Scout.com > Ole Miss Baseball Early Signing Period Tidbits Story URL: http://mississippi.scout.com/2/428591.html Yancy Porter OMSpirit.com Aug 24, 2005 Where is the early signing period headed? To read more about it, read below. Baseball Tidbits Jamie Johnson (CF/LA) decommitted from Ole Miss and committed to LSU shortly after the Rebels received a commitment from Justin Reed (CF/MS). The Johnsons were concerned that Jamie and Justin would be competing against each other for the center field slot, and LSU could also provide Jamie more scholarship money. Some insiders say LSU broke the "gentleman's" rule that states that all competing clubs must stop the recruitment of a committed prospect. If true, shame on LSU's baseball staff. Notes on the non-committed players from Ole Miss' prospect list *David Kindred (Inf/AL) came in for an official visit this past weekend with Tyler McMullen (RHP/MS). Tyler has since committed, and we still have not received wod if David followed pursuit. It would not surprise us if he did. David is considered the top left handed hitter in the state of Alabama and Tyler is considered one of the top RHP and overall prospects in the state of Mississippi. *Tyler Whitney (LHP/TN) is one of the five bonafide blue chip left handed pitching prospects in the state of Tennessee this year. He throws it in the 92 MPH range and has a great breaking ball. Tyler plays for the Memphis Tigers in summer ball and is a home school student. *Speaking of the 5 big time LHP prospects out of Tennessee this year, two have committed to Vandy, one has committed to Ole Miss (Nathan Baker), and the other two are still available (Tyler Witney and Rob Catapano). As we noted before, our baseball professional baseball scouting source, told us early this summer that the state of Tennessee has 5 of the the top 10 LHP prospects in the country this year. Wow!! *Rob Catapano (LHP/TN) is very versatile, as he can pitch with both power or finesse. He throws it in the upper 80's and has a great breaking ball. *Todd McInnis, (RHP/MS) out of N' West Rankin, has a big time breaking ball. He could have the best breaking ball inside the state of Mississippi. *Jason Howell, (LHP) out of Mooreville, can throw a strike consistently with any pitch. He is what you call a "inning eater". He is not going to overpower you, but he is going to outsmart you almost every time. * Timmy Foster out of Adams Christian is probably the top 3B/1B prospect in Mississippi this year. He is a big kid (6' 3", 205) who hits for a lot of power and has a rocket for an arm. *Kevin Chapman (LHP/FL) hails from West Minister Aca. Yes, this is the same school that Barry Gunther prepped. Kevin throws in the mid 80's and just finds a way to win when he is on the mound. He is also an "inning eater". Kevin is listed as 6' 3", 180. *Toby Gerhart (OF) is also a big time running back that the Rebs covet. But he is not your typical "football prospect who also plays baseball". Toby is the real deal in baseball. In fact, our sources tell us that he is another Robert Lane. He has all of the baseball talent in the world. Toby just has to make up his mind which sport he wants to excel in. Gerhart ran a 6.36 sixty at the prestigious Perfect Games that was held in Atlanta. This was by far the best time that was recorded at the event. Goals for Early Signing Period (November 12th) *The Rebels are going to sign anywhere from 8 to 10 players in the early signing period. They already have 5 committed. This gives them 3 to 5 more players to play with from here on out. We could be getting some good news on David Kindred (Inf/OF) shortly. Which positions are going to be focal points for this class? *In order, they would go: 1. A few LHP 2. Couple of outfielders 3. Couple of infielders 4. One catcher 5. Maybe a juco hitter Copyright © Scout.com and OMSpirit.com