All-American pitcher highlights summer signees
AUBURN | Auburn keeps stacking up the talent.
The Tigers added to an already loaded roster this summer with three late signees headlined by All-American pitcher Joseph Gonzalez.
A Humacao, Puerto Rico native, Gonzalez threw a scoreless inning with one strikeout in the 2019 Under Armour All-American game at Wrigley Field. He was rated by Perfect Game as the No. 12 overall player in Puerto Rico.
“We thought, even though the draft was abbreviated into five rounds, we stood a chance of losing him to a couple of clubs so we’re thankful to be getting him to campus next week,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said.
“We think the sky’s the limit and in three years he’s going to probably be one of the best pitchers to come through here that nobody knew about before he got here. He’s a low-90’s strike thrower who could eventually build into a rotation, mid-90’s guy. And it might be sooner as opposed to later, but we’ve got to understand with Joseph there’s more acclimation than with somebody coming from Russellville.”
Thompson was tipped off to Gonzalez by one of his former players, Wilson Ronda, and had a lot of help recruiting him from assistant Karl Nonemaker, who speaks Spanish, and the mother of sophomore pitcher Seb Thomas, who is a native of Puerto Rico.
“This was a guy that one of my former players, Wilson Ronda, who lives in Puerto Rico, said, ‘I’ve got a special, special arm.’ We’re expecting somebody that throws a ton of strikes, has a 6-3 frame and an eventual rotation-type pitcher,” Thompson said.
Auburn also announced the signings of catcher Peyton Sybrandt from Episcopal in Baton Rouge, La., and Ole Miss transfer Josh Hall, who is originally from Homewood, Ala.
The addition of Sybrandt and November signee Ben Schorr give Auburn two newcomers at the catcher position to go along with sophomore Nate LaRue and redshirt freshman Ryan Dyal.
In just eight games as a senior, Sybrandt hit .400 with two home runs and 12 RBI.
“First thing is he’s brilliant, an exceptional student,” Thompson said. “We’ve got a big, physical, strong guy at a much needed position. We think we’ve got a guy that’s got a chance to drive the ball with power.
“You have to have a catching corps. Even though we’ve got the two young guys in Dyal and LaRue, it’s important to have Schorr and Sybrandt as well.”
Hall will slot into an outfield that returns all three starters in Judd Ward, Kason Howell and Steven Williams, and will be further bolstered by the addition of November signee Bobby Pierce from South Mountain (Ariz.) Community College.
Hall batted just .171 in limited opportunities as a freshman for the Rebels, but was 10 of 11 on stolen base attempts. He batted over .400 in his four-year career at Homewood, stealing 224 bases, which is a national high school record.
He transferred to Auburn in January and was able to practice with the team last spring.
“He made a 4.0 this spring. He’s bright and he can fly,” Thompson said. “We do have our starting outfield back, but him and Bobby Pierce give us the best outfield depth we’ve had here by far.
“Josh can run as good an anybody in America, and that’s adding another level to our roster that we didn’t have. He’s a step quicker than what we’ve had. Even if he’s not in a starting lineup on a particular day, he can change a game by getting on base or pinch-running.”
The three additions give the Tigers 12 signees in the 2020 class. AU originally signed 14 but shortstop Werner Blakely inked with the Los Angeles Angels after being drafted in the fourth round while JUCO outfielder Garrett Martin, prep infielder John Griffin Bell, JUCO pitcher Chase Wilkerson and prep pitcher John Armstrong opted to attend different schools.
Auburn’s baseball players are scheduled to start reporting to campus next week.
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