“Jonathan was a great player coming out of high school,” MSU baseball head coach David Grewe said. “We knew of his ability level, knew of his talent and we knew he would be an impact freshman.”

Through the first three weeks of his collegiate baseball career, Roof is tied for second on the team in hits and is batting .260, and while those numbers are solid, his true impact can be seen, or rather heard, from his teammates on the field.

“It’s funny to hear them respond in terms of ‘Wow! Look at that arm!’ or ‘Wow! Look at that play!’” Grewe said. “He’s made some tremendous plays already.”

While Roof was a standout player during his four years at St. Mary’s High School in Paducah, Ky. — earning four varsity letters throughout his career and hitting .505 during his senior season — he said he never expected to break into the MSU lineup right away.

“No, not at all — I came in hoping to get some playing time here and there,” said Roof, who impressed Grewe during fall ball and improved his strength during the offseason. “It was a big surprise to me, but I just have to go out there every day with confidence and play like I’m an upperclassmen and not just a freshman.”

Although Roof has made an instant impact by getting the most playing time, the two other headliners from the Big Ten’s top recruiting class also have shown glimpses of potential.

Freshman pitcher/outfielder A.J. Achter has appeared in three games, going 0-for-1 with a 5.40 ERA, while freshman pitcher/utility player Tyler Newsome has an 0-1 record and 4.35 ERA in four games. Newsome is batting .444 in nine plate appearances.

“They both did very well for a freshman,” Grewe said of Achter and Newsome’s performance on the spring trip. “Both of those guys have done well up to this point, but I still want them to keep doing better. I still want them to keep maturing fast and grow into the uniform pretty quick.”

With the young talent improving at a steady rate, Newsome said integrating the new players with the veterans is going to improve the team as players push one another to get better.

“We have a very versatile group of guys here, and I think any guy, freshman through senior, can play at anytime,” he said.

“It keeps everyone on their toes and everyone knows that there’s someone behind them who can play. It’s a good thing to have on a team where you know anyone can play at anytime.”

Quality win

By going 2-1 at the Rice Invitational last weekend, the Spartans showed they are capable of being a dangerous team on the national level after beating No. 4 Rice 9-3 on Friday.

“The win against Rice — a top-ranked team in the county, a national powerhouse — it’s a big win for this program,” Achter said.

Other than having a quality win under their belt and giving them a confidence boost, Grewe said the win shows his players what they can accomplish when they play up to their capabilities.

“That was the only game that we played this year where we had great pitching, great defense and great hitting and we beat (the No. 4) ranked team in the country,” Grewe said.

“In all the other games we’ve had two of the three, so when we get all three of them where we’re playing our best baseball we can beat anybody in the country.”