Ohio baseball announced its 2017-2018 early signing period recruiting class via the team’s official Twitter account.
Ohio signed Brett Manis of Port Huron, Michigan; Arron Levy of Cincinnati; Alex Kuster of Lake Orion, Michigan; Treyben Funderburg of Beavercreek; Sebastian Fabik of Lebanon; and Chace Harris of New Marshfield.
Manis is a left-handed pitcher who will look to add depth to the Bobcats pitching staff that currently features three lefties. According to prep baseball report, Manis features a fastball, curveball, slider, splitter, and changeup from a ¾ arm slot.
This pitch mix combines a different arm slot than most batters are used to seeing, along with the aforementioned lack of lefties on the Bobcats pitching staff, which will give Manis an excellent opportunity to come in and log innings.
Levy is a middle infielder from Princeton High School. Levy will look to come in and contribute early on the infield since Connor Callery, Ty Black, Tyler Finkler, and Mateus Vakuda will all graduate after the season ends this spring.
According to Prep Baseball Report, Levy is considered one of the top hitters from the left-hander’s batter’s box, but he doesn’t have the lateral speed to make him a college shortstop. He does have the college potential to play second base, third base due to his strong arm, though.
Kuster is a left-handed pitcher, who, much like Manis, will look to add another lefty to the Bobcats' pitching staff. Kuster is listed on his BeRecruited page at 6-foot-3, 180 pounds which is a nice projectable size for a pitcher. He features a fastball, curveball, and changeup from a ¾ arm slot, according to Prep Baseball Report. His size and arm slot combined with the lack of lefties should help Kuster contribute early in Athens.
Funderburg is an infielder and right-handed pitcher from Beavercreek High School. Brian Sclemann, Jake Rudnicki, Tom Colletti and Christian Botter are all senior right-handed pitchers, which, combined with the senior infielders listed above, gives Funderburg the potential to really come in and get some innings either on the mound or in the field once he arrives in Athens.
According to Prep Baseball Report, Funderburg features a fastball, curveball, changeup, and slider from multiple arm slots, which makes him a very dangerous weapon for the Bobcats.
On the infield side, Funderburg is a solid hitter from both sides of the plate and shows a really strong arm, which makes him a possible infield option for the Bobcats as well.
Fabik is a left-handed pitcher and outfielder from Archbishop Moeller High School. He's another lefty looking to add depth to the Bobcats' pitching staff when he arrives in Athens.
Fabik shows really good arm strength from the outfield and has some power to go along with his athletic size at 5-foot-10, 185 pounds. He can be a very intriguing top-of-the-lineup outfielder and will enter Athens with some older outfielders in front of him and Spencer Ibarra (senior outfielder) graduated.
Harris is a right-handed pitcher and outfielder from Alexander High School. As mentioned, the Bobcats will be losing four right-handed pitchers after this season ends, giving Harris a shot to come in and compete for innings early. Harris will be in the same position as Fabik in the outfield, however, since the Bobcats only lose Spencer Ibarra after this season.
