Help is on the Way -- Baseball Edition

[MadBird]

Nice story about an in-state baseball recruit, from St. Laurence HS, Luke Stulga. Sounds like a good kid. Hopefully not behind a paywall.

Stulga, an Illinois State recruit, connected for a long two-run homer on the first pitch he saw. The day got even better from there as he hit for the cycle, leading the host Vikings to a 9-5 win over Mount Carmel in a Catholic League Blue game in Burbank.

Discovery channeled. Luke Stulga breaks slump, hits for cycle as St. Laurence stymies Mount Carmel. ‘I figured it out.’

The Illinois State recruit connected for a long two-run homer on the first pitch he saw and the day got even better for him from there.

www.chicagotribune.com

 

[MadBird]

Here's another article on Stulga, he was named Daily Southtown Player of the Year. Sounds like a fine addition for next year.

The result was a monster season for Stulga. The 2023 Daily Southtown Baseball Player of the Year hit .431 with 46 runs, 25 stolen bases, eight home runs and 55 RBIs.

Stulga, an Illinois State recruit, was a power-hitting machine for the Vikings (30-9), who advanced to a Class 3A sectional final before losing to eventual state champion Nazareth.

Adding 21 doubles and eight triples for a whopping 37 extra-base hits in 130 at-bats, he had nearly twice as many extra-base hits as his 19 singles.

St. Laurence's Luke Stulga is Southland top baseball player

Illinois State recruit Luke Stulga was a power-hitting machine for the Vikings, who advanced to a Class 3A sectional championship game.

www.chicagotribune.com

 

[Dmills]

 

[isuquinndog]

Will he still pick school?

 

[Bird Friend]

Will he still pick school?

Slot value for his pick is $290k, so he needs to decide if he thinks he can boost his value more by playing in college or playing in the minors. He could potentially get a better draft spot worth more signing bonus by going the college route. MLB has essentially punted some of their player development to colleges in order to save the costs.

Signing with LA may or may not speed his development toward the majors. Could also get hurt and end with no $$ either route. Seems like a 6th round pick for a HS kid is a statement that there’s good potential, but not yet enough assurance so that they’re willing to bet a lot of $$. Not a comfortable spot for a kid coming out of HS.

 

[Reggie Redbird]

Slot value for his pick is $290k, so he needs to decide if he thinks he can boost his value more by playing in college or playing in the minors. He could potentially get a better draft spot worth more signing bonus by going the college route. MLB has essentially punted some of their player development to colleges in order to save the costs.

Signing with LA may or may not speed his development toward the majors. Could also get hurt and end with no $$ either route. Seems like a 6th round pick for a HS kid is a statement that there’s good potential, but not yet enough assurance so that they’re willing to bet a lot of $$. Not a comfortable spot for a kid coming out of HS.

I am guessing he’ll sign the pro contract. They can pay for his education if he doesn’t last. He likely isn’t getting a full-ride to go here, and there isn’t NIL money to supplement what scholarship he will get.

 

[Bird Friend]

Slot value for his pick is $290k, so he needs to decide if he thinks he can boost his value more by playing in college or playing in the minors. He could potentially get a better draft spot worth more signing bonus by going the college route. MLB has essentially punted some of their player development to colleges in order to save the costs.

Signing with LA may or may not speed his development toward the majors. Could also get hurt and end with no $$ either route. Seems like a 6th round pick for a HS kid is a statement that there’s good potential, but not yet enough assurance so that they’re willing to bet a lot of $$. Not a comfortable spot for a kid coming out of HS.

FWIW, still hasn’t signed, but really appears Dodgers are working their draft signings almost in order of their draft positions. Everyone above Gonzalez has signed, while nobody below him has signed.

 

[isuquinndog]

Yeah they changed the rules of how the pool of money you have to sign drafted players so it behooves teams to sign the more expensive picks first because they get penalized if they go over a set amount.

 

[MadBird]

I don't find any news on the Baseball web page about future commits/signees, but today's Minneapolis paper has an article on "25 metro players to watch", and includes Anthony Pardo, senior P/1B from Andover MN, and shows his college choice as ISU. The Andover team is listed #10 on the "10 Metro Teams to Watch"