Jade Smoot Taft College: 2017-18

Taft College

Central Valley Conference
California Community College Baseball Coaches Association

2017-18 Stats


Title:Taft Head Coach
Phone:661-763-7822
Email:vmaiocco@taftcollege.edu

Taft College Coaching Staff








BaseballCensus

April 24 — Big, strong kid; LDS (Mormon) who apparently already went on a mission, so he’s back a bit older and far more physically developed than your average freshman. Close to/already at final physical form, little upside remaining, but ideal musculature and physicality; great size and shape to be a power hitting corner guy. Very strong hands and wrists. Looks the part of a pro; ability to use leverage, and power will continue to improve as he develops … Closed stance at the plate; upper cut swing to hit the ball in the air; surprisingly advanced feel for all fields. Really showed out well in a few professional-quality at-bats in my late April look. In an early at-bat, tagged an 89 mph fastball on the outside corner for a 101 mph exit velo line drive to the opposite field through shortstop for a double; didn’t try to roll over and do too much with it, just went with the pitch and hit it—very hard—where it was pitched. In a later at-bat, saw a 91 mph fastball on the outside corner and hit it over the left-center field fence for a long, towering home run; in that case, too, didn’t try to do too much and instead just let the hands work to the opposite field; showed real power through hand/wrist strength alone. I also did see a couple roll-over ground balls and a few very, very hard hit balls pulled far foul without ability to keep his hands in enough to straighten them out, so there’s some work to be done. But he showed me full plate coverage, above-average bat speed, very strong hands and wrists, and quick enough hands that fire to the ball and give access to all fields based on where he’s pitched. Potential match up nightmare at the next level — sitting on top of the plate with quick hands, will be a tough guy for RHP to face. Enjoying power surge early in career here at Taft College; if it continues, he’s going to be a monster … Wonder about defensive future; looked OK at first base through infield/outfield drills in my limited look, but never saw him take game action there and I need to see a few games defensively before drawing a conclusion. My hunch is that he still needs to find a natural defensive home, but if he hits for power like he flashed for me, the defense will take care of itself … Jade Smoot is probably not a 2018 MLB Draft candidate, but he ought to be on the radar when he comes out of Taft College next year, or at his subsequent four-year stop; power profile and size are ideal for the pro game and continued overall development at the plate will get him over the hump.   - BaseballCensus

Jade Smoot’s 6th inning 3-run HR was the difference as Taft College defeats 3-1. Cassius Shy goes 6.1 innings allowing only 3 hits and Micah McCulley pitches the final 2.1 innings to get the save for the Cougars. The Cougars and Giants resume this series on Thurs.

Jade Smoot against Los Medanos College May 2018


2017-18 Jade Smoot

Jade Smoot - Freshman     RBI: 42    Home Runs: 8

High school baseball: Pleasant Grove pounds Lone Peak 12-2 in five innings

 Three consecutive singles from Jade Smoot, Chase Merrell and Ben Eldredge loaded the bases with no outs. A sacrifice fly from Logan Bullock and a double from BYU commit Easton Walker brought all three in to extend the lead to 9-2.
Payton Henry then brought two runs home with a single before Smoot ended it with an RBI single of his own to push the score to 12-2 — enough to call the game after just four and 2/3 innings played.

 

PicMyKid

PicMyKid


Deseret News



Jade Smoot pitched six strong innings (Deseret News)

Full Article

PLEASANT GROVE 3, RIVERTON 2: Jade Smoot pitched six strong innings and Bryce Jones came in to record the save as Pleasant Grove held off Riverton to avoid the Region 4 sweep.

Jade Smoot pitches against Alta (The Salt Lake Tribune)



Jade Smoot didn't hit a home run or game-winning double. 

He didn't hit a walk-off single or even draw a walk-off walk. 

It didn't matter how he won the game, just that he did. 

What is the phrase for a driving in the game-winning run if it comes on an error? Who cares? 

Smoot put the ball in play, and it was the reason Pleasant Grove celebrated a 7-6 win over the Alta baseball team in eight innings Thursday afternoon.
"Jade has had some good at-bats, and in that situation, we just needed him to hit the ball hard," Pleasant Grove coach Darin Henry said. "And we were fortunate that it worked out for us. Alta is a great team. I was proud of the way the kids fought back when we got down early."


(Kim Raff | The Salt Lake Tribune) Pleasant Grove starting pitcher Jade Smoot pitches against Alta during a game at Pleasant Grove High School.











(Kim Raff | The Salt Lake Tribune) Pleasant Grove starting pitcher Jade Smoot pitches against Alta during a game at Pleasant Grove High School.


Prep Athletes of the Week - April 18 (The Daily Herald)

Prep Athletes of the week in Herld Extra


Jade Smoot - Pleasant Grove Baseball Athlete of the Week.

Jade Smoot hits RBI single (The Salt Lake Tribune)

Prep baseball: Pleasant Grove offense halts Davis’ rally

"After Davis scored a run in the first, Pleasant Grove answered with seven runs in the bottom half of the inning. McKay Lewis singled and Brandon Coombs both singled in a pair of runs and Peterson and Jade Smoot each had RBI singles to do most of the damage."

Jade pitches 5 no run innings (The Daily Herald)

Pleasant Grove baseball holds off Riverton (3-2 PG)

"During the fifth inning, Walker got his second straight pass in four pitches, and Riverton brought in a reliever. Walker moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Peterson, then raced home on a base hit by Smoot for what proved to be the winning run."

'The strategy was to get an early lead to put the pressure on the visitors. “Once we did that, the crowd and the bench really got into it,” Henry said. “They are a tremendous team. Smoot gave us six good innings and helped himself with a timely hit."'

Jade pitched innings 1-5 for no runs.