McInnis said:

---

There's been a story going around forever that Nolan Ryan wanted to attend A&M but Tom Chandler told him he should go to a JUCO and gain some weight. Does anyone know if that really happened? This kid kind of reminds me of him when he was young.

---

Nolan was also drafted by the Mets in the 12th round signing bonus of 12,000.

Liberty Hill Ag said:

---

adbono said:

---

I saw LeBlanc this past spring in NJCAA Region 5 conference play. He was 93-95. The velo numbers quoted above are not verified by anyone I know of. He also has bouts of wildness. He has a quick arm and a high ceiling. But he is very raw and will require development. At this point he isn't SEC ready IMO. He is a project but a great guy to take a risk on.

---

My son played against him this year. Topped 94 on their gun but the the gun on the scoreboard was reading 8 mph hot. Not a single verified gun had him over 95. He topped 89 in HS

---

Maybe it was at a carnival or a Dave & Busters. He won his girl a big blue bear, and then they went over to Skeeball.

Trust our coaches!

adbono said:

---

McInnis said:

---

There's been a story going around forever that Nolan Ryan wanted to attend A&M but Tom Chandler told him he should go to a JUCO and gain some weight. Does anyone know if that really happened? This kid kind of reminds me of him when he was young.

---

Will confirm that it happened. TC, who could be pretty self deprecating at times, told that story often. And it always ended with him laughing at himself.

---

This

Bottom line - he's a project and that's ok. Get him to harness the control of that fastball and then get him a secondary pitch and he's another Cortez. Worth a try.

CrawlingNo5 said:

---

Reading this thread one would have thought he committed elsewhere.

---

Right

Who cares if he actually hits triple digits, 95+ is still FAST

I can't really tell from the videos but from the batter's perspective it kinda looks like those pitches can have some pretty nasty drop at times, on the lower velocities. How do the more knowledgeable folks rate his off speed pitches?

The only thing I've come across is some random on another message board said he has a low 80s "slurve". Have no idea if that person actually has a clue or not.

My guess is he "needs development" on secondary pitches. Again, appears to be raw but with some real upside as he develops and learns to pitch. I have only seen positive reports on his work ethic.

Same

Maybe some posts were deleted? Not really seeing the "doom and gloom"? Or maybe I'm the azzhole without realizing it? You know the saying. If you can't find the ahole in the room, it's you.

I'll take all the pitchers we can get, and that they'll allow, and see what happens. More developed guys, less developed with upside. All good. Pitching coach can earn his paycheck.

But I do want to win the title next year and I do not want to see in next year's game threads, when one or more of our pitchers has a rough outing, the "I don't understand why our coaches are not pitching the kid that throws 112 !! Stupid!!" posts. He's not close to Nolan Ryan. Yet /Erik Hyman school of managing expectations brought to you by our sponsors Exxon and Taco Bell. All gas.

Starting at 37 seconds in:

Not you, was in reference to post that appears to now be deleted.

Not about our guy, but in case anyone doesn't think this happens everywhere, every day. ...our coaches will have legit data on him. They're not relying on what a kid says on Twitter.

Transfer Portal Arms:

Be straight forward about your metrics. Looked at 4 different guys yesterday who said they were 88-90 here on X.

I went and found Synergy & Trackman info on those guys which said none of them were above 85.

Just shoot it straight it goes way further.

— Gabe Grinder (@GGrinder33) July 7, 2024

Throwing a baseball that hard is all about properly timing a sequence of compounding rotations,

It's possible that he made an adjustment to his mechanics that gave him a velocity jump....particularly since he's new to pitching.

How's his accuracy home from RF?

Yes, A&M was his choice because of the vet school.

tamu05ag said:

---

Yes, A&M was his choice because of the vet school.

---

That's solid reasoning. We have a great vet school

Sean98 said:

---

Not about our guy, but in case anyone doesn't think this happens everywhere, every day. ...our coaches will have legit data on him. They're not relying on what a kid says on Twitter.

Transfer Portal Arms:

Be straight forward about your metrics. Looked at 4 different guys yesterday who said they were 88-90 here on X.

I went and found Synergy & Trackman info on those guys which said none of them were above 85.

Just shoot it straight it goes way further.

— Gabe Grinder (@GGrinder33) July 7, 2024

---

That last line has so much for one to think about.......