Home » Posts tagged 'college baseball' (Page 3)
Tag Archives: college baseball
College Baseball’s Opening Weekend 2010 – Saturday’s Hitters
Quick Saturday batting lines of note with more of my oh so very insightful commentary to come as the day rolls along…
LSU SR 1B Blake Dean 4-5, BB, 6 RBI, 2 R
LSU SO OF Mikie Mahtook 2-3, 3B, SB, 3 RBI, 2 R
LSU SR DH Matt Gaudet 3-5, 2 HR, BB, 4 RBI, 3 R
Dean may be making tremendous progressive defensively at first, but it is still his bat that will carry his pro prospects going forward. Four hit days like the kind he had on Saturday help.
Rice JR 3B Anthony Rendon 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, R, HBP
Rice SR C Diego Seastrunk 2-4
Rendon, Gerrit Cole, Sonny Gray, Taylor Jungmann, and Mikie Mahtook make up my very early preliminary 2011 college top five. First four are chalk, though there is plenty of room for variation in the order, but the fifth spot is wide open. Alex Meyer, Jack Armstrong, Zach Cone, Ryan Carpenter, and Brett Mooneyham should all be in the mix, but additional personal favorites such as John Stilson, Harold Martinez, Adam Smith, and Kyle Winkler all could surprise. I’ really not afraid to admit that my excitement level for the 2011 MLB Draft is sky high.
Stanford FR CF Jake Stewart 2-6, RBI, R
Stanford FR 3B Kenny Diekroeger 2-3, 2 R
I personally don’t wonder if Stewart and Diekroeger will be first rounders in 2012; instead, I’m looking forward to how high each can elevate their respective stocks while playing for a college program notorious for holding back more than a few talented hitters with the dreaded “Stanford Swing.”
Florida State 3B/1B FR Jayce Boyd 3-5, 2B, RBI, R
Florida State JR CF Tyler Holt 2-5, 2 R
Florida State SR SS Stephen Cardullo 1-1, HR, BB, 2 HBP, 3 RBI, 3 R
Pretty good days for Florida State’s best draft prospect in each of the respective draft years listed. Boyd has first round power, Holt is an easy top-three round guy at present, and Cardullo’s blend of steady defense, good enough speed, and advanced knowledge of the strike zone make him a solid late round senior sign sleeper candidate.
Arizona State SO OF Drew Maggi 3-5, 2B, 2 SB, BB, RBI, 2 R, K
Arizona State SO DH Zach Wilson 3-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, K
Arizona State SO 2B Zack MacPhee 4-4, HR, 2 3B, 5 RBI, 4 R
Arizona State SO 3B Riccio Torrez 4-5, 3B, 2B, HBP, 2 RBI, 4 R
Arizona State SO C Austin Barnes 4-5, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R
I literally didn’t even realize all five Arizona State players listed were sophomores until this very moment. Add in another talented sophomore, OF Johnny Ruettiger, and that makes two-thirds of the Sun Devil lineup second year players. Cool.
Georgia Tech SR 1B Tony Plagman 4-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R
Georgia Tech JR CF Jeff Rowland 2-4, 2 3B, 3 RBI, R, K
TCU FR OF Josh Elander 4-5, SB, 2 RBI
Elander is loaded with tools, from plus power potential to a plus arm to above-average speed underway. He’s also freakishly strong, something a 150-pound relative weakling such as myself says with the utmost respect. Seeing such a tools-laden player hit the ground running as a freshmen is pretty darn exciting.
Miami SR 2B Scott Lawson 3-3, 3B, SB, RBI, 3 R
Ball State JR 2B Kolbrin Vitek 4-5, 3B, RBI, 3 R
Virginia Tech JR 1B Austin Wates 3-5, RBI, K
Louisville JR OF Josh Richmond 3-6, SB, RBI, K
South Carolina FR 3B Christian Walker 4-5, HR, 2B, 5 RBI, 3 R
San Diego JR CF Kevin Muno 4-5, 2 RBI, 2 R, K
San Diego SR OF James Meador 4-5, 4 RBI, 2 R
They may not be Maris and Mantle, but San Diego’s version of the M&M Boys make up a big, productive chunk of the Toreros veteran lineup.
Florida SO 1B Preston Tucker 2-3, 2 BB, 2 R
Florida FR SS Nolan Fontana 0-1, 3 BB, 2 R
Texas A&M SR CF Brodie Greene 3-3, 2 3B, 2 SB, HBP, RBI, 3 R
Oklahoma SO SS Caleb Bushyhead 3-4, 2B, 3 RBI, R
Oklahoma SO SS Caleb Bushyhead 3-3, 2B, R
Easily the best Saturday of baseball ever recorded by a man with the last name of Bushyhead.
San Diego State JR CF Cory Vaughn 0-5, 4 K
Ouch.
Georgia SO CF Zach Cone 4-5, HR, 3B, 2B, RBI, 2 R
The beginning of potential turning into production right before our very eyes?
Tennessee JR CF Josh Liles 3-4, 2 RBI, R, K
Boston College JR CF Robbie Anston 4-5, 3 RBI, 3 R
Pittsburgh JR 3B Joe Leonard 3-4, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R
Leonard is a good athlete with a cannon for an arm, but not much more than occasional gap power at this point. If he continues to show progress in that area of his game, he could jump off draft boards as teams are always looking for quality college bats that aren’t restricted to first base or the corner outfield.
Auburn JR 1B Hunter Morris 3-6, SB, RBI, 2 R
At first I wanted to make a joke about the big guy stealing a bag, but turns out he’s now 7/9 stealing bases in his college career. Good for him.
Alabama JR 2B Ross Wilson 3-5, RBI, R
Middle Tennessee State OF Bryce Brentz 2-5, R, 2 K
College Baseball Opening Weekend 2010 – Saturday Starters
Updated the Friday Night Hitters post below with a couple of random, semi-coherent ramblings about a few players of interest. Now to take a look at the most interesting pitching performances from Saturday…
“Big” Name 2010s
San Diego JR RHP Kyle Blair – 4 IP 4 H 1 ER 4 BB 8 K
Texas JR RHP Brandon Workman – 6 IP 9 H 3 ER 2 BB 7 K
San Diego JR LHP Sammy Solis – 5 IP 5 H 1 ER 2 BB 4 K
LSU JR RHP Austin Ross – 5 IP 3 H 0 ER 0 BB 5 K
South Carolina JR RHP Sam Dyson – 3.2 IP 0 H 0 ER 1 BB 6 K
California SO RHP Dixon Anderson – 7 IP 4 H 0 ER 0 BB 8 K
Missouri JR RHP Nick Tepesch – 5 IP 8 H 6 ER 2 BB 3 K
Hey! Nick Tepesch! Remember him? Once considered the next great first round arm to come out of Missouri, Tepesch’s path to draft stardom hasn’t gone smoothly. He can still sink and cut the fastball effectively, but the stalled progress of his curve and change are worrisome. I like that Dyson and Anderson are back-to-back on the list; Dyson’s prospect stock last year as a draft-eligible sophomore reminds me a lot of where Anderson, a player with a lot of helium, is currently at.
“Lesser” Name 2010s
Mississippi SR RHP Aaron Barrett – 6 IP 2 H 0 ER 1 BB 7 K
Georgia SR RHP Jeff Walters – 5.2 IP 6 H 3 ER 1 BB 7 K
Vanderbilt JR RHP Taylor Hill – 6.2 IP 6 H 0 ER 2 BB 9 K
Michigan JR RHP Matt Miller – 6 IP 6 H 2 ER 2 BB 3 K
Notre Dame JR RHP Brian Dupra – 4.1 IP 4 H 3 ER 1 BB 3 K
Pepperdine JR LHP Matt Bywater – 9 IP 4 H 0 ER 2 BB 10 K
Georgia Tech JR RHP Brandon Cumpton – 5 IP 7 H 2 ER 0 BB 2 K
Miami JR LHP Chris Hernandez – 4 IP 4 H 1 ER 2 BB 5 K
North Carolina JR RHP Patrick Johnson – 7 IP 5 H 1 ER 2 BB 7 K
Oregon State JR RHRP Kevin Rhoderick – 1.1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 3 K
All names that should probably ring a bell if you’re a close follower of the college game, with one exception – Matt Bywater. I saw his impressive line on Saturday and immediately checked my notes to see what interesting tidbits I had ready to share about him. What I had was the following: “Pepperdine LHP Matt Bywater.” That’s all. And now you realize once again why the sterling content provided on this site has, is, and will forever be free.
“Big” Name 2011s
Stanford SO LHP Brett Mooneyham – 5.1 IP 2 H 3 ER 9 BB 7 K
TCU FR LHP Matt Purke – 5 IP 7 H 3 ER 1 BB 8 K
Clemson SO LHP Will Lamb – 2.1 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K
Louisville SO RHP Tony Zych – 0 IP 6 H 7 ER 1 BB 0 K
UCLA SO RHP Trevor Bauer – 8 IP 4 H 3 ER 2 BB 13 K
Mooneyham picked up right where he left off last year. Lots of strikeouts, very few hits allowed, and waaaaay too many walks. Did anybody else catch Bauer’s curveball on Saturday night? His solid fastball, plus curve, and Lincecum-style funky delivery make him a really fun contrast to more highly touted classmate Gerrit Cole.
“Lesser” Name 2011s
Texas A&M SO RHP John Stilson – 4 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 5 K
Alabama SO LHP Adam Morgan – 6 IP 3 H 3 ER 0 BB 11 K
I wish I was smarter than to get this worked up over four measly innings, but I’m very excited to see Stilson get off to a start like this. He’s got a special arm (fastball sitting low-90s, peaking 95) and is a fantastic athlete.
2012s
Duke FR RHP Marcus Stroman – 3 IP 3 H 0 ER 1 BB 3 K
Kentucky FR LHP Taylor Rogers – 7.2 IP 6 H 0 ER 1 BB 2 K
California FR LHP Justin Jones – 7 IP 7 H 0 ER 1 BB 9 K
College Baseball 2010 Opening Weekend – Friday Night’s Hitters
Because I spent most of my weekend celebrating the start of meaningful baseball reviewing old scouting reports and communicating back-and-forth with baseball people way smarter than myself, content may be light for the next few days. As I sort through some of the updated information I’ve been lucky enough to receive, why not check out who did what in college baseball’s opening weekend? The post below this one has most of the big name Friday night starters listed, but I figured this would serve as a dumping ground for some of the late night Friday starters that I didn’t get to then, plus the Saturday/Sunday starters, and some of the most interesting hitting lines of the weekend. More and more players will be added as the day goes on, plus I’ll be sure to drop in and add some of my oh so sexy prose to what would otherwise be a complete onslaught of numbers.
Position Players – FRIDAY
Virginia JR OF Dan Grovatt 2-5, RBI, 2 R
Virginia SO 3B Steven Proscia 2-3, HR, 4 RBI, R
Virginia JR OF Jarrett Parker 2-3, 2B, RBI
Georgia Tech JR SS Derek Dietrich 1-2, 2B, 2 BB, R
North Carolina SO 3B Levi Michael 2-4, BB, RBI, R, K
North Carolina FR 2B Tommy Coyle 0-3, BB, R, K
North Carolina FR RF Brian Goodwin 0-4, RBI, K
- Totally throwing this out without too much thought, but am I crazy to think there are some similarities between Georgia Tech’s Dietrich and Carolina’s Michael?
Clemson SO 1B Will Lamb 4-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R
Clemson JR OF Kyle Parker 2-5, HR, 3 RBI, R, K
Duke JR C Gabriel Saade 0-4, 2 K
- Saade is an interesting guy for a couple of reasons, not the least of which being his recent experimentation behind the plate. More on Saade, written here a few weeks ago: He went into his junior year as a legitimate pro prospect, a versatile defender capable of playing anywhere up the middle (2B, SS, CF) coming off of two solid years playing every day in the ACC (.269/.354/.456 as a freshman, .286/.376/.483 as a sophomore). His junior year didn’t quite go according to plan, unless Saade’s plan was to hit .237/.339/.333. If that was the case, then his plan really couldn’t have gone any better. The big dip in numbers is concerning, especially the total disappearance of power, but there are some positives to glean from his 2009 performance. His K/BB ratio has dipped each season (2.26 to 1.96 to 1.33) and his stolen base numbers have remained consistently stellar (46/54 collegiately, including his stint in the Valley League). If he can bounce back to his pre-junior levels of production, something many scouts think he is capable of doing if he stops being so darn pull-happy, then he has a shot at being an interesting senior sign (round 15-25, maybe) for a team believing in his future as a steady fielding big league utility player.
Virginia Tech JR 1B Austin Wates 2-3, 3B, 2 BB, 2 RBI, R
Kentucky SO 3B Andy Burns 2-5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
Louisville SO OF Stewart Ijames 3-5, 2B, 3 RBI
Louisville JR 3B Phil Wunderlich 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, R
Louisville SR 1B Andrew Clark 2-4, BB, 3 RBI, 2 R
Louisville SR 2B Adam Duball 3-5, 2B, RBI, 3 R
Louisville JR RF/CF Josh Richmond 2-4, BB, 4 R, 2 SB
- Louisville’s lineup may have not been facing top-level pitching this weekend, but they still like a potential offensive force in the Big East.
Arkansas SO 3B Zack Cox 2-4, 2B, BB, RBI, 2 R, K
Arkansas JR 1B Andy Wilkins 2-2, HR, 2 BB, 2 RBI, 2 R
Arkansas JR CF Brett Eibner 2-4, SB, RBI
Auburn JR 1B Hunter Morris 3-5, RBI, R
West Virginia JR SS Jedd Gyorko 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, R (2-3, HR, 1B, RBI GO off of Cody Wheeler)
- I’m starting to warm up to Gyorko the more I read and hear about him. The Youkilis comp is obviously a tad over the top when taken literally, but there are undeniable similarities between the two Big East superstars. Baseball talent evaluation has come a long way, however, when you consider Gyorko almost certainly won’t top Youkilis’ final college season (.405/.549/.714), but will still get picked significantly higher than the eighth round, Youkilis’ draft landing spot.
Vanderbilt JR 1B Curt Casali 2-4, BB, 2 R
Vanderbilt JR OF/1B/C Aaron Westlake 3-4, 2 2BRBI, R
- Casali and Westlake have each proven to be competent at first and in the outfield corners, but increased playing time behind the plate would do wonders to their respective prospect stock.
Cal State Fullerton JR CF Gary Brown 2-5, 2 SB, R
Cal State Fullerton JR SS Christian Colon 2-5, K
- The clash of the Titans ought to be one of the most interesting position player battles to watch this spring. Colon is the favorite, no doubt, but Brown’s superior tools could push him into the sandwich round, not too far behind where I think his college teammate could get taken.
Gonzaga SR CF Drew Heid 4-5, 3B, RBI, 2 R
Mississippi JR DH Miles Hamblin 0-4, BB, K
- Hamblin, one of the top junior college players of 2009, started off his career in big-time college baseball with a dud, but store his name away as a top-ten round caliber player if he hits as expected this spring.
Florida JR 2B Josh Adams 3-3, 2 HR, BB, 4 RBI, 2 R
Florida FR DH Austin Maddox 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
- Maddox’s first start showed off what he does best as a prospect – hit the baseball very, very far. He’s also only the third best defensive catcher on the Florida roster, a testament to the awesome catching depth of the Gators and Maddox’s biggest weakness as a prospect.
Michigan FR SS Derek Dennis 2-4, 2B, BB, R, K
Michigan SO DH/C Coley Crank 4-6, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 3 R
- Not a bad debut for Dennis, a potential 2012 first rounder in what is shaping up to be an excellent class of shortstops.
Arizona State SO 2B Zack MacPhee 3-4, 3B, 2B, BB, SB, 2 RBI, R
Miami JR C Yasmani Grandal 0-1, 3 BB, HBP, 3 R, K
Miami SO 3B Harold Martinez 2-4, 2 HR, BB, 4 RBI, 2 R, K
Oregon State JR 3B Stefen Romero 3-5, HR, 2B, 4 RBI, 3 R, K
UCLA JR OF Brett Krill 3-5, R
Texas A&M SR CF Brodie Greene 3-4, BB, 4 RBI, 2 R, K
- The senior just keeps on rolling along. I hope he maintains this pace (well, maybe not this pace…he’d break records if he kept this up) and gets himself drafted in the upper 25 rounds as a solid organizational senior sign with the potential to someday have some value playing all over the diamond. What can I say? I’m a sucker for versatile college seniors from big-time college baseball programs. Interesting to note the former middle infielder is now playing centerfield.
Tennessee JR CF Josh Liles 3-5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R
Tennessee JR 2B/SS Khayyan Norfolk 4-5, SB, RBI, 2 R
Washington JR 1B Troy Scott 2-4, 2B, R, 2 K
Villanova JR OF Matt Szczur 4-6, 2B, SB, 4 RBI, 2 R
- I kept Szczur off the top Big East outfielder list a few weeks ago, but only because I was still considering him as a potential catcher first and foremost. I may have to go back and add him to the list of players to watch because 1) word out of Villanova is that he has looked good enough in the outfield that the team thinks he can be a real asset in a corner professionally, and 2) he’s a damn fine hitter that ranks up there with almost any Big East outfielder in upside.
Pittsburgh JR 3B Joe Leonard 2-6, HR, 2B, 6 RBI, 3 R, 2 K
NC State SO C/1B Pratt Maynard 3-6, HR, 2 BB, 6 RBI, 3 R
NC State FR OF Tarran Senay 4-6, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 4 R, 2 K
- A pair of underclassmen that I’m unreasonably high on at this point. I think Maynard will shoot up draft boards this spring and wind up in the mix for first college catcher taken in 2011. Heck of a first game for the toolsy Senay, a player with massive raw power.
College Baseball Opening Night 2010 – Friday Starters
“Big” Name 2010s
Georgia Tech JR RHSP Deck McGuire – 7 IP 5 H 0 ER 0 BB 10 K
Florida Gulf Coast JR LHSP Chris Sale – 2 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 2 K
LSU JR RHSP Anthony Ranaudo – 5 IP 1 H 0 ER 2 BB 6 K
North Carolina JR RHSP Matt Harvey – 5.2 IP 5 H 3 ER 2 BB 3 K
Ohio State JR RHSP Alex Wimmers – 6 IP 1 H 0 ER 1 BB 9 K
Georgia Tech JR RHRP Kevin Jacob – 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 3 K
Mississippi JR LHSP Drew Pomeranz – 4 IP 4 H 1 ER 2 BB 7 K
Georgia JR RHSP Justin Grimm – 5 IP 4 H 2 ER 3 BB 6 K
Tennessee JR LHSP Bryan Morgado – 5 IP 4 H 3 ER 2 BB 6 K
Baylor JR RHSP Shawn Tolleson – 6 IP 5 H 3 ER 3 BB 11 K
Not really a bad line out of the entire Opening Night starter bunch, I’d say. Pomeranz’s command was shaky, Ranaudo’s stuff wasn’t as sharp as it could have been, and Harvey was all over the place with his control, but, all in all, a darn fine night for college baseball’s aces.
*** Sale only pitched two innings because he’s being saved for this upcoming Wednesday’s huge game at Miami. He was incredibly sharp in this one, hitting the mid-90s with regularity. Sale vs Miami is shaping up to be one of the most highly anticipated early season mid-week games in recent memory.
*** Baseball America had Harvey sitting 92-94, touching 96. Lack of control or not, that kind of velocity this early in the season is an excellent sign for Harvey, a pitcher with a history of inconsistent radar gun readings.
*** Best publicly available groundout ratios of the night belong to Harvey (10/1 ground out to air out ratio) and Wimmers (7/1). Use that information anyway you see fit.
“Lesser” Name 2010s
San Diego SR RHSP AJ Griffin – 6 IP 6 H 4 ER 0 BB 8 K
East Carolina JR RHSP Seth Maness – 5.2 IP 6 H 4 ER 1 BB 4 K
Notre Dame JR RHSP Cole Johnson – 5.1 IP 5 H 2 ER 0 BB 2 K
Virginia JR RHRP Tyler Wilson – 3 IP 2 H 0 ER 2 BB 4 K
Clemson JR LHSP Casey Harman – 5 IP 1 H 0 ER 1 BB 3 K
Louisville JR RHSP Thomas Royse – 5 IP 2 H 0 ER 0 BB 5 K
Arkansas SR RHSP Michael Bolsinger 5 IP 4 H 1 ER 1 BB 6 K
Florida JR RHSP Tommy Toledo – 3.1 IP 3 H 0 ER 2 BB 4 K (WP, 2 HBP)
*** Griffin had a bizarre 1/9 ground out to air out ratio. I’m almost positive Griffin was a significant groundball pitcher last year, so it’ll be interesting to see if this one start was an aberration or the start of a larger trend.
*** Johnson has a solid reputation and good stuff, but he still hasn’t been able to harness his natural talents to dominate at the college level. The solid line he put up on Friday is indicative of his college performance thus far. Steady results, uninspiring strikeout numbers.
*** Wilson is coming out of the bullpen because Virginia has a pitching staff that rivals that of some minor league teams, but his stuff is good enough to start professionally. He’s a top ten round player.
“Big” Name 2011s
Vanderbilt SO RHSP Sonny Gray 8 IP 3 H 0 ER 1 BB 8 K
UCLA SO RHSP Gerrit Cole – 6 IP 1 H 2 ER 0 BB 9 K
Texas SO RHSP Taylor Jungmann – 7 IP 7 H 1 ER 1 BB 8 K
Virginia SO LHSP Danny Hultzen – 6 IP 4 H 2 ER 3 BB 4 K
Kentucky SO RHSP Alex Meyer – 5 IP 4 H 2 ER 3 BB 8 K
Totals: 32 IP 19 H 7 ER 8 BB 37 K
Those five 2011 arms are something special. I’ve been toying with a 2011 Mock Draft for a couple of days and every time I do a rough sketch of the first ten to fifteen picks or so, all of the names above appear…but each time I do it, I come up with a new order. I think I like them in the order I have them above, but that’ll change, oh, about ten thousand times between now and next June.
The GO/AO numbers for the quintet: Jungmann – 9/1, Cole – 7/2, Hultzen – 9/3, Gray – 10/4, and Meyer – 2/4.
“Lesser” Name 2011s
Baylor SO RHSP Logan Verrett – 7 IP 9 H 6 ER 1 BB 5 K
Rice SO LHSP Taylor Wall – 3 IP 4 H 3 ER 2 BB 3 K
Verrett and Wall both struggled some in their debuts, but they are still both 2011s well keeping a close on eye, Verrett especially. He’s a pitcher that would be getting a lot more attention (talked about as a serious top of the first half round candidate) if he wasn’t part of such a loaded class. Timing is everything, I suppose.
TEXAS v LSU – 2009 College World Series Championship Game One Live Blog
Let’s kick things off with one of the finest moves a second rate website like this can make – the shameless traffic grab, of course. Hundreds of years of research shows that there is no better way to wake up Google than plastering up a picture of a popular, pretty girl. Erin Andrews is doing the sideline reporting for ESPN, so this isn’t quite as gratuitous as it could be…but, yeah, it’s still undeniably transparent.
FIRST INNING
Heat Index – 107 degrees
I like LSU to sweep, by the way.
LSU Lineup: LeMahieu, Schimpf, Dean, Gibbs, Mahtook, Mitchell, Ochinko, Helenihi, Nola
LeMahieu, Schimpf, Dean, Mitchell, and Ochinko were all drafted in the 2009 MLB Draft.
Texas starter tonight is RHP Chance Ruffin. Fastball has been in the low-90s so far. Best secondary offering has probably been the backup high-70s slider.
Ryan Schimpf (Blue Jays draftee, round 5) blasted a high, straight fastball deep to right to get the Tigers on the board
Texas Lineup: Torres, Tucker, Belt, Moldenhauer, Rupp, Keyes, Loy, Clark, Rowe
SECOND INNING
Mikie Mahtook is white. I don’t know why that surprises me, but it does. It really does. I’m not proud of this fact.
Still can’t get over that Cameron Rupp homer that tied the game against Arizona State on Friday. I haven’t heard the measured distance on it yet, but it was an absolute rocket to dead center. Had to have been over 430 feet.
Louis Coleman (5th rounder by Kansas City) has only thrown fastballs so far (as far as I can tell). I don’t have all of his readings, but the ones I’ve caught are: 92, 88, 85, 89, 90, 88, 91, 88, 89. No sooner do I type that does he end the inning with a strikeout on a 79 MPH offspeed pitch.
THIRD INNING
Sampling of Ruffin’s work so far:
FB: 92, 92, 87, 93, 87, 91, 85, 91, 90, 91, 92, 86
SL: 78, 79, 77, 79, 79, 81, 80, 82
CU: 72, 74, 76, 76
I could be wrong about those changeups…I miss having a DVR.
You know who Coleman reminds me of? Mechanically, anyway. His delivery reminds me a lot of Alex White’s low arm slot. Still looks like a future reliever, but worth trying as a starter so long as the results are there.
FOURTH INNING
I legitimately forgot I wrote about Preston Clark earlier in the year. I knew I liked him, but I couldn’t remember if I thought about writing about him or if I actually followed through (a rare occurance, I know). Anyway, here’s what I wrote:
Preston Clark is one of the most talented players on the list and his incremental production from year to year at Texas is a nice sign going forward. He’ll never hit for a high average, but his plate discipline (29 BB in 179 AB last season) is good and he has just enough juice in his bat to keep pitchers honest. His health is a major question mark, but a spring that sees Clark in the lineup (and behind the plate) on a consistent basis should solidify him as prospect with a better than average shot of someday developing into a strong big league backup backstop. Even if he doesn’t catch all that often — sophomore Cameron Rupp is in line to get plenty of reps behind the dish as well — Clark’s defensive versatility (he’s capable of playing third and the outfield, in addition to catching) is an added bonus to his game.
I was wrong.
I really like Robin Ventura. He has two things that really work to his advantage from where I’m sitting – a) he’s quiet, and b) he has a sneaky sense of humor. I like Orel Hershiser just fine, but the way Ventura needles him is very amusing to me.
I didn’t really know about the LSU open stance thing before tonight. Quirks like that are one of the reasons I think college baseball is so much fun to follow – different programs preaching different things. From certain teams pushing certain pitches to the LSU open stance thing (I need a more clever name for it, but I’ve got nothing) to the infamous “Stanford swing,” college baseball is loaded with character if you just know where to look.
Who had odds on Travis Tucker hitting a homerun tonight? Travis Tucker’s mom, maybe, but that has to be about it. Baseball = funny game. Here’s what I said about Tucker earlier:
not a prospect worth going on about. He had a decent junior year (good on-base skills, tiny bit of pop, above-average baserunner), but his inability to play shortstop well will keep him as an organizational type at best.
Now Russell Moldenhauer, that homerun makes a little more sense. Well, it makes sense when you watch him hit. If you only saw his 2009 numbers, it’s an even bigger shock than Tucker’s. Moldenhauer came to Omaha with a whopping zero homeruns to his credit on the season. I’m a relatively big Moldenhauer fan, if such a thing outside of Texas exists:
Moldenhauer may yet rediscover the stroke that made him a third round pick once upon a time, but he is going to have to do so in a hurry if he wants to make it as a pro.
FIFTH INNING
I forgot to mention Kevin Keyes’s homer in the fourth. Now there’s a homerun that can’t really be classified as a surprise. Keyes has first round potential heading into 2010, but has been more projection than production as a collegiate player so far. He’s a very different player than Jared Mitchell (power is his game, not speed) and he doesn’t have football as a reason for stalled development like LSU’s 2009 first rounder, but I think he is in a similar spot at respective points in their development.
Ruffin is cruising through five. His command is starting to waver a tiny bit, but his mechanics have stayed surprisingly consistent despite the conditions. I’m way more impressed with him than I thought I’d be coming in.
Connor Rowe is a lot of fun to watch in centerfield. Not so much fun at the plate right now, however.
SIXTH INNING
Can Mikie Mahtook hit a breaking ball? Or take an accurate route to a flyball? His potential is vast, but there is no denying that you are watching a freshman, and a raw one at that, when you watch him play.
Jared Mitchell, what can you really say? Usain Bolt is probably faster than him, but that may be the extent of the list.
Only players with last names beginning with “M” matter, apparently. Mahtook, Mitchell, and now Moldenhauer. Russ Moldenhauer with two homers tonight. Both hits were “no doubt about it” homeruns that came on gorgeous swings. He’s now a guy to put on the early watch list for 2010 senior signs.
Laptop is dying, time to call it an early evening. Great game so far, should be fun to see how these last three innings play out…
Signings Update and College World Series Championship Live Blog
How are things? Just swell, I trust. Alright, enough about you. Let’s talk about me. Here’s what I’ve been up to when not traveling too far to go to rained out rookie league games…
First, I updated the signings page. I did it quickly — really, can you blame me? It’s important info, no doubt, but boring to write/talk about, I think — so feel free to jump in and offer any corrections or changes you see fit. I’m making up the slot/above slot/under slot distinctions as I go because, quite truthfully, I’m not really sure how I stand on the issue of MLB’s suggestion that bonuses be reduced by 10% across the board. I mean, it wasn’t a formal request, right? I know for a fact that some teams just laughed it off, so can we really claim that it’s the new standard for this year’s “slot” bonuses?
I can’t decide on what standard I should follow, and, like I alluded to earlier, I find the whole slot/above slot/under slot aspect of the draft to be the most tiring draft quirk to follow. What I’m trying to say is, I won’t lose too much sleep if I’m off on some of my big bold colored claims I’ve been making. If a correction needs to be made, call me out on it and I’ll happily oblige.
I’ve also spent time contemplating on which of the immediate post-2009 draft projects (team grades, round-by-round discussion, or a 2010 mock) I want to get to first. Decisions, decisions.
Lastly, I made the executive decision to sit on the couch and watch baseball tonight. There’s a pretty important college game going on, so I’m going to use the occasion as an excuse to watch entertaining baseball under the guise of doing the “work” of updating this too long dormant site of mine (I hate going a day without something up here, let alone almost a week). Check back later tonight for live updates and draft-related commentary about Game 1 of the College World Series.
College Baseball Weekend Five – Pitching Retrospective Continued
So much pitching to recap, so little time…
- Relievers, relievers, and more relievers
Jake Morgan, redshirt sophomore from the University of Mississippi, gets a special mention for his complete wipeout of Alabama: (2 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 6 K)
Long, lanky Matt Miller (6-6, 215) of Michigan’s great outing (3 IP 1 H 0 ER 1 BB 5 K) pushed his K/IP total to 16/12.2 on the season. It’ll interesting to see if he is in the mix for a starting spot for the Wolverines next spring.
Preston Claiborne has been a consistent strikeout per inning got out of the bullpen at Tulane since arriving on campus. His latest outing is a continuation of his success: 2.2 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 4 K
Steve Kalush is a less well known name than Claiborne, but has had similar success as a collegiate pitcher. The Santa Clara is another strikeout per inning guy. His weekend outing: 2 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 4 K
I love the adjective “hulking” when it describes a pitcher. Luke Demko is 6-6 and pushing three bills, but as nondescript college relievers go, he’s a good one. Demko could be a nice late round senior sign flier of a pick. His weekend: 2 IP 0 H 0 ER 1 BB 3 K (7th save)
Taylor Hill, a Vanderbilt sophomore talented enough to start for a lot of teams but forced to relieve for the pitching-rich Commodores, put up the following line: 4 IP 4 H 1 ER 1 BB 6 K. I’m thinking Vandy would be a good candidate for the next college profile piece…they are completely stacked with prospects, both hitting and pitching.
- Non-prospect performance of the week
Alex Rivers, teammate of Kalush’s at Santa Clara, put up this beauty of a line against Dartmouth: 7 IP 2 H 0 ER 0 BB 11 K. Yeah, it was against Dartmouth, and, yeah, Rivers is a short righty without much of a pro future, but this strong outing is worthy of praise. Here’s to you, Alex Rivers!
- Starting pitching prospects, now and in the future
Chris Rusin (Kentucky, 2009) – 9 IP 7 H 2 ER 2 BB 11 K against Vanderbilt. What I like best about Rusin is the steady increase in performance each year he has been in school.
Matt Harvey (North Carolina, 2010): 2 IP 7 H 7 ER 2 BB 1 K
Kyle Winkler (Texas Christian, 2011): 0.1 IP 5 H 6 ER 3 BB 0 K
Two really rough outings for two really good young pitchers. Winkler is a huge personal favorite – consider my love for him as a prospect partially due to my reverse short righthanded pitching bias.
Justin Grimm (Georgia, 2010): 5.2 IP 3 H 1 ER 3 BB 9 K
Gerrit Cole (UCLA, 2011): 5 IP 6 H 2 ER 1 BB 6 K, 101 pitches
Grimm is well known in scouting circles, but I consider him a 2010 sleeper anyway because even though he’s expected to go high in his draft year, I think he’ll go even higher – love his 30/7 K/BB ratio in just 25.1 innings. The odds-on favorite to go number two overall in 2011 keeps on doing his thing for the Bruins…
DJ Mauldin (Cal Poly, 2009): 8 IP 6 H 0 ER 0 BB 6 K, 12/4/1 (GO/AO/LO)…another short righty with a big game.
- Strong outings, but heavy workloads…
Tyler Blandford (Oklahoma State, 2009): 8 IP 3 H 2 ER 3 BB 11 K, 117 pitches
Chad Bettis (Texas Tech, 2010): 8 IP 8 H 3 ER 3 BB 8 K (11/5 groundball to flyball ratio), 129 pitches
College Baseball Weekend Five – Pitching Retrospective
A quartet of fine starts from high-end draft-eligible righthanded pitching prospects (including three future pro relievers who took the ball as starters for their college teams), a host of current relievers and non-star starting pitchers put forth solid efforts (gotta show the little guys some love every now and again), a mixed bag of performances out of highly ranked 2010’s and 2011’s, and a huge baseball star (not to mention my personal favorite player of all-time) hits in the leadoff spot for Seton Hall…wait, what? Read on, my amateur baseball loving friends, read on…
Also, a slew of new content (lists, rankings, an updated mock, and even a creative idea or two…a first for this site!) is on the way…stay tuned!
Photo Credit: Al Dia Inc
Monday Morning Update
Just a few idle thoughts to get the week going strong. The past few days have been more about research (tons of data input) than writing, but expect plenty of good stuff (college team profiles, finally!) coming your way in the coming days. For now, enjoy some amateur observations made while slaving away on some of that oh so much fun data collecting from the past weekend…
- I saw this fact somewhere over the weekend and it totally floored me – Alabama has won seven of eight all-time series against the number one ranked team at the time. Can that be true? It sounds almost unbelievable to me, but there it is.
The Crimson Tide took down top-ranked Georgia this weekend with a little help from senior slugger Kent Matthes. His numbers so far are astounding: 12 homers in 59 official at bats (1.169 SLG). That’s almost exactly one bomb for every five at bats…crazy.
- Answer: 127, 124, 122, 121, 125, 120
Question: How many pitches were thrown over the weekend by Austin Hyatt (Alabama), Kyle Gibson (Missouri), Grant Dayton (Auburn), Deck McGuire (Georgia Tech), Tim Clubb (Missouri State), and Nick Hernandez (Tennessee) in their most recent respective starts?
Hyatt, Dayton, and Clubb can all be called sleeper prospects on a generous day, but the other pitchers (Gibson, McGuire, and Hernandez) are big-time talents pitching for big-time professional contracts every time they take the ball. I know it can’t be easy for a college coach to balance the pressure of winning ballgames in the short-term with the obligation of keeping these young arms healthy for the long-term. It’s also difficult to pass judgment as an outsider without knowing all of the details surrounding each individual coach, player, and specific in-game situation. But, come on, 120 pitches is 120 pitches. I’ll do my best to stay off the soapbox for now, instead opting to just report on pitcher abuse when it happens. You see the names, you see the numbers…let’s see what happens next.
- The weekend saw plenty of excellent pitching performances, but we only have time to highlight the best of the best.
Out of all the players I inputed data for this weekend, Erik Stavert (Oregon) had the highest number of groundball outs. Stavert recorded 19 outs on balls in play, 15 of them on the ground.
Dallas Keuchel (Arkansas) shut down a good Florida lineup with the following line: 7 IP 4 H 1 ER 1 BB 9 K (9 GO/2 AO)
Kyle Blair (San Diego) was outdueled by the next player on our list, but his complete game line deserves props all the same: 8 IP 7 H 1 ER 1 BB 9 K (10 GO/6 AO)
Ryan Berry (Rice) clearly lives to to make me look stupid. It seems like every time I comment on how I like him but don’t love him, he goes out and does something like this: 9 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 8 K (11 GO/6 AO/3 LO)
The most dominating performance of the weekend belonged to Anthony Ranaudo (Louisiana State): 6 IP 6 H 3 ER 3 BB 13 K. Thirteen strikeouts in six innings is pretty impressive, sure, but how he did it was what made it fun. First five batters – KKKKK. Then a dropped foul ball followed by a walk. Next four batters – KKKK. Ranaudo’s first nine outs came via the strikeout. Through three innings the man had 9 strikeouts. I think it works better visually when ripped right from the game log:
Kentucky 1st - C. Bisson struck out looking (0-2). N. Johnson struck out swinging (1-2). K. Wiley struck out swinging (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.Kentucky 2nd - B. Kapteyn struck out swinging (2-2). C. Wright struck out swinging (1-2). Dropped foul ball, E2. M. Nidiffer walked (3-2). C. Farris struck out swinging (3-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB. Kentucky 3rd -C. Wade struck out swinging (3-2).
A. Burns struck out looking (2-2).
C. Bisson struck out looking (2-2).
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors,0 LOB.
2009 MLB Draft: Top 15 College Righthanded Pitchers (5-2)
Better late than never, right? The righthanded pitchers listed below comprise 5 of the top 8 prospects ranked on the College Big Board 1.0. If you’re a fan of a team picking in the top half of round one, these are five names to know forwards and backwards. We continue the countdown of college righthanded starting pitching prospects with the players ranked 5 through 2 (who will be number one??????)…after the jump. (more…)
2009 MLB Draft: Top 15 College Righthanded Pitchers (10-6)
And we’re back. We started the countdown of the top 15 draft-eligible righthanded college pitchers yesterday with 15 through 11. One thing I forgot to mention when players 15-11 were unveiled yesterday was that the list is restricted only to righthanded college starting pitching prospects – it’s a no reliever zone here. The bullpen guys will get their own special ranking at a later date. The top 10 through 6 draft-eligible college righthanded starting pitching prospects right after a very special picture. See, the young woman pictured below isn’t just making an appearance because showing pretty girls is an easy way to increase traffic; no, I’m far too classy a gent to stoop to that level. She is actually the significant other of the player used as a comparison to the sixth ranked player on the list. Hmm…
Photo Credit: DramaWiki
10 through 6 after the jump… (more…)
2009 MLB Draft: Top 15 College Righthanded Pitchers (15-11)
Ahhh, actual content. Get your work week off started off right by perusing the first third of the 2009 Rule 4 Draft’s finest draft-eligible college righthanded pitchers. Make sure to check back throughout the week as we count down to the number one spot. I won’t reveal too much information about our number one college righty, except to say that he could potentially be referred to as S. Strasburg. No, wait – too obvious. Let’s just call him Stephen S. Yeah, that’s much better. College righthanders 15 through 11 right after this stunning picture our 11th ranked righty…
Photo Credit: Juan Blas/The Daily Gamecock
College Mid-Week Update; Mike Leake vs. Kyle Gibson
What do you do when you don’t have a college team profile or a positional prospect ready to post? You’re about to find out! Who am I kidding, the title of the post is a dead give away. Time for an update on all the college action that’s gone down from Tuesday to Thursday. It’s an easy way to fill space and, really, isn’t that what the internet is all about? At it’s core, it always comes back to filling up space, one way or another.
Of course, combing through box score after box score, compiling information, and then trying to think of the occasional witty remark to break up the string of numbers takes a lot longer than it should. Longer than it would probably take to finish up a college profile or a prospect list. Hmm. Consider this way more than just filler (ignore the tag!), but rather a labor of love. Alright, I need to wrap this up. They say if the intro is too long then people will tune out and click away. They also say that if the intro is too boring, people won’t even bother ever coming back. What if it’s too long and too boring? Let’s hope we never find out…
The highlight of the mid-week games was the marquee pitching matchup between two first round rigthanders. I love it when a big pitching matchup lives up to the hype, don’t you?
Mike Leake (Arizona State): 8 IP 1 H 0 ER 1 BB 10 K 11 GO 2 AO
Kyle Gibson (Missouri): 7 IP 5 H 2 ER 0 BB 8 K 9 GO 2 AO 2 LO
Gibson was very good, but Leake was even better. Both players have strong reputations as groundball pitchers and their numbers have backed it up. Gibson’s ground out, air out, and line out ratios through two starts: 15/5/3. Leake’s is even better: 19/3/1. I believe this is the only free resource on the internet that keeps track of such numbers, by the way. I mean, I’m not one to toot my own horn or anything, but it’s always bothered me that college stats were so poorly organized (trying to navigate some of these college box scores is a nightmare) and so well hidden from the public. College Splits is tremendous, but it’s gotten so good that their stats are darn near impossible to gain access to. Long story short, I’m just trying to do my part. Oh yeah, Gibson and Leake are good. Gibson was 5th on the Big Board and Leake was 11th.
And now for something totally different. Bob Revesz is an interesting lefthanded starter for Louisville (draft-eligible sophomore, iffy fastball, plus slider) who has one of the finer “Personal” facts on a team website I’ve ever seen. Normally when I say interesting, I mean it as an intentionally vague “player with an actual big league future” general comment. While Revesz does fit the profile of an “interesting” prospect — he looks like a good bet to make it in pro ball as a left reliever, at worst — he also fits the profile as, well, an “interesting” character. According to the Louisville team website, Revesz “once drank a cube of Mountain Dew in one night.” Really.
After the jump, all of the most important Tuesday and Wednesday adventures in college prospectdom recapped for your reading pleasure. (more…)
2009 College Baseball Opening Weekend – Little Bit of Everything Version
Quick spin around college baseball’s opening weekend. A whole bunch of Friday starters (and relievers) were already covered, so let’s take a look at some of the most meaningful hitting performances of the weekend. Of course, since I can’t resist, I threw some interesting pitching lines in at the bottom. Small sample size caveats apply, as always. (more…)
2009 College Baseball Opening Night – A Pitching Retrospective
A look back on the pitching highlights from college baseball’s opening night. It’s not a comprehensive look back, it’s not an ultra-scouty look back, it’s not even an analytical look back. It’s just a quick and dirty review of how an assorted sampling of some of the very best arms in college baseball performed on Friday, February 20th. Before we get to all the recappy goodness, how about a recap of not how baseball players actually played, but of the work some dorky draft website did?
Who among us can resist the allure of the Big Board? The Top 50 College Draft-Eligibles are HERE, HERE, HERE!
How about a look at teams comprised of the best players from each college class, including the most mysterious and overlooked group of them all? The best college players available in 2010 and 2011 were also given the corny “All _____ Team treatment. We couldn’t ignore the men already caught behind the age relative to league minor league eightball, could we? Wouldn’t dare dream of it. Lastly, why not make yourself familiar with players who are actually relevant to this upcoming year’s upcoming draft by reading about the country’s best draft-eligible sophomores (sans middle infielders)…
I promise I won’t keep linking to myself like that. It’s tacky, I know. It’s just that the site is new, readership is slowly coming along and I don’t want anybody left behind, and, well, I’m trying to trick people into reading something other than just the mock draft. I’m not knocking the mock, heck I love it too, but the disproportionate amount of traffic it gets just cracks me up. Enough complaining, let’s get on with the show.
Onward and upward we go, spinning fast and furiously along the college opening night pitching performance review carousel…
Cream of the Crop
Stephen Strasburg (San Diego State): 5.2 IP 3 H 0 ER 2 BB 11 K 4 GO 1 AO 1 LO, 105 pitches
Alex White (North Carolina): 5 IP 8 H 3 ER 1 BB 9 K 5 GO 1 AO 90 pitches
Kyle Gibson (Missouri): 6 IP 3 H 0 ER 3 BB 6 K 6 GO 3 AO 1 LO
Mike Minor (Vanderbilt): 5.2 IP 5 H 2 ER 2 BB 6 K 3 GO 7 AO 1 LO
Kendal Volz (Baylor): 6 IP 2 H 1 ER 2 BB 5 K 9 GO 2 AO
Some really super awesome highly reputable website has these players respectively ranked 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 13th in their draft class, so, yeah, you know they are good. I’m not really sure what I can add to numbers that speak so darn well for themselves. Five pitchers, five good to very good pitching performances, five first rounders and millionaires come June. Yawn. Let’s just talk about Strasburg instead of going into all the nitty gritty details of the other quality starts of the quartet of college stars.
The Daily Aztec had an interesting look at the high school career and subsequent recruitment of the San Diego State ace. I’m not sure what kind of dough Rusty Filter is making, but now might be a good time to ask for a raise. The San Diego Union-Tribune has some pretty cool Strasburg related notes in a recent article, including some pretty weird quotes from an anonymous Phillies scout (“He’s definitely a two-pitch pitcher”…I think it’s meant as a compliment, but I hope the scout realizes he isn’t just a two-pitch pitcher, you know?) and a old flat out admission that I must have missed initially from Jim Bowden that Strasburg will be a National pending something terrible happening. Last but certainly not least, Rich Lederer was actually at the game and offered up this first-hand report of what ole Strasburg looked like on opening day. If you aren’t the type to typically click on a link (like me), I suggest changing your tune and following that one, if you have any interest in the best college player in the country anyway.
You know what I just realized? Every time I try to type out Strasburg’s name, every single time, I make the same typo. Stephen Starsburg. My fingers won’t let me type it any other way without really, really concentrating. I wonder if my hands know know something my fingers don’t…
(In the effort of full disclosure, in the first typing of the paragraph above I inverted letters in both the words “hands” and “know.” So, maybe it’s not a sign of wonderful things to follow for young Strasburg. Maybe it’s just as simple as me being a poor typist…)
Starter or Reliever?
Louis Coleman (LSU): 5 IP 2 H 2 BB 8 K 2 GO 4 AO 74 pitches
Ryan Berry (Rice): 4.2 IP 4 H 5 ER 5 BB 3 K 6 GO 3 AO 1 LO
Preston Guilmet (Arizona): 4 IP 5 H 0 ER 2 BB 6 K 3 GO 2 AO
Brad Boxberger (Southern Cal): 6 IP 1 H 0 ER 6 BB 11 K 2 GO 2 AO 120 pitches
As you can probably ascertain from their lines, all four of the young men listed above started the first game of the season for their respective college teams. Reports have Boxberger’s velocity falling off quickly after the first inning (and again after the second inning), a trend that jives well with his scouting reports heading into the season. While it’s almost always a good thing to exhaust every avenue, boulevard, and throughway that leads to a pitcher starting rather than relieving, you’ve got to wonder if it’s the right thing for a college coach to have a pitcher with professional aspirations tied to potentially being an elite reliever someday throwing 120 pitches in a game. Who am I kidding? You don’t even have to wonder. It’s bad. Research shows us this. Even if you are on the side of the debate that says pitchers are babied and pitch counts are overrated, come on – 120 pitches in the first game of the season? What’s the point? The fact that Boxberger is looked at as a potential reliever by scouts is just icing on the shortsighted, irresponsible cake. If you as a manager can help it, no pitcher should throw 120+ pitches in a single game ever, let alone on February 20th, right? It’s not good for the player and, if you stop and think for a second, it’s not good for the team, either. Is squeezing one extra inning (or two) out of a starting pitcher in a non-conference game so early in the season worth the potential damage an injury or even fatigue could have on the ballclub? Maybe there is more to the story that I simply don’t know, but from where I’m sitting Chad Kreuter has some answering to do.
Phew, I feel a bit better now. As for the other guys, both Berry and Guilmet are no doubt about it college starters who may be converted to relief as professionals. Louis Coleman is an interesting case because he may actually have just good enough stuff to survive professionally as a swingman/special usage long reliever if he shows he can start for LSU. That’s arguably an upgrade over simply topping out as a generic middle reliever, depending on your own personal philosophy on bullpen usage.
Draft-Eligible Youngsters (Sophomores)
Brooks Raley (Texas A&M): 6 IP 5 H 1 ER 1 BB 6 K 3 GO 7 AO 1 LO 79 pitches
Jeff Inman (Stanford): 7 IP 9 H 5 ER 1 BB 3 K 12 GO 4 AO
Hard not to be impressed by Raley’s debut effort, all the way down to the efficient way he went about his business. Inman’s numbers aren’t nearly as pretty, but the strong groundballing start is promising. The groundball numbers fit his scouting profile (strong sinker), but the lack of dominance (namely the poor K/IP rate) is something that needs a turn around this season if Inman wants to get into the first round – a spot in the draft that some think he can rise up to. I don’t buy Inman as a first rounder at all, so I’ll amend that last statement to say I personally he’ll need to show he can put hitters away in college if he wants to be a first three rounder this spring.
2010’s
Deck McGuire (Georgia Tech): 7 IP 3 H 0 ER 1 BB 13 K 3 GO 4 AO
Chris Hernandez (Miami): 6 IP 3 H 1 ER 3 BB 7 K 11 GO 1 AO 95 pitches
Sammy Solis (San Diego): 6 IP 4 H 1 ER 0 BB 9 K 7 GO 1 AO
Let’s combine these lines real quick and take a moment to bask in all it’s young pitchery glory:
19 IP 10 H 2 ER 4 BB 29 K 21 GO 6 AO
That’s good for an ERA of 0.95, a K/9 of 13.74, and a GO/AO ratio of 3.5. Even that Strasburg guy would be jealous of numbers like that. Hernandez is a fascinating prospect (I say that about a lot of guys, don’t I?) in that he has put up tremendous results at Miami in his young career, but lacks traditionally dominating stuff. Perhaps the 11/1 groundball to flyball number is a bit of a clue to how he has been so successful. If I get the time/patience/energy, I’ll have to go through the Miami game logs from last year and see what his 2008 ratio looked like.
New on Campus
Austin Dicharry (Texas): 1 IP 1 H 0 ER 1 BB 2 K 1 GO 0 AO
Sonny Gray (Vanderbilt): 3 IP 3 H 0 ER 1 BB 3 K 5 GO 0 AO
Two pretty sharp collegiate debuts for two of the finest young righties the class of 2011 has to offer. Gray’s 3 innings out of the Vandy pen were especially good, as 8 of his 9 outs recorded were either grounders or strikeouts and his lone walk was an intentional one. I can’t even imagine what it’s like to be a college hitter getting the 1-2 punch of Mike Minor and Sonny Gray all in one afternoon. My head might literally explode. That may sound gross, but keep in mind I’d hopefully be wearing a helmet at the time, so much of the splatter would be contained. I’m not sure how talking about exploding head splatter is any less gross (or anyway related to baseball), so we’ll just quietly pretend I didn’t say that and move on. Oh, and while we are pretending we have to also pretend I don’t have a functional delete key, thus explaining why I decided to keep such a stupid couple of sentences rather than delete them. Make-believe is fun!
Real Deal College Relievers
Scott Bittle (Mississippi): 1 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K 1 GO 1 AO
AJ Griffin (San Diego): 2.1 IP 2 H 0 ER 1 BB 4 K 2 GO 1 AO
Jason Stoffel (Arizona): 1 IP 3 H 1 ER 0 BB 2 K 0 GO 1 AO
Robert Stock (Southern Cal): 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 2 K 1 GO 0 AO 12 pitches
I probably should have this group directly after the “Starter or Reliever” group, but that would require many seconds of copying and pasting that I can ill afford to spend on something so tedious. You see, I’m far more important to be bothered with such foolishness. It’s a much better use of my time to wonder aloud (in print) “What the heck happened to Jason Stoffel on Friday?” I also need the extra seconds to spend time pontificating about the wonderful debut of Robert Stock. Consensus opinion may have turned on you, buddy, but I still think you’re a keeper. Not too many players can get on base three times (including 2 hits, one a double), throw out two runners trying to steal second, and pitch a perfect ninth inning throwing low-90s heat. All that and he’s still only 19? Sign me up.
Random Lefties For Whom I Could Think of No Other Clever Unifying Characteristic
Rob Rasmussen (UCLA): 5 IP 2 H 0 ER 1 BB 5 K 6 GO 3 AO 1 LO
Tanner Robles (Oregon State): 5 IP 3 H 3 ER 4 BB 2 K 7 GO 4 AO 1 LO
Nick Hernandez (Tennessee): 5 IP 9 H 3 ER 1 BB 5 K 4 GO 5 AO
A mixed bag, for sure, but since when are lefthanders anything but? Robles and Hernandez went head to head, with nary a player coming out ahead of the other. Is that the correct way to use “nary”? And I am supposed to put the question mark outside the quotation marks, right? I know a period goes inside, but I’m pretty sure I remember the question mark being an oddball. Not unlike our quirky group of lefties here, see? Ah, full circle. Love that symmetry.
The Baseball Draft Report 