Quite simply, Tyler Holt was the most disruptive high school baseball player I have seen in the last decade.

That in no way is a criticism. In fact it is a huge compliment.

When he would get on base while at Gainesville High School
(something that happened often), Holt knew how to negatively affect a
pitcher.

While not as fast as other local standouts like former P.K. Yonge
outfielder Derrick Robinson and current Buchholz speedster Levon
Washington (and in fairness, those two athletes have the best 60-yard
dash times in high school baseball history), Holt had outstanding
speed. What he did best, though, is stay constantly moving while on
base.

He would twitch, fake sprint, even dance. All the while, opposing
pitchers not only had to attempt to deal with Holt’s antics, but also
respect that he easily could swipe the base in front of him. And that
often led to the hitters behind him in the order seeing quite a few
straight fastballs.

Holt told me prior to the 2007 MLB draft that he wasn’t hearing
from many teams and didn’t expect to be selected. That surprised me,
considering more than 1,500 prospects get chosen each June.

He was right, and went on to Florida State, where he was a freshman All-ACC selection.

Holt will be back in his hometown Tuesday night, as the Seminoles
(9-6) visit Florida (9-7), whose previous coach, Pat McMahon, didn’t
recruit him.

And the Seminoles’ leadoff hitter will come in with crazy numbers.

A starter in all 15 games this season, Holt is batting a team-best
.475 (the team’s next highest average is .350) with five stolen bases
(FSU has seven as a team). He leads FSU in hits (28) and doubles (10),
and he also has a home run, a triple and 10 RBIs.

If you get a chance, go watch Holt play at McKethan Stadium. You definitely won’t be bored.