Coach Tim Estes comments on the 2007 Americus Travelers roster HOWELL WHITE - #2 - Lee County High School "Howell reads the ball extremely well off the bat and covers a lot of ground in the outfield. He also provides us with solid innings on the mound. He throws a lot of strikes, has good off speed pitches and throws his fast ball in the 82-83 mph range. Offensively, he has shown good power, hits for a high average and is a smart base runner. He will usually hit in the leadoff role because of his ability to get on and score." EASTON GLOVER - #3 - Lee County High School "Easton is a big, strong kid who has an absolute cannon for an arm. He moves extremely well for a big man and can flat play the outfield. Offensively, he will provide some big punch in the middle of our lineup and will be counted on to drive in runs. He has a great work ethic and wants to be the best he can be in every facet of the game." CHAD CROOK - #4 - Schley County High School "Chad was our most improved player in 2006, and we expect him to give us some solid innings on the mound in 2007. He keeps the baseball down in the strike zone and is usually around the plate, inducing a lot of ground ball outs. His breaking ball has sharp, late bite and is a good out pitch. He understands his role in our team's success. I really like his attitude and work ethic." WILL WEBB - #6 - Southland Academy "Defensively, Will Webb is the best short stop we've ever had in our program. He has tremendous range, soft hands, good footwork around the bag and a strong arm. Offensively, he has worked hard to better himself to hit for a high average and is constantly among our leaders in both batting average and on base percentage. He has a quiet demeanor, a strong desire to win and is extremely coachable. He is a great student in the classroom and I look for him to succeed at the college level of play." RUSS WILLIAMS - #7 - Southwest Georgia Academy "Russ is a big, strong kid who is still learning how to pitch at this level. He throws his fastball in the 81-82 mph range, so his location is very important. He has a good breaking ball and is working on a change up this summer. He will be used as both a starter and a reliever and we'll need to find out which role fits us the best. He's one of those guys who is proud to be a part of this program and wants to help out where he can and we really like guys who have that mentality." MICHAEL SWAIN - #8 - Southland Academy "Michael is without question our best second baseman in Travelers history. Defensively, he has really good hands and feet, a strong arm and understands how to play the game. Offensively, he gives us a high average as well as good gap power and can hit the baseball to any part of the baseball field. On the mound, his fastball is in the 85-87 mph range and his off speed stuff is nasty! In the classroom, he's a tremendous student and the combination of his athletic and academic abilities should make him very recruitable." ADAM FUSSELL - #9 - Southland Academy "Adam is a fantastic catcher! He blocks balls in the dirt extremely well. He understands how to read hitters and calls pitches accordingly. He handles our pitching staff really well. His arm strength is better than average and his footwork and glove to hand exchange is second to none. He has a consistent "pop" time of 1.9. Offensively, he has made himself into a college level hitter. He hits for average as well as gap power. I really have enjoyed coaching Adam and expect him to succeed on the next level." FULLER TIMMERMAN - #10 - Southland Academy "Fuller is an athlete who can play multiple positions, but we're going to primarily use him in the outfield. He has good speed, hustles and I expect his bat to keep him in the lineup. He hits for the high average and scores a lot of runs. Fuller is one of those kids you love to have on your team because he does whatever is asked of him without complaining and is a real team player." MILES LEE - #12 - Southwest Georgia Academy "Miles will see action at both middle infield and in the outfield this summer. He is our best baserunner and usually has a high on-base percentage so he earns a spot in the lineup. In the middle infield, he is quick, has good range and a strong arm. In the outfield, he can go get the baseball. Offensively, he's such a weapon once he gets on base and led us in 2006 in stolen bases - the kid understands what we need him to do on the bases. He's a good #2 hitter or #8, #9 type guy because he handles the bat well." DAVID BYRD - #15 - Schley County High School "David will most likely be our #1 starter on the mound this summer. His fastball is in the mid-80's with great movement. His off speed stuff is good and he's a quick worker. He has a challenger's mentality and goes right after guys. He has drawn a lot of early attention from college coaches and I expect to see him sign next spring. He's been a joy to get to know and be around because he wants to know the game at the highest level." WILL RAINES - #16 - Lee County High School "Will has a tremendous arm with a consistent 'pop' time of 1.8 and has been clocked as low as 1.67. He has drawn a lot of attention from both college coaches and pro scouts because of his arm strength. Along with that, he is our best power hitter as well. He can drive the ball deep with consistency. He blocks the ball well, throws out over 50% of runners attempting to steal and is a good receiver. We're fortunate to have him as part of the Travelers." WILL GORDON - #19 - Schley County High School "Will 'G' is solid at third base and has great reflexes. His arm strength is good and he's not afraid to take the ball off the chest, knock it down and throw someone out! Offensively, he hits the breaking ball better than anyone on our team. His batting average is consistently among our best and his strike outs are usually among the lowest. He's been a Traveler for three years and completely understands what we expect and gives us 100%." JESS ALEXANDER - #22 - Southland Academy "Jess will be used in mostly a reliever's role this summer. This is at his request and it gives us one guy we can count on out of the bullpen. He is a big strong right hander with a good fastball (low 80's) and better than average breaking ball. In years past, he has had some control issues but so far this summer has been spectacular. He is a hard worker, both at practice and on his own to be the best he can be. At first base, he gives us a big target and a solid glove. Offensively, he has the capacity of driving the ball deep." COLTON GLOVER - #44 - Lee County High School "Colton is the youngest guy on our team, but you wouldn't know it from looking at him. He's a huge target at first base and hits with great power. He runs really well for a big guy. Colton will be counted on to drive in runs in the middle of our lineup this summer. He has a good work ethic, is a very likeable guy, and I'm expecting good things from him." CHANDLER HOLLOWAY - #52 - Southland Academy "Chandler will most likely be our 'inning eater' this summer. He throws a lot of strikes and keeps the ball down in the zone. He's been with us for three years and keeps our dugout loose. He is one of those guys who makes the team better because of his abilities and personality. We will use Chandler in a relief role for most appearances, but may have the chance to give him a few starts in our weekday games as well."