ATHENS, Ga.- After my first taste of SEC baseball this spring on my trip to Fayetteville last weekend for the SEC opening series between Arkansas and Missouri, I thirsted for more top round bats. LSU at Georgia looked liked a prime opportunity with ten of our top 2019 prospects and seven of our top 2020 prospects scheduled to take the field. As a bonus, my travels to Athens took me directly through Nashville where I could catch a Thursday SEC battle between Vanderbilt and Florida which featured a dozen more of the top prospects eligible for the 2019 and 2020 drafts. As for tools and talent, here’s what I saw…

No. 24 Josh Smith, SS, LSU- After a very good freshman season in 2017 when he slashed .282/.409/.408, Smith missed most of last season with a stress reaction in his lower back. As a redshirt sophomore he has returned better than ever and is climbing draft boards. Currently slashing .349/.465/.494 with eight stolen bases, Smith sets up with a slightly open stance in the back of the box. Takes a longer stride and front foot settles slightly closed in relation to his back foot. Connects well with good separation and the rotation of both his hips and barrel produce above average bat speed. Keeps his hands back which gives him the ability to drive the ball the other way with authority, even when fooled as evidenced by going oppo bomb leading off the 8th in Sunday’s game vs Georgia...