2029 Middle Infielders To Watch In The New Year

All softball teams, at any level of the sport, will have a hard time winning if they are not strong up the middle. The spine, as it's sometimes called, consists of the catcher, pitcher, second baseman, shortstop and center fielder, and all five positions are critical to a team's defensive success.   Middle infielders, in particular, are involved on just about every ball put in play. Whether they're fielding grounders, turning double plays or corralling cutoff throws from the outfield, the middle infield is the anchor of the defense — and these class of 2029 prospects are as good as it gets.    Named after former New York Yankees star Don Mattingly, Mattingly Klein was born to star on the diamond, and that is all she has done recently as she has raised her profile and developed into one of the top players in her class from Florida. At Alliance Open Nationals in Tennessee in early August, Klein was 23-for-35 in 11 games with a 1.171 slugging percentage, five doubles, five triples, a home run and 12 runs batted in. That completed a summer in which Klein slashed .509/.547/.833 with two homers, nine triples, 12 doubles and 30 RBI as well as 44 runs scored. She has game-changing speed and is a smooth baserunner, always making herself a threat to take an extra base or beat out an infield hit. Klein hits the ball to all fields with occasional power and fields tricky hops with ease at shortstop. She has been to camps at UCF, Auburn, LSU, Ohio State and Florida State, among others.     Baze Hogan is your classic glove-first middle infielder who has some of the best defensive instincts in her class. Her situational awareness is off the charts — she will always check the runners for a chance at a double play after catching line drives — and she has a strong, accurate arm. Hogan makes the quick flip to start a more conventional double play look easy, and she is a textbook slap hitter, pounding high choppers to the left side and leaving the infielders no chance to throw her out. At the Top Gun Events Select Invite in early November, Hogan batted .417 with a .609 on-base percentage, demonstrating her selectiveness at the plate as well as her blazing speed.     Nicknamed "Turbo," Capri Mark is sprinting her way toward the top of her recruiting class. The slapper is often standing on first base before her hits even get through the infield, and even a bouncer to first produces a fire drill and a footrace that Mark frequently ends up winning. Defensively, she can turn a pivot with the best of them and throw runners out from her knees after leaving her feet to field ground balls. And Mark is more than just a slap hitter. She can swing away and drive the ball to the wall, and when that happens, it's hard to keep her from circling the bases. Mark was named district newcomer of the year for her high school team this fall, playing on varsity as a freshman and helping Enid to a 32-8 record. Not surprisingly, she is also a track star, consistently winning 100- and 200-meter races.     Alexis May is coming off a standout freshman season with her varsity team, with a .356/.489/.507 triple slash, 14 stolen bases, 15 walks and just six strikeouts. She did all that while playing excellent defense at second base, particularly when it came to ranging into the outfield to track down pop flies hit near the right-field foul line. May's speed often forces fielders to hurry, which leads to her reaching on errors, but she is not a slapper — she bats from the right side and has good pull-side power down the line and in the gap. She has a quick bat and a knack for the big moment, hitting a game-ending home run in her first varsity game, a run-rule win back in August. May takes her studies just as seriously as she does softball, carrying a 4.0 GPA.     As a high school freshman this fall, Taryn Lewis hit .301 with a .908 OPS and six home runs in 29 games. She caught fire early and late, with two homers in her first three games and three more in her last five. Lewis built on a strong summer with her club team, Nebraska Thunder National - Platt, batting .476 at a USSSA national tournament in July and earning offensive MVP honors. She has outstanding swing mechanics and is just as solid in the field, with a good backhand at shortstop and a powerful arm. Lewis applies clean tags to would-be base stealers and can hit the ball over the fence to any part of the park.

All softball teams, at any level of the sport, will have a hard time winning if they are not strong up the middle. The spine, as it's sometimes called, consists of the catcher, pitcher, second baseman, shortstop and center fielder, and all five positions are critical to a team's defensive success.