[HUSKERNSAV]

Tom Lemke is like a lot of high-profile recruits who have signed to play baseball for Nebraska. In other words, next spring, pro scouts will be trying their best to reel in the kid, perhaps for a bargain-basement price.

Mike Anderson has a strong hunch what kind of impact the 6-foot-8 right-hander from Phoenix — who chose NU over national powers North Carolina and Miami — can have on his 2009-10 team. And so the Husker coach will undoubtedly be crossing his fingers as the major-league draft approaches in June.

And yet, Anderson — who Wednesday announced 14 recruits and also that sophomore first baseman David Stewart will not return in the spring — would like to think Lemke won’t make or break his latest recruiting class.

[+]Enlarge

“There’s some guys that are on here that scouts don’t even know who they are right now,” Anderson said. “And they will, and they’ll become prospects.

“There’s not a kid on this list that hasn’t been in a Showcase or hasn’t been in front of scouts.”

Nine of the 13 recruits are pitchers. Another big prospect is 6-6 left-hander Ryan Hughes of Chabot (Calif.) College. Hughes, who didn’t play baseball in high school, was a 16th-round draft pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks last June following his freshman season.

“We’ve got to get back to a point where we feel we’re not trying to catch up to the draft, we’re ahead of it,” said Anderson, who has had his last two pitching staffs raided by the pros.

Last summer, six pitchers who figured to play major roles for the Huskers this season were drafted and opted to start their professional careers.

“At the same time, I’m not a huge risk taker,” Anderson said. “You can’t be in a situation where you go out and sign a bunch of kids. We’ve never done it and never will do it, but you sign too many and then you have to tell kids they can’t come. That’s the culture sometimes in college baseball. I’d rather be conservative and build the kids we have than take a little bit of risk.

“We signed a larger number, but we’re in a very strong position where we’re going to be OK with our 27 scholarships, and everything else, so it’s still a very conservative class.”

Anderson put Lemke in the company of Curtis Petersen, a Husker recruit last year who wound up signing with the Florida Marlins after being a fourth-round pick.

But he’s convinced after an 18-month-long courtship that Lemke, a “nationally known name,” wound up committing to NU mostly because that’s where he felt most comfortable about getting his education.

As for the lesser-known recruits — including Lincoln Southeast shortstop Josh Scheffert, Columbus infielder Kurt Farmer and Millard West pitcher Tyler Niederklein — Anderson warns not to draw conclusions from their relative anonymity.

“People didn’t know who Shane Komine or Matt Hopper were,” he said of the former Husker All-Americans. “Some of these guys that we like, we like for a reason. They’re Midwest kids that we believe can play in this program. We never look at kids because of somebody else’s evaluations.”

Stewart came to Nebraska with big expectations after being a 31st-round pick by Washington in 2007.

Last season, he hit .286, with two homers and 11 RBIs in 28 games, and was chosen by Baseball America as one of the top 50 freshmen in the nation. Stewart emerged as NU’s designated hitter against right-handers down the stretch, hitting .412 with a homer, two doubles and seven RBIs in his last six appearances.

Anderson said Stewart chose not to finish fall ball, and left the team on good terms. It’s expected he’ll transfer to a junior college next month.

__________________________________________________ ________________
http://www.huskerextra.com/articles/...e523821606.txt