Etowah P Dimitri Angelakos opens up about recent Georgia Tech commitment

New pitching coach Matt Taylor was able to get eyes on new Georgia Tech P commit Dimitri Angelakos just day after "officially" taking the job at the school.

After seeing Angelakos' arsenal, and getting a feel for what he may bring to the table, Taylor made sure he knew that he had an offer, and that he had a spot waiting for him on The Flats.

The rest was history, and shortly thereafter, Angelakos pulled the trigger and made GT home.

He spent some time with JOL breaking down his decision, and why he's so fired up.

RJ: What was the moment like when you gave the coaches the news? What is their vision for you from a position standpoint?

DA: "It was a surreal moment that still hasn’t sunk in yet, been waiting for something like this for a long time since I was playing baseball as a kid.

It was cool to have my dad their with me too for him to experience it because I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am today without him and my whole family as well.

I am going to Georgia Tech to pitch, but I also love to hit and field, so I’m just going to keep working hard and see where the game takes me."

RJ: Why Georgia Tech? What made Atlanta home for you?

DA: "Once I stepped foot on campus I knew it was a special place. I loved all the coaches energy and just how excited they were to show me around.

Recruitment can often times feel like it’s a business, but it’s from that.

Building relationships with the coaches and teammates is what I enjoy most about baseball and the relationship that I built with Coach Taylor, Coach Ramsey and Coach Hall was special from the very beginning.

I’m just excited for what is to come in the next couple of years."

RJ: How strong would you say your relationship is with Coach Taylor? How fired up was he when you gave him the news?

DA: "He saw me pitch and was super pumped to talk with me. I loved his energy right away, and appreciated his strong interest but in me.

I visited the school, and he had that same energy that I loved and the school was a perfect fit for me so it was almost impossible to say no to.

He and all the coaches were super pumped when I committed. I did talk with [James] Ramsey for a while on the visit,and he was just as excited to see me. When he heard I committed, he was just as pumped. It was very reassuring to see all the coaches excited to have me commit to them and be a part of their pitching staff in the upcoming years."

RJ: You call Georgia Tech the perfect fit for you, can you expand on that?

DA: "It was the perfect fit for many reasons.

The coaches were awesome to be around, I love the area because I have lots of friends and family nearby, and even my church is nearby,

I only live about 40 minutes away, so I can see my parents almost anytime I want. Hard for any other school to check off all those boxes and be the quality of a school GT is academically and athletically. There’s more to life than just baseball and business. I go to a Greek Orthodox Church in Marietta, but there is a big Cathedral that is also Greek Orthodox in the city that I will be able to go to when I get to Georgia Tech."

RJ: Are there any pitchers either playing now or retired that you would compare yourself to, or that you watch closely?

DA: "I don’t try to pitch like anybody specifically but some people have said that I’m kind of like Greg Maddux because I can locate my pitches really well, and force bad swings early in the count.

I haven’t been a hard thrower my whole life, just had really good command of my pitches and that’s what has lead me to my success, just like Maddux. I do love to watch Kyle Hendricks and Nestor Cortes because they both don’t the hardest but have mix up a lot to get outs and be successful.

Dimitri Angelakos is a 2024 SS/RHP with a 6-2 180 lb. frame from Woodstock, GA who attends Etowah. He ran a 7.51 second sixty. A primary short stop with a tall slender frame. On the infield he showed good bounce to his actions with good feel for the glove as he works under control through the ball transferring into a strong throw with plenty of arm strength. On the mound he starts with a side step as the hands raise over head with a belt high leg lift, he does a nice job landing on line with a shorter arm action as he filled up the zone at 83-85 mph with arm side run, he also landed a short vertical breaking ball in the low 70's. Right-handed hitter, starts with an upright stance and even base using not much separation to create lift to the pull side with bat speed creating jump off the barrel. Excellent student. Named to Class of 2024 All-American Games Top Prospect List.