SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASEBALL

South Carolina’s freshman class has officially arrived on campus this summer with eight freshmen either on campus or expected before school starts in August.

Before fall ball starts, GamecockCentral is profiling each freshman by talking to someone who knows them best in their high school coach.

We caught up shortstop Braylen Wimmer's head coach at Yukon (Okla.) Kevin James, who talked about Wimmer's athleticism, tools, natural defensive ability and how the lanky infielder could make an impact next season.

GC: What is Wimmer's game like, for those who haven't seen him play?

KJ: “He’s a smooth-fielding, long, lanky shortstop that makes everything look easy. He has very quick hands. He’s a long strider but can run. He can stretch singles to doubles, can handle the bat. As a sophomore he played second and short. He flip-flopped between the two but he played every day. He had seven errors playing two different positions as a sophomore. He hit right under .395 or .396 as a sophomore. Then he breaks his elbow as a junior about a week before spring starts. It was an unlucky thing for him and us. It killed us. Then he comes back as a senior and steps into that shortstop spot, which he would have been in as a junior, and picked up where he left off as a sophomore. He was bigger, stronger. I’m a 30-year coach and he’s one of the few shortstops I’ve ever had. Those guys don’t come around very often. It’s kind of like having a guy that throws 90. I’ve had three of those in 30 years.”

GC: You mentioned his defense, what makes him that good of a defensive shortstop?

“He reads the ball well off the bat, comes and gets a hop. With the range he has, he can go over on the other side of second base. He never really has to set his feet to fire a ball. with the approach he had on ground balls coming and getting them, everything was just so easy. He could just flip the ball. he’s just a smooth-fielding guy. At the plate he has some pop. He led us with home runs with six, and we have a big park. Not that he’s a home run hitter, but it’s there. He has the potential with the frame he has, the bat speed he has, he has a chance to be a guy who drives the baseball, too. He just needs to get a little more backspin on it. but he’s a complete guy with the glove and the baseball mentality he has, how he handles himself at the plate, his speed, his body. He’s the total package. Those guys don’t come along very often.”

GC: How does his length help him on the baseball field? KJ: “We’re like the seventh or eighth largest school in Oklahoma so we play the biggest schools in the state and we go to Arizona and play during spring break. He was very rarely overmatched. The bat speed he has is excellent; he has a good eye for the baseball. Defensively you’d think with the long strides he has, he’d get tangled up with his feet but he’s a very good athlete. He has good feet and hands and that’s a pre-requisite to play shortstop and he’s got them. he’s very blessed.”

GC: As he's gotten older, what's the biggest jump you've seen from him?

KJ: “I think as he’s gotten older, he understands the game a little more. He's always known how to play. He's a quiet guy but came out of his shell a little bit as a senior. The tools are just polished. Playing second base and third base is way different than playing shortstop because of the distance you are away from the hitter and the distance away from first base when you field the ball. At second base you can go to a knee or lay down in front of it and still have time to flip the ball to him. Third base you have time because the ball gets on you quickly. At shortstop, you have to cover a lot of ground to come get the baseball and a lot of room to still make the throw to first base. He was able to do that. When I met the coach at South Carolina, he told me they were recruiting him to play shortstop but he can play third base, he can play second base. He’s that type of athlete…

“Those guys look different on a field. When they put a uniform on, they look different.”

GC: Is he one of the more polished players you've ever coached?

KJ: “I haven’t had a lot of shortstops. I’ve had guys that played it and played it well, but not guys who are true, projectable shortstops. His hands, it’s something to watch. He can do things. When you don’t think you have a force play at second, instead of setting his feet and going to first he’ll go to second base. That polished, I don’t know how else to explain it. You're thinking, ‘Oh crap,’ and then we get an out.”

GC: What parts of his game and skillset translate well to the next level?

KJ: “I think the athleticism. His dad was a great player at Wichita State, Team USA guy, so he’s been around the game his whole life. He’s a very baseball savvy guy. He has a chance to find his other gear. They always talk about the cream rising to the top and he’s one of the best in the state. Now going to South Carolina it’s the cream going to South Carolina and it has to rise to the top again. He has a chance to find another gear in there. With what he can do body wise, it’s going to fit…I get to watch Oklahoma and OSU and Oral Roberts and he can go play with those guys. I’m sure he’s going to be able to have a chance to do the same thing there.”

GC: In your opinion is he a guy who can compete for a starting spot right away?

KJ: “In high school, going into Christmas, he was our best player on the field as a sophomore. The game got a little bit quick. That happens. As long as he can stay relaxed and play the game, he understands as you move up, the game’s going to move a little quicker. He’s got to let the game come to him. The skillset’s there; the tools are there. It’s just him understanding where he’s at and finding another gear."

GC: What's the next step for his game?

KJ: “Growing up, I mean he’s still a kid. You look at his picture and if he’s shaving, he just started. He’s 6-3, 185 pounds. He has a chance to get bigger than that. I don’t know if he’s done growing. He’s going to have to, at the next level, learn a different system. The learning curve he has, I don’t see that being an issue. I don’t know what they have coming back but he has a chance to be a starting shortstop wherever he goes and plays. He has a good future in the game. the tools are there.”