Jay Johnson

Head coach Jay Johnson watches his middle infielders go through fielding drills during the early going of Arizona’s practice at Hi Corbett Field, Wednesday, February 15, 2017, Tucson, Ariz.

UA baseball coach Jay Johnson lost his top recruit, Matt Sauer, when the pitcher signed with the New York Yankees for $2.49 million last month. But Johnson was able to keep Casa Grande lefty Gil Luna, who enrolled in UA summer school. A year ago, Luna was a revelation to recruiters; he struck out 138 batters in 252 innings for Casa Grande High as his fastball hit 94 mph. Luna injured his forearm last spring and only pitched 21 innings as a senior, but has recovered. Johnson gets no break from summer recruiting this month: He will be at the Long Beach Area Code Games this week. 


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Contact sports columnist Greg Hansen at 520-573-4362 or ghansen@tucson.com. On Twitter: @ghansen711