The hardest part is over. Now the waiting begins.
“Right now we’re in the quiet period where you can’t go out and physically see guys perform,” Oregon baseball coach George Horton said.
Even though Horton completed the most difficult part of his new job – getting recruits to sign on with a program about to enter its first season and only having two months to do it – he has to hold his breath about who decides to stick with the Ducks.
While Oregon football fans lament the loss of Jonathan Stewart, who will leave a year early for the NFL, the same scenario is something baseball coaches like Horton have to worry about all the time. No matter how many recruits sign on to a baseball program, they’re liable to go pro at any point, even before they put on a collegiate uniform.
Horton faces that reality with his 21 recruits. Although he believes most of them will be wearing green and yellow next spring, there are players he recruited simply hoping they will decide they need another year of seasoning in college rather than going pro.
He believes junior college pitchers Justin LaTempa and Zack Thornton, both power pitchers that throw in the mid-90s, will be drafted early and likely sign with a team. While his usual recruiting strategy involves not going after players that are projected to be drafted in the early rounds, he held out some hope LaTempa and Thornton would go to school.
“It would be a surprise if we got them,” Horton said. “We wouldn’t have signed them if there wasn’t a chance but it could be one in 100.”
In his experiences at Fullerton, Horton dealt with players who were drafted before graduation. He knows what needs to be said to persuade a player to stay. While he may lose out on LaTempa and Thornton, he’s had plenty of discussions with players and convinced them to stay in school.
“We try to keep them level-headed,” he said, citing that a major league contract doesn’t guarantee they’ll be playing in the majors. He explains that they can get a better offer after another year of collegiate ball. “That might not be their only opportunity.”
Even if most of the potential recruits stay, Oregon needs a roster filled with 35 players and there is the late signing period left as well.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” Horton said, saying he still needs to find the right catcher.
That’s why he’s extending his reach to sift through all the talent the Oregon campus offers. Two Duck football players, quarterback Cody Kempt and rover Caleb Tommasini, have expressed interest in playing for Horton. He’ll also hold tryouts and take a look at anybody hoping to walk on to the team, notably the club baseball players.
One guy he won’t likely have to worry about is his 22nd recruit, pitcher Drew Gagnier from Santa Cruz, Calif., who transferred from Fresno State and is enrolled at Oregon this quarter. He’s the younger brother of Fullerton standout and Detroit Tigers’ minor leaguer Lauren Gagnier.
Horton and his staff will also hold an instructional camp on Feb. 9-10 for high school position players and Feb. 16-17 for pitchers and catchers who want to improve the fundamentals. It will be a chance for the coaches to evaluate the local talent for future recruiting classes.
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