The 2022 high school baseball season is quickly approaching and as usual, excitement abounds throughout the state. Players and coaches have been working in preparation for the upcoming season and, as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across Alabama.

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in Montgomery at the AISA or AHSAA state championships, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes reality. We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams across the state as we preview individual teams across Alabama. We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews and by continuing our scheduled podcasts and releasing our preseason Top 10 in each AHSAA classification. 

Please keep checking back throughout the season as we will be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across the state. Each week we will be releasing our players of the week, updating the Top 10 in each AHSAA classification as well as a Power 25. One thing that you especially don’t want to miss are our scheduled podcasts with guests from across the state as well as recaps and previews of big games across the state.  

*Please note that all information is based on team preview questionnaires that were sent out and returned by the participating high school coaches.

High School Name: Grissom Tigers 

Coach’s Name: Blake Talley

Classification: AHSAA 7A 

Area Number: Area 7 

No. of Returning Positional Starters: 6 

No. of Returning Pitchers: 1 

Team Strengths: Hitting & Defense  

Top Returning Players:

• LHP Rynzo Crutcher (Wallace-Hanceville CC), 2022)
• SS Jack Carson (Snead State CC, 2022)
• OF/RHP Christian Sutphin (Lawson State CC, 2022)

Top 2022 Prospects:

• RHP Logan Davis (Florida State College-Jacksonville, 2022)
• OF Gage Harmon (2022)
• 3B Trevor Broome (2022)

Top 2023 Prospects:

• C/UTL Ty Sanderson (2023)
• CIF Chris Lynam (2023)
• RHP Trent Wagoner (2023)
• RHP Ian Lee (2023)

Top 2024 & 2025 Prospects:

• INF/RHP Charlie Cassingham (2025)
• 3B/RHP Garrett Blacklock (2025)
• RHP/3B Seth Leebern (2025)

Team Outlook

The Grissom Tigers will look to build off of last season's success and make it back to the Class 7A State Playoffs in 2022. Last year, the Tigers finished as the runner-up in their area and traveled to Hewitt-Trussville, who was ranked No. 1 at the time, for a difficult matchup. They pushed the Huskies to bring in both games in a what was a competitive series, but ultimately fell short of advancing to the next round. 

The Tigers should rely on a talented offensive that returns six players that were in the starting lineup last spring. They should also be an experienced lineup with almost all positional players being upperclassmen who saw time last spring. SS Jack Carson (Snead State CC) is an excellent defender up the middle who dominates the routine play, and handles the bat well hitting towards the top of the lineup. Hitting closely behind Carson, OF/RHP Christian Sutphin (Lawson State CC) will be looked upon to be a consistent run-producer using his gap-to-gap pop from the right side of the plate. He also has the potential to help out on the mound, as well. Moving down the list, C Ty Sanderson is a junior that should help anchor this offense returning the middle of the order. Sanderson is a versatile defender that also hit .300 as a sophomore last spring. Another junior returner is CIF Chris Lynam, who is brings a physical presence to the middle of the Tigers' order. INF/RHP Charlie Cassingham is a freshman who actually started in the 7A playoff series last spring as an eighth-grader, and will definitely see his role expand this year. OF Gage Harmon & 3B Trevor Broome are also a pair of seniors to note, as they will both continue to play big roles for the Tigers this spring. 

On the mound, the Tigers return just one returning pitcher, but there are plenty of arms buried in this staff that have the potential to be quality arms as the season progresses. LHP Rynzo Crutcher (Wallace-Hanceville CC) should be the ace of this pitching staff after pitching in some big spots last year as a junior. Crutcher is a competitor who works in the mid-80's and has a quality breaking ball to compliment. RHP Logan Davis (Florida State College-Jacksonville) is another notable arm that is listed at 6-3, 215-pounds that uses a fastball that gets into the upper-80's. RHP Trent Wagoner & RHP Ian Lee are both juniors who should throw some big innings for the Tigers this spring, while RHP/3B Seth Leebern & 3B/RHP Garrett Blacklock are freshman that have a chance to help out in a variety of ways. The Grissom Tigers will look to make it back to the Class 7A State Playoffs this spring with another talented roster.

 

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