2022 Baseball Signee Chase Shores Pulls Name Out of MLB Draft
The LSU baseball program received some good news Monday afternoon when 2022 signee Chase Shores announced he will be bypassing the MLB Draft and honoring his LSU commitment. Shores joins Paxton Kling as signees opting to pull their name out of the draft and head to Baton Rouge.
The 6-foot-8, 250-pound right-handed pitcher wrote on Twitter: “Can’t wait to be a Tiger! I want to say thank you to all the teams I met with throughout the draft process. LSU is the place for me right now and I can’t wait for the next three years.”
Perfect Game has him as a 10 rating, the highest rating in their process, putting him in the very high draft pick and elite college baseball prospect range. Shores also added 50 pounds to his frame and 13-15 miles per hour on his fastball in two years. His curveball and changeup are the two pitches he goes to most when on the mound.
Shores’ fastball is consistently clocked in the mid to high 90s and keeps batters off-balance with his incredible off-speed pitches. His arm paired with monstrous size gives LSU pitching coach Wes Johnson an ace to develop for the next few years.
“Extra tall with a long and lean build and wide shoulders," the Perfect Game scouting report reads. "Enormous projection as he matures and uses his length well with good extension out front coming from an extended 3/4 release. Throws with extreme plane on time with arm side run and sinking action to both sides of the plate. Threw his off speed with conviction.”
LSU has seen a number of their 2022 signees get selected early in the MLB Draft, so it’s nice to get some good news in Shores electing to take his talent to Baton Rouge. Head coach Jay Johnson is getting a giant on the mound with tremendous upside.
Shores and Kling are two signees who have opted to honor their LSU commitment. The signees who have been drafted thus far will have until August 1st to either ink a deal with their organizations or head to Baton Rouge.