The baseball dominoes toppled by the draft continue to fall. Wichita State lost Logan Watkins to the Cubs and Dusty Coleman to the A’s, which put the Shockers in the market for infielders. That brings us to Will Baez of Western Oklahoma State College. He is committed to WSU, according to coach Kurt Russell, and will be a junior this season.
Baez signed with NAIA Oklahoma City University. This summer, he graduated from junior college, making him eligible to play at an NCAA Division I school. The Shockers hooked up with Baez while recruiting another Western Oklahoma player and the deal is done. Baez (5-foot-9, 180 pounds) caught for Western and will play second base at WSU. He was a second-team NJCAA Division II All-American for a team that advanced to its World Series. Danny Almonte of Little League fame (or infamy) was one of his teammates.
“Them grabbing a kid this caliber this late in the summer is a unique deal,” Russell said.
Baez, from Dedham Mass., hit .435 with 22 home runs and 78 RBIs, an .871 slugging percentage and a .529 on-base percentage. He stole 40 bases in 43 attempts.
Russell doesn’t expect Baez to be a prodigious power hitter at WSU, but he will hit home runs. He is patient at the plate and uses his speed.
“You will see him hit a lot of doubles and steal a lot of bags,” Russell said. “He’s got a little pop.”
WSU might not be finished shoring up its infield. The Shockers are in the hunt for Jared McDonald of Pima (Ariz.) Community College. McDonald, a 40th round draft pick by the Cubs, signed with Michigan State. He is looking for another school after Spartans coach David Grewe resigned in late June.
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Welcome back from vacation and thanks for the updates.
Thanks. There is a lot of news for early August.