftin is a 6-foot-3 southpaw who?s been up to 94 mph with a plus changeup and a good delivery he repeats well. He just started throwing a breaking ball for the first time this year ? the same thing Madison Bumgarner did, which worked out OK for him, I guess. Loftin is expected to be a tough sign with his commitment to Mississippi State.

A lefthander that throws 94? And he's expected to make it here? Yes, please.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

Stolen from The Rant. The article is apparently behind a paywall, so I'm not linking it.


79. Bradley Loftin, LHP, DeSoto Central High (MISSISSIPPI STATE COMMIT)

Loftin is a 6-foot-3 southpaw who?s been up to 94 mph with a plus changeup and a good delivery he repeats well. He just started throwing a breaking ball for the first time this year ? the same thing Madison Bumgarner did, which worked out OK for him, I guess. Loftin is expected to be a tough sign with his commitment to Mississippi State.

A lefthander that throws 94? And he's expected to make it here? Yes, please.

If this year has taught us anything, it's that velocity doesn't matter if you can't find the strike zone. Hopefully he throws strikes.

[Coach34]

Looks like a project for his Freshman year.

[StarkVegasSteve]

He will make it here. 100% no doubt. Spoken with people in and around that program and there is no question he will be wearing Maroon and White next spring. He has the chance to be our next lefty ace in this program.

[Cowbell]

The portal is where it's at

[Commercecomet24]

We get Loftin and Holcombe here they will both help, pretty quick.

[The Federalist Engineer]

I bet this kid is going to be awesome, we are a bit fragile right now. MSU is good at scouting and utilizing local guys like this.

I am worried when the kid is from Toronto Canada or Guyman Oklahoma or someplace like that.

I'm super pumped about what StarkVegasSteve said

[Homedawg]

Looks like a project for his Freshman year.

He's better than Elliot at ole miss at the same time in their career and it's not close. And I liked Elliot a lot as a hs sr.

[Coach34]

He's better than Elliot at ole miss at the same time in their career and it's not close. And I liked Elliot a lot as a hs sr.

You are a baseball guy I trust- you know that.

My fear is this kid doesnt adjust well as a Freshman and spends 2023 working on getting his breaking ball over the plate because he just started throwing it. He becomes the talented freshman that is spotty with control.

True Freshman can be good.
True Freshman can be solid
True Freshman usually struggle in the SEC on the mound

Thats SEC life

[Homedawg]

You are a baseball guy I trust- you know that.

My fear is this kid doesnt adjust well as a Freshman and spends 2023 working on getting his breaking ball over the plate because he just started throwing it. He becomes the talented freshman that is spotty with control.

True Freshman can be good.
True Freshman can be solid
True Freshman usually struggle in the SEC on the mound

Thats SEC life

All that is true. And they become sophomores. Thank goodness last year was a pretty special pitching class in Ms. tygart, maddux, Elliott, and Montgomery. We didn't get any. Which sucks.

[Todd4State]

We get Loftin and Holcombe here they will both help, pretty quick.

I'll tell you another guy that could come in and contribute right away is Will Gibbs. And then there is the Coast guy no one is talking about- Max Miller.

[Homedawg]

I'll tell you another guy that could come in and contribute right away is Will Gibbs. And then there is the Coast guy no one is talking about- Max Miller.

I like Gibbs. He's got a chance. Haven't seen Miller

[Commercecomet24]

I'll tell you another guy that could come in and contribute right away is Will Gibbs. And then there is the Coast guy no one is talking about- Max Miller.

Yeah Gibbs has a chance to be a good one. I've seen Miller and I think he has some strong upside, great movement and good command.

[PMDawg]

breaking ball ... he just started throwing it.

You are starting to see this more and more often. I think it's smart. When I played, back in the day, you started seeing breaking balls in 11/12, and a lot of kids were throwing a ton of them by 13/14. You also saw a lot of super talented guys with dead arms by the time they reached high school. Coaches would throw these guys twice a week (or twice a weekend in all stars) and they would throw around 100 pitches every time they pitched. Anyway, I think there are a lot of people with a lot better approaches out there now. I don't mind seeing guys wait until later to start throwing new pitches. Landon Sims, Jonathan Holder, and a hundred other pitchers we could all name have been able to dominate by using a FB the vast majority of the time. Yes, the breaking ball is usually the wipe out pitch, but I just don't think it's that hard for a super athletic person to get to a point where it's a weapon.

[Coach34]

You are starting to see this more and more often. I think it's smart. When I played, back in the day, you started seeing breaking balls in 11/12, and a lot of kids were throwing a ton of them by 13/14. You also saw a lot of super talented guys with dead arms by the time they reached high school. Coaches would throw these guys twice a week (or twice a weekend in all stars) and they would throw around 100 pitches every time they pitched. Anyway, I think there are a lot of people with a lot better approaches out there now. I don't mind seeing guys wait until later to start throwing new pitches. Landon Sims, Jonathan Holder, and a hundred other pitchers we could all name have been able to dominate by using a FB the vast majority of the time. Yes, the breaking ball is usually the wipe out pitch, but I just don't think it's that hard for a super athletic person to get to a point where it's a weapon.

It's still prevalent in younger groups as my son's good friend pitches in travel ball and they have him throwing a CB at 12 years old (which I dont agree with by the way). I''m all about waiting until about 15 or so but I think Sr year is a little late. Learning the nuances of locating inside and out consistently, when to bounce it, changing speeds with it....all that takes more than a year or so.

The problem we are seeing other than overpitching younger arms is teaching them a correctly thrown CB. A correctly thrown 12/6 CB doesnt put any undue pressure on the elbow. Young pitchers need to be taught correctly and coaches need to constantly monitor their arm positioning.

The Slider however puts alot more torque on the elbow and is rougher on the body. At NO time should a young arm be throwing this pitch

[Commercecomet24]

It's still prevalent in younger groups as my son's good friend pitches in travel ball and they have him throwing a CB at 12 years old (which I dont agree with by the way). I''m all about waiting until about 15 or so but I think Sr year is a little late. Learning the nuances of locating inside and out consistently, when to bounce it, changing speeds with it....all that takes more than a year or so.

The problem we are seeing other than overpitching younger arms is teaching them a correctly thrown CB. A correctly thrown 12/6 CB doesnt put any undue pressure on the elbow. Young pitchers need to be taught correctly and coaches need to constantly monitor their arm positioning.

The Slider however puts alot more torque on the elbow and is rougher on the body. At time should a young arm be throwing this pitch

Amen to this. I see horrible mechanics and arm positioning constantly, it's an epidemic! It's like coaches aren't teaching or paying attention. The majority of kids coming up are getting very little instruction and by the time they get to college there's a lot of bad that has to be undone. I watched a hs kid throw last weekend in the playoffs. Pretty good arm but horrible mechanics. He hooks his wrist on every pitch, doesn't matter if it's fastball or curvball and his elbow is in one of the worst positions I've ever seen. Made me hurt just watching this kid throw. His elbow is gonna be shredded by the time he's a senior.

[PMDawg]

It's still prevalent in younger groups as my son's good friend pitches in travel ball and they have him throwing a CB at 12 years old (which I dont agree with by the way). I''m all about waiting until about 15 or so but I think Sr year is a little late. Learning the nuances of locating inside and out consistently, when to bounce it, changing speeds with it....all that takes more than a year or so.

The problem we are seeing other than overpitching younger arms is teaching them a correctly thrown CB. A correctly thrown 12/6 CB doesnt put any undue pressure on the elbow. Young pitchers need to be taught correctly and coaches need to constantly monitor their arm positioning.

The Slider however puts alot more torque on the elbow and is rougher on the body. At NO time should a young arm be throwing this pitch

I won't disagree with any of that.

[Pancho]

We get Loftin and Holcombe here they will both help, pretty quick.

What is the report on Holcombe? I have seen some video of him and know a couple guys on the team with him at NEMCC. Any idea of what role he will be capable of playing next year on the pitch staff?

[Commercecomet24]

What is the report on Holcombe? I have seen some video of him and know a couple guys on the team with him at NEMCC. Any idea of what role he will be capable of playing next year on the pitch staff?

I've seen him pitch a couple of times against us this year. Huge kid 6'7" about 235. Fastball mid 90s. Saw him hit upper 90s a few times. Wipeout slider. Doesn't walk a ton either. He's started all year so I imagine
we want him in the rotation and he's got the stuff to do it. I love his demeanor on the mound too.

[Todd4State]

I've seen him pitch a couple of times against us this year. Huge kid 6'7" about 235. Fastball mid 90s. Saw him hit upper 90s a few times. Wipeout slider. Doesn't walk a ton either. He's started all year so I imagine
we want him in the rotation and he's got the stuff to do it. I love his demeanor on the mound too.

My concern based on the video I watched was he couldn't throw his breaking ball for strikes.

[Commercecomet24]

My concern based on the video I watched was he couldn't throw his breaking ball for strikes.

He didn't have any trouble in the 2 games I saw him in. Young pitchers can be inconsistent with breaking balls though. But when his slider is working it's almost unhittable

[Todd4State]

He didn't have any trouble in the 2 games I saw him in. Young pitchers can be inconsistent with breaking balls though. But when his slider is working it's almost unhittable

That's great to hear. You've seen him more than me and seeing a guy one time on video isn't how a player should evaluated.

[Coach34]

He will make it here. 100% no doubt. Spoken with people in and around that program and there is no question he will be wearing Maroon and White next spring. He has the chance to be our next lefty ace in this program.

**Update**

Good friend of mine reached out with some info on this kid:

He really wants to be a Bulldog
His family really wants him to be a Bulldog
He didnt just start throwing a breaking ball but just added a slider
He is refined and will be college ready should he make it to campus
He is likely to be a supplemental or 2nd rounder and while they want college- there is a number MLB can meet. Sometimes as Cam Newton say "the money is too much"

[Todd4State]

**Update**

Good friend of mine reached out with some info on this kid:

He really wants to be a Bulldog
His family really wants him to be a Bulldog
He didnt just start throwing a breaking ball but just added a slider
He is refined and will be college ready should he make it to campus
He is likely to be a supplemental or 2nd rounder and while they want college- there is a number MLB can meet. Sometimes as Cam Newton say "the money is too much"

I don't believe there is a supplemental round anymore. I know they were talking about doing away with it anyway.

Also- to add to your update he put Madison Central out tonight in the playoffs.

[AlSwearengen]

Looks like we have a few high end arms committed that might sneak past the draft. Todd, Homedawg, or others may know more about his situation, but we have the kid from Texas that is PG?s top rated pitcher for his class. I don?t think he has the measurables that are typical of 1st rounders out of hs, he is right handed and not real tall. Our luck though, he will grow 8 inches and start throwing lefty before he graduates.

[Cooterpoot]

Z

[Cooterpoot]

You are starting to see this more and more often. I think it's smart. When I played, back in the day, you started seeing breaking balls in 11/12, and a lot of kids were throwing a ton of them by 13/14. You also saw a lot of super talented guys with dead arms by the time they reached high school. Coaches would throw these guys twice a week (or twice a weekend in all stars) and they would throw around 100 pitches every time they pitched. Anyway, I think there are a lot of people with a lot better approaches out there now. I don't mind seeing guys wait until later to start throwing new pitches. Landon Sims, Jonathan Holder, and a hundred other pitchers we could all name have been able to dominate by using a FB the vast majority of the time. Yes, the breaking ball is usually the wipe out pitch, but I just don't think it's that hard for a super athletic person to get to a point where it's a weapon.

People can say what they want, Velo and over use is tearing up arms more than throwing a curve at 12. You don't see soft tossing guys throwing breaking balls blowing their arms out much. It's the 90+ guys trying to hit 95+. 15 is about as late as you'll see someone throwing breaking stuff normally, but n this velo age, it's getting later because they work on velo so much. The Griiffin kid that's a great prospect just started throwing the curve and he's 15 I believe.
Saw the big kid at Taylorsville hit 99 Friday on a scout's gun. He started throwing breaking stuff earlier but not much.
Damn travel coaches and parents (daddy ballers) trying to win tournaments are probably the most dangerous things for a kid.