Minorioles Top 20 Prospects: 2015 Edition

February may mean the month of Valentine’s day to some but I’m not one of those people. I’ve chosen to fly solo thus far in my illustrious college career and I intend to keep it that way. Besides, if I were in a relationship, I wouldn’t have the requisite free time to put together my award winning Top 20 Orioles prospect list each February.

I’ve been doing this formally since 2009, but this will be my third I have published online. Previously, I just organized them neatly into a journal, away from the public eye. But, I knew I couldn’t keep my lists hidden away from the outside world forever. That’s when I discovered wordpress, a free blog domain, as a place to voice my opinion about everything you ever possibly wanted to know about the cream of the crop down on the Orioles farm.

And that my friends is what I associate the month of February with. It’s my yearly tradition. Football season is dead and gone and Spring Training games don’t get started until March. College basketball is all I got to pass the time during this lonesome month but that doesn’t complete me. Writing about baseball prospects completes me. It gives something to look forward to. Hope springs eternal when you’re a talented youngster coming through the Orioles farm system. Everyone has a chance, “potential” we call it, to turn into a productive asset for the big club one day.

With prospects, its easy to dream big, even though years later many of them often disappoint as big leaguers. Baseball, after all, is a tough game to master at the highest level. You can’t get by on athleticism alone. With that in mind, I like to give an honest overview in my projections for each prospect in how I see their careers panning out, what they need to do to get there, and what may ultimate prove to hold them back from success at the highest level.

No, I’m not writing a novel here. Let’s get onto the list. This year’s crop lacks depth, especially on the hitting side from previous list I have put together. If you pay attention to what the know-it-all Keith Law has to say over at ESPN – by the way, I’m taking his job one day – you’ll know that he placed the Orioles current minor league crop 22nd out of 30 teams.

That’s a fair assessment actually but it is still important to remember that A) The Orioles graduated two top 100 prospects during the 2014 season in RHP Kevin Gausman and 2B Jonathan Schoop B) The Orioles traded another sure-fire top 100 prospect in LHP Eduardo Rodriguez away to the Red Sox for sidewinding lefty relief stud, Andrew Miller C) The Orioles didn’t have a single pick until the 3rd round in the 2014 MLB Draft because they forfeited their 1st and 2nd round picks to sign Ubaldo Jimenez and Nelson Cruz. They also traded a supplemental 1st round pick away in the trade that brought Bud Norris to the Oriole rotation.

So, its not surprising to see the farm system in its current state, a bottom third tier group of players. That’s the price of winning 96 games. I don’t think anyone’s complaining about that so don’t complain about the minors.

Besides, I offer Orioles fans a silver lining: We still have two of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball named Dylan Bundy (coming to a ballpark near you in 2015) and Hunter Harvey, who’s a few years away but may have an even higher ceiling than Bundy if that change up develops.

I offer you silver lining number two: The Orioles will be getting a nice talent influx from the MLB draft this time around in 2015, considering they are the only team that will pick 4 times within the first 90 picks of the draft. Quite the turnaround.

Silver lining number three: The O’s are finally investing heavily into the international free agent market (thank you, Dan Duquette) and have a young third baseman named Jomar Reyes whom many, myself included, think could have a breakout season in 2015 thats establishes him as a Top 100 caliber prospect.

Alrighty, let’s get on to the list…

Without further ado…

20) Branden Kline – RHP – Age: 23

19) Jason Garcia – RHP – Age: 22

18) Drew Dosch – 3B – Age: 23

17) Adrian Marin – SS – Age: 21

16) Parker Bridwell – RHP – Age: 23

15) Josh Hart – CF – Age: 20

14) Tyler Wilson – RHP – Age: 25

13) Mike Yastrzemski – OF – Age: 24

12) Pat Connaughton – RHP – Age: 21

11) David Hess – RHP – Age: 22

10) Brian Gonzalez – LHP – Age: 19

9) Mike Wright – RHP – Age: 25

8) Tim Berry – LHP – Age: 24

7) Dariel Alvarez – RF – Age: 26

6) Jomar Reyes – 3B – Age: 18

5) Christian Walker – 1B – Age: 24

4) Zach Davies – RHP – Age: 22

3) Chance Sisco – C – Age: 20

2) Dylan Bundy – RHP – Age: 22

1) Hunter Harvey – RHP – Age: 20

HM/ Henry Urrutia – OF, Ofelky Peralta – RHP, Jonah Heim – C, Mitch Horacek – LHP, Mychal Givens – RHP, Trey Mancini – 1B, Tanner Scott – LHP, Oliver Drake – RHP, Eddie Gamboa – RHP, Glynn Davis – CF, Michael Almanzar – 3B

Now, the fun part. Over next month and a half, I will create separate and detailed posts that break down each player on this list and link each blog post to the player’s name when I release it. I don’t have time to do it all in one sitting without compromising the quality of analysis. Stay tuned for that. I’m out.

Player Profile: Wesley Wright – LHP

Here’s an overview of the Orioles latest bullpen addition. To discuss this post, please visit this forum link at OriolesHangout.com

Full Name: Dequam LaWesley Wright

DOB: 1/28/85 Age: 29

Hometown: Montgomery, AL

Bats/Throws: R/L

Drafted: 7th Round, 2003

High School: Goshen HS (AL)

Height: 5’10″ Weight: 185

Background: The Orioles signed Wesley Wright to a 1-year, $1.7 MM deal on Dec. 19, that includes a $50 K performance bonus if he appears in 60 games. A seven-year veteran now, Wright has found his groove the over the past four seasons, carrying a 3.25 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 123 ERA+, 8.5 K/9, and 3.2 BB/9 in 166.1 innings pitched. Wright was originally selected in the 7th round out of high school by the Dodgers, pitching mostly as a reliever in their farm system. He’s a rule five success story, having spent his entire rookie season in the Astros bullpen in 2008 after they selected him from the Dodgers farm system.

Strengths: Wright does an above average job with retiring left handed batters and should be a reliable LOOGY in the Orioles bullpen. Over his career, he has struck lefties out at a 26.6% clip along with an outstanding K/9 of 10.24. Lefties have posted a career slash line of .234/.315/.331 which may not be Andrew Miller-esque (sorry) but definitely enough to cut the mustard at the major league level. Fun Fact: Wright did not allow a single extra base hit to lefties last year in 85 plate appearances!

Wright works with a low-90’s two seamer that he loves to puns the bottom half of the zone with. He has averaged an excellent 52.6% groundball rate over his last four years, making him a good fit for Camden Yards. His best pitch is a his plus 83-85 MPH slider that sweeps and slightly changes planes late that he uses as his out pitch. He’ll also work in an upper 70’s sweeping curveball and a mid-80’s changeup. Wright keeps his delivery simple, pitching from stretch with a high 3/4 arm slot. He repeats his mechanics well and has been durable throughout his career, pitching at least 48.1 innings of relief work every season since 2006.

Weaknesses: Wright has a tendency to nibble which can lead to control problems, particularly against right handed batters. He has walked 4.62 batters per 9 innings when facing righties in his career as opposed to a 3.20 BB/9 versus lefties. His career K/9 also dips down to 7.40 versus righties. Despite favorable groundball rates, right handed batters haven’t had too much difficulty squaring up Wright. He has allowed 30 home runs and a .479 slugging percentage to right handed batters in his career. In roughly the same amount of innings pitched to lefties, he’s allowed just 7 home runs and a .331 SLG percentage.

His changeup lacks ideal velocity separation, coming in roughly 5-7 MPH slower than his fastball. Command of the pitch is also erratic but he’ll occasionally flash a plus one with late arm side fade to finish off a batter. Improvement in consistency and quality of this pitch could make him more effective versus righties. His sweeper curveball can get a bit loopy at times but is a decent change-of-pace pitch when spotted low in the zone. After posting K/9’s above 9 the previous two seasons, Wright’s K/9 plummeted to 6.89 in 2014. He remained effective, but still worth mentioning.

Overall Outlook: Wright is a solid average big league reliever. His mediocre control has me hesitant to call him a viable late innings option, but he looks like a reliable LOOGY for middle innings work with – as it stands now – Brian Matusz likely being to go-to guy for a tough lefty later in the game. With Matusz projected for a $2.4 million raise, speculation has emerged that Wright could be a slightly cheaper replacement that allows the Orioles to market Matusz as a trade chip for another outfielder. We shall see if that is the case. Wright is set to hit free agency after the 2015 season. Ultimately, I expect he’ll post his usual solid but unspectacular low-3’s ERA with some upside to be more than that on the off chance he cuts his walk rate way down, given his strikeout stuff.

(Special thanks to the Baltimore Sun, Fangraphs, video footage from MLB.com, and MLB Scouting Reports, for valuable info in putting this together)

Arizona Fall League Recap

Overview:

This year’s edition of the Arizona Fall League featured seven Oriole farmhands, all of whom played for the Glendale Desert Dogs. While not the most exciting group of players the O’s have sent to the AFL, there’s still some potential major league talent in this group worth discussing. The Desert Dogs finished 14-15 and a game out of 1st place in the AFL Western Division.

Here’s a statistical overview of how each player performed along with their current prospect outlook

Zach Davies – RHP – Age: 21 – Final Stats: 3-0, 1.75 ERA, 25.2 IP, 18 H, 5 ER, HR, 10 BB, 23 K, .205 AVG, 3.10 FIP

Davies has been the talk of the town as far Oriole prospects go in the AFL. An Arizona native, I bet this was an exciting experience for both him and his family as well. After allowing 4 ER and 7 BB in 4.2 IP over his first two AFL outings, Davies utterly dominated the rest of the way. He allowed just one earned run over his final 21 innings pitched (0.43 ERA), striking out 21, while walking just 5 batters. It’s a mystery to me how he wasn’t selected to participate in the Fall Stars game on Nov. 3rd.

Davies is undersized and will only top out at 90-91 MPH with his fastball but continues to draw rave reviews for his changeup, which Baseball America recently named the best in the organization. Desert Dogs pitching coach Mike Griffin agreed, stating in a recent interview, “It is a swing-and-miss pitch for me right now based on what I’ve seen out here. That is what he is getting a lot of his strikeouts on, but also some on his curveball. And when hitters wait on his changeup or curveball, the fastball command has improved and he’s locked some hitters up out here with called third strikes on his fastball.” He held his own (10-7, 3.35 ERA, 109 K’s in 110 IP) at AA in 2014 as a 21-year old and has really put himself on the map with this AFL performance as someone who could be a contributor in the back end of the O’s rotation in the near future.

Parker Bridwell – RHP – Age: 23 – Final Stats: 0-1, 7.94 ERA, 11.1 IP, 9 H, 10 ER, 0 HR, 8 BB, 9 K, .209 AVG, 3.89 FIP

The AFL can be a dangerous place for pitchers with command troubles to throw, thanks to the thin Arizona air and the bevy of bandbox type ballpark AFL teams play in. Thus, has been the case for Bridwell, who endured two separate blow up outings (4 H, 3 ER over 1 IP on Oct. 25 and 3 H, 6 ER over 0.1 IP on Nov. 5) while pitching out of bullpen for the Desert Dogs. Those two outings truly inflated an otherwise impressive stat line that netted Bridwell a Fall Stars game nod back on Nov. 3rd. At the time he carried a 3.60 ERA. Alas, consistency continues to plague talented but frustrating Bridwell, who pitched as a starter with Frederick in 2014 to mixed results.

The good news is that, according to Mike Griffin, Bridwell now carries a swing-and-miss pitch in his changeup and has made strides in repeating his delivery. Brian Graham echoed that statement, going so far as to say, “A gigantic step forward. His changeup has become a plus pitch.” Bridwell still needs to prove he can avoid those blowup outings that creeped up on him often at Frederick and show some consistent dominance on the mound. 2015 will be a big year for him, assuming he gets moved up to AA, often considered the “sink-or-swim” level for prospects with question marks.

Mychal Givens – RHP – Age: 24 – Final Stats: 0-2, 3.09 ERA, 11.2 IP, 12 H, 4 ER, 0 HR, 8 BB, 8 K, .273 AVG, 4.04 FIP

Givens has progressed nicely in his transition to relief work, culminating with an opportunity to pitch in the AFL. He can touch mid-90’s with his sinking fastball but his control would be the main red flag in his game right now. He walked 39 batters over 58.2 innings split between Frederick and Bowie in 2014 and those walk issues continued to show up in his small sample of AFL relief work.

According to Desert Dogs pitching coach, Mike Griffin, Givens needs to develop more consistency with repeating his unique low 3/4 arm slot. That will lead to improved control and effectiveness and could make Givens an intriguing weapon, bringing mid-90’s heat with plus movement from a deceptive arm angle. His slider is also a work in progress at this point. Considering this was just his second full season on the mound, there’s still reason to hope Givens can develop into a major league caliber bullpen arm in a few years.

Ashur Tolliver – LHP – Age: 26 – Final Stats: 0-0, 2.70 ERA, 3.1 IP, 3 H, ER, 0 HR, 0 BB, 2 K, .250 AVG, 1.90 FIP

A forgotten man in the Orioles minors, Tolliver didn’t get much work down in Arizona. After his first two relief appearances on Oct. 10th and 14th, the Desert Dogs shut Tolliver down due to a hamstring injury. Tolliver, a live-armed lefty the O’s drafted in the 5th round out of Oklahoma City University back in 2009 has had previous health issues, missing all of 2012. But, he has some major league potential as a LOOGY out of the bullpen.

Michael Ohlman – C – Age: 23 – Final Stats – 12 G, .244/.304/.366 in 41 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 2 2B, 0 3B, 4 BB, 15 K

Ohlman is the lone returnee from last year’s Oriole prospect crop they sent to the AFL. Ohlman entered this year’s edition of AFL baseball with considerably less pizzazz then last year, following his disappointing followup season (.236/.310/.318 with 2 HR in 403 AB at Bowie) to last year’s breakout season (.313/.410/.524 with 13 HR in 363 AB) with Frederick. His AFL showing this time also took a step back from the .290/.476/.774 slash line he posted last Fall.

According to Brian Graham, Ohlman has the necessary skills to stick at catcher, but needs to work on his throwing accuracy and becoming a better receiver. As far as the offense is concerned, Ohlman’s first test of AA ball was really disappointing, especially the sharp decline in power production. He has likely dropped out of the top ten prospect discussion. However, the Orioles remained intrigued by his upside, according to Steve Melewski. Ohlman will probably return to Bowie again next season.

Jason Esposito – 3B – Age: 24 – Final Stats – 23 G, .253/.277/.352 in 91 AB, 23 H, 1 HR, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 BB, 24 K

The former 2nd round pick continues to post the kind of K/BB ratios that would give any moneyball enthusiasts nightmares, but that didn’t stop Esposito from posting a respectable .272/.301/.417 slash line at Frederick this year. Considering his dreadful performance at the plate up to that point, that stat line qualifies as some sort of breakout for him, I guess. It was enough to get him an AFL invite where his plate discipline issues have continued. Esposito also committed 5 errors during AFL play but is generally considered an above average defender at third with excellent range. For what it’s worth, he did win the MILB gold glove award for the position in 2014. He made some headlines in the Desert Dogs final game of the season, delivering a go-ahead two run triple.

Esposito did obliterate lefties at Frederick in 2014 (.356/.396/.576) but struggled to produce versus righthanders (.237/.262/.352). That extreme split continued in AFL play where Esposito batted .348/.375/.478 versus lefties and .221/.243/.309 against righties. Those sharp platoon splits remind me of former Oriole third baseman, Danny Valencia. Perhaps, that is Esposito’s upside if he continues to make strides at the plate in AA next year.

Garabez Rosa – INF – Age: 25 Final Stats – 21 G, .308/.337/.462 in 78 AB, 24 H, 3 HR, 3 2B, 0 3B, 4 BB, 16 K

Rosa put together a fine AA campaign in 2014 with little to no fanfare, but clearly the Orioles brass took notice when they decided to include him on AFL roster. He’s an average prospect who’s upside is likely a utility player in the majors, but that’s more than we could reasonably say about him this time last year. He put together an impressive showing the AFL but the main knock against him continues to be that he lacks the plate discipline to produce at higher levels. While he can play a multitude of positions, he’s considered a marginal defender at best at SS and 2B and spent a lot of time in the OF this year, where his bat has less value.

Final Thoughts:

Davies is clearly the shining star of this group, and one has to be pretty encouraged with his AFL performance. He doesn’t get nearly the hype he is starting to deserve (outside of OH where he is ranked as the No.4 prospect in the system). He’ll likely pitch at AAA in 2015 as a 22-year old and could knock on the big league doors at some point if he continues to progress on the mound.

While Ohlman and Bridwell have their flaws, the O’s remain intrigued by their upside. It’s a longshot at this point but Givens has closer potential. After those three, the rest of this group look like potential role players if they pan out, or likely AAA depth players.

 

Orioles Sign…Brian Gonzalez – LHP

	Born: 10/25/1995	Age: 18
	Height: 6’3″	Weight: 230 lbs
	Bats/Throws: R/L	HS: Archbishop McCarthy (FL)
	Drafted: 3rd Round, 2014	Signing Bonus: $700,000
	And with the first pick of the 2014 draft the Orioles drafted a first baseman who moonlights as a pitcher. Joking aside, it was a bit strange to see the O’s draft someone listed as a first baseman by Baseball America. But, I trust the eyes of our scouts over a well-informed, well-intentioned but not necessarily accurate magazine and with good reason. Gonzalez is a burly high school lefty with an advanced feel for pitching and a quality changeup. He signed rather quickly and is ready to show us what he can do in the GCL this Summer.

Scouting Report

Primer: (20 = Terrible, 30 = Well Below Average, 40 = Mediocre, 45 = Slightly Below Average, 50 = Major League Average, 55 = Flashes Above Average, 60 = Above Average, 65 = Flashes Plus, 70 = Plus, 80 = Plus-Plus/Elite)

• Fastball: 40/50 – Not much projection in terms of velocity; sits upper 80’s, topping out in low 90’s with average life; A potential average MLB fastball
• Slider: 35/55 – Mediocre offering by pro standards at the moment but throws it for strikes and could develop into average offering with time.
• Changeup: 45/65 – Mid 70’s; Shows good feel for spotting the pitch and it flashes good depth and fade; a potential plus offering with continued refinement.
• Command: 45/65 – Advanced feel for pitches leads me to think he can develop above average, possibly plus command.
• Control: 50/70 – Controls the strike zone well with his three pitches; Should post above average walk per nine rates as he develops his craft.

Overall outlook: Gonzalez looks like a solid value to me for the Orioles in the 3rd round. He’s actually quite polished as far as high school pitchers go and should be ready to make the jump right into full season ball with Delmarva next year. For now, he will pitch in the GCL this Summer although I wouldn’t rule out a few appearances with the Ironbirds too. I like that he has an advanced changeup, a starter’s build, and good command. We’ll see how whether his breaking ball develops and whether he adds a tick or two to his fastball. Gonzalez may see more scrutiny than the typical 3rd round pick due to his status as the Orioles first pick of the draft. Those expecting him to develop into a blue chip prospect may be disappointed. However, Gonzalez is still a solid prospect who likely rates among the top 20 in the system and projects as a workhorse number four starter if everything breaks right.

 

Here is an audio interview courtesy of Brett Hollander with Gonzalez. Gonzalez mentions working on “leaning out” and building muscle onto his burly frame as something he wants to work on. He also describes himself as a “command guy” who likes to spot up with his fastball and mentions Cole Hamels and Johan Santana as pitchers he’d like to emulate. Good answers.

Prospect Comparison: This comparison may not be much help unless you are familiar with Reds prospects but David Holmberg is the one name that keeps popping into my head as a similar pitcher. Holmberg was drafted in the 2nd round out of high school and like Gonzalez is a 6’2, 225 pound lefty with advanced command of an average fastball and above average changeup. He made his MLB debut last year with the Diamondbacks and still projects as a back of the rotation starter.

Statistics (Archbishop McCarthy HS) – Fun Fact: Gonzalez threw back-to-back no hitters this season. Kid knows how to pitch.

Year	Age	Class	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	HR	BB	K	AVG	WHIP	BB/9	K/9
2014	18	Senior	0.50	17	10	69.1	—	—-	—-	129	——	——–	——-	—–

 

Possible Picks for the Orioles in the 3rd Round

Welcome to the 2014 MLB draft where the Orioles 3rd rounder will receive as much attention as it ever will with it being their first pick of the draft.

Day one has concluded and we are just 15 picks away from No. 90, the Orioles first selection in the draft.

For all the draft junkies out there that have been paying attention to the names of interest 100-to-200 players deep like myself, who stands out to you as a possible fit for the Orioles at No. 90?

It’s a tough one predict as at this stage of the draft as the list of potential candidates for this pick is big and opinions vary on who’s a 3rd round talent and who’s not.

But for discussion’s sake, I thought I’d list several names that I like.

(I’m no expert at this and I’ll be thoroughly impressed at my guesswork if one of the following player’s I mention actually gets taken by by the Orioles at pick 90)

Chris Ellis – RHP – Ole Miss

Really like this kid for the 3rd round. Hope he’s still on the board. Command needs improvement and slider is below average but I like the plus fastball and changeup.

Jace Fry – LHP – Oregon State

Polished lefties that put up stellar results in the Pac-12 seem like “safe” picks to me. Fry’s upside may only be a 4th starter but he’s a good value for the 3rd round and may have a chance at reaching that upside rather quickly.

Aaron Brown – LHP/OF – Pepperdine

One of the better two way athletes in the country. His future is on the mound where he has three solid average pitches and pitched very well for the Waves this year. The possibility of a slight boost in stuff while concentrating on pitching full time intrigues me.

Brian Anderson – 2B/OF – Arkansas

He can hit and still has some projection in his power tool. I’m intrigued by his offensive minded second baseman profile if he can stick there. May also be an option at third with his athleticism and arm strength.

Jeren Kendall – CF

Kendall is an absolute burner and looks like a potential plus defender in center. His offensive profile is similar to Josh Hart in my opinion so he might be someone Gary Rajsich (who raved about Hart before and after draft day last year) is looking at if available.

Casey Soltis – RF

Soltis has a real nice looking left handed swing and could develop a plus hit tool in my opinion. He’s not a real toolsy athlete but has enough arm for right and could be a nice find in the 3rd round. Maybe a Nick Markakis-light

Keaton McKinney – RHP

What I like about McKinney is that he features one of the best changeups in the prep class and a low 90’s fastball with movement too. Drawbacks are concerns about his arm action and mediocre breaking ball but I like his durable 6’5, 220 pound frame and think he has a chance at a mid-rotation ceiling.

Cobi Johnson – RHP

I like his projectable frame, bloodlines (Dad pitched in bigs, now a roving instructor with Blue Jays) and advanced feel for pitching.

Boom/Bust high school pitcher…

Dylan Cease – RHP

The upside play, Cease has one of the livelier arms in this class but an elbow injury that has kept him out since March dropped his stock. If available and his bonus demands aren’t unreasonable, he could be a worthy gamble for the O’s. If not, pass.

2014 MLB Draft: The Outfield

In honor of this underrated 80’s classic rock band, here’s a brief overview of the names of interest in the 2014 draft at the outfield position!

High School

1) Derek Hill – OF, 6’2, 190, R/R, Sacramento, CA

The top prep outfielder in the 2014 class projects a mid-1st round talent to me.

2) Monte Harrison – OF, 6’2, 195, R/R, Lee’s Summit, MO

Tremendous athlete; Can he hit, though. Bigtime football commit too.

3) Michael Gettys – OF, 6’2, 205, R/R, Gainesville, GA

Strong, athletic with good looking swing and plus arm. Chance stardom if hitting skills improve.

4) Braxton Davidson – RF/1B, 6’3, 215, L/L, Arden, NC

Big kid with huge power potential and nice looking lefty swing. May have to move to first.

5) Marcus Wilson – OF – 6’2, 175, R/R, Los Angeles, CA

Toolsy type that scouts love. Will the skills develop?

6) Gareth Morgan – RF – 6’4″, 225, R/R, Toronto, ON

Big kid. Could be sleeper because he’s a Canadian. Really like his power upside. Boom or bust as a hitter.

7) Matt Railey – OF – 5’11, 195, L/L, Tallahasee, FL

Short, compact with chance for above average power and speed.

8) Casey Soltis – OF, 6’1, 190, L/L, Livermore, CA

Tools aren’t exceptional but this kid has a great looking swing and looks like he’ll hit. Could be real nice value in 3rd round.Carl Chester

9) Jeren Kendall – OF – 5’10, 175, L/R, Holmen, WI

Speedster may be in play for the O’s 1st pick. Top draft prospect in Wisconsin. Can’t hit for power, though.

10) Adam Haseley – OF/LHP – 6’0, 180, L/L, Windermere, FL

Good looking two way athlete with UVA commit. Power upside is average but kid has good feel for hitting and live arm.

Others/ Lane Thomas – Tennessee commit has solid tools across the board.

Zach Sullivan – Another good athlete with raw skills. From NY, and committed to Stony Brook.

John Littell – OF – Good athlete that is pure projection at this point; 4th-6th round type IF he wants to sign.

Trenton Kemp – CF – Talented athlete with raw hitting skills

College

1) Brad Zimmer – OF – San Francisco – 6’4, 185, L/R

Best all-around college outfielder, IMO. Should stick in center and I think the power will eventually come. Mid-1st rounder for me.

2) Michael Conforto – LF – Oregon State – 6’2, 215, L/R

Should hit for average and post decent power totals. A “moneyball” type of hitter who draws a shit ton of walks. Limited to LF defensively.

3) Derek Fisher – OF – Virginia, 6’3, 210, L/R

One of the best athletes in this class. Stats haven’t quite matched tools hype at UVA. Team that still believe in upside may pop him in late 1st round.

4) Mike Papi – OF – Virginia, 6’3, 210, L/R

Opposite of Fisher. Not a toolsy type. A “moneyball” type with excellent approach at plate and good power.

5) Dylan Davis – RF – Oregon State, 6’0, 215, R/R

An offensive minded corner OF like his teammate Conforto, except he can touch mid 90’s on the mound too.

6) Jordan Luplow – RF – Fresno State, 6’1, 195, R/R

Showed ability to hit form some power and average and has risen up draft boards this Spring. Not standout tools wise but could become a solid-average MLB regular.

7) Greg Allen – CF – San Diego State, 6’0, 180, S/R

A speedster and potential leadoff hitter. Has simple contact oriented approach at plate. Little power upside, only drawback. Should stick in CF.

8) Nick Torres – OF – Cal Poly, 6’1, 220, R/R

Primary run producer for Cal Poly’s nationally ranked squad. Corner OF with good feel for making hard contact. Could be a regular if he taps into raw power more.

9) Austin Cousino – OF – Kentucky, 5’10, 185, L/L

He’s a “gamer” which counts for something. Average glove in center but should stick there. Decent hitter with ocassional pop.

10) Hunter Cole – RF/3B – Georgia, 6’3, 200, R/R

Cole had a good Spring for the struggling Bulldogs. Has long swing but does produce consistent contact and above average pop.

Others/

Austin Slater – OF – Stanford

Tanner English – CF – South Carolina, 5’11, 175, L/L

Potential 4th outfielder type for me. Bat is eh, but great running speed and plus defense in center.

Brandon Downes – OF – Virginia

Michael Suchy – RF/1B – Florida Gulf Coast, 6’4, 225, R/R

Has some big time pop, but may have plate discipline issues against advanced competition. Solid athlete with good arm.

 

Slade’s Weekend College Baseball Roundup (May 16-18)

We’ve reached our destination. Regular seasons are (mostly) over and conference tourneys are wrapping up this week as we inch closer to the NCAA tournament and MLB Draft in June.

In just ONE WEEK, the NCAA selection show will be airing on ESPNU at 1:00 ET. I will be giddy like a school girl when that day comes and play the “Happy Song” all morning in anticipation. Actually, 6 days now, but it was one week when I typed this. Whatever. Just set your calendar’s next Monday, May 26th at 1:00 ET for the NCAA selection show if you consider yourself a college baseball fan. If you don’t, perhaps you shouldn’t be reading my column…

Oregon State remains at number one which no one should argue after they settled the regular season race in the Pac-12 with a series win over No. 13 Washington.

Baseball America also released mock draft 2.0 recently if you haven’t checked it out. Interestingly, they have Carlos Rodon back in play for No. 1 overall whereas a recent Keith Law mock draft projected him at No. 4 to the Cubs.

Here are the other highlights from around the country.

(ACC Highlights)

Note: ACC Conference Tournament begins today…

Atlantic Division Regular Season Champion: No. 6 Florida State (41-14, 21-9 ACC) – The Noles capped off the regular season with a series win over Duke. Sophomore OF D.J. Stewart finished the season with a conference leading .362 average and 7 home runs and was named ACC Player Of The Year.

Coastal Division Regular Season Champion: No. 11 Miami (40-15, 24-6 ACC) – Here’s a potential Omaha team considering the ‘Canes are 27-3 over their last 30 games. They won the series with North Carolina to finish the season while Junior LHP Chris Diaz (9-0, 2.92 ERA, 7.85 K/9) and 1B Zach Collins (.285/.404/.520, 8 HR) were named ACC Pitcher and ACC Freshman of the year respectively.

Biggest Surprise: Maryland (34-19, 15-14 ACC) – Winners of nine straight, my Maryland Terrapins improbably finished in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division and look primed to end their embarrassing 43-year NCAA tournament drought.

Biggest Disappointment: NC State (32-22, 13-17 ACC) – No doubt about this one. The Wolfpack were supposed to be the team that finished in 2nd, not Maryland. Instead, they barely made the ACC tournament with a 5th place finish.

(American Highlights)

Going into the weekend Louisville and UCF were tied for the conference lead…

Regular Season Champion – No. 5 Louisville (43-13, 19-5 AAC) – The Cardinals pulled off a crucial sweep of Cincinnati to steal away the regular season crown from UCF, who had led all season but dropped to 2nd with a series loss to UConn over the weekend. How’s that for weekend drama?

Hitter Of The Week: James Vasquez – 1B – UCF – Vasquez hit .533 and drove 5 runs and finished with a .340 average and 6 home runs on the season.

Pitching Juggernaut: No. 12 Houston (41-14, 14-9 AAC) – The Cougars end the regular season with a Team ERA of 2.04, good for best in the nation.

Note: The American conference tournament gets under way tomorrow.

(Big 12 Highlights)

Regular Season Champion: No. 7 Oklahoma State (41-14, 18-6 Big 12) – The Cowboys barely edged out No. 20 TCU (38-15, 17-7 Big 12) to take down the Big 12 regular season crown with a big in-state series win with Oklahoma.

From First To Worst: Kansas State (25-30, 5-19 Big 12) – They hosted an NCAA regional last year. Now, the Wildcats are riding the cellar. We call that parody.

(Big West Highlights)

Regular Season Champion: No. 4 Cal Poly (45-10, 19-5 Big West) – The Mustangs rolled down the stretch to pass UC Irvine (35-19, 15-6 Big West) in the standings and cap off their historically good season with a 1st place regular season title.

Player Spotlight: Jimmy Allen – 3B – He garnered National Hitter of the Week recognition for his three-homer weekend.

Biggest Disappointment: Cal State Fullerton (28-20, 11-10 Big West) – Perhaps, the biggest one in college baseball, considering the Titans were a pre-season No. 1 in some polls but are now squarely on the bubble for the NCAA at-large picture.

(Mid-Major Highlights)

Stony Brook (33-16, 18-5 America East) got the best of Hartford (after potential top ten pick Sean Newcomb tossed a gem for Hartford in Game 1) for a series win finish that determined the regular season winner. The Seawolves could be a tourney sleeper (again) if they win their tournament.

St. Louis (32-19, 18-7 A-10) ultimately won a heated race for the regular season crown. Top prospect James Norwood finished 8-1 with a 2.43 ERA and 62 K’s in 89 IP.

Another highly heated race took place in the A-Sun where Florida Gulf Coast (36-20, 19-8 A-Sun) edged out pre-season favorite Mercer (38-15, 18-9 A-Sun) and Kennesaw State (33-21, 17-9 A-Sun) for the regular season crown. All three of those teams have a chance at earning NCAA bids.

On Fire: No. 18 Indiana – The Hoosiers rolled through the Big Ten and are in a good position to nab a regional host bid with their strong No. 4 RPI rating. The Hoosiers carry one of my favorite threesomes of impact college bats in the country in 2B Dustin Demuth (.385/.459/.547, 5 HR), 1B Sam Travis (.357/.420/.582, 10 HR), and potential 1st rounder C Kyle Schwarber (.340/.450/.615, 10 HR).

Entering The Rankings: No. 30 Dallas Baptist (36-18, 14-7 MVC) – The Patriots have made noise in the NCAA’s recently and look primed to get another appearance. They swept Southern Illinois over the weekend and make their debut in the Top 30 at the right time of the season.

The C-USA announced their conference award winners: Aramis Garcia – C – FIU and Chase Mallard – RHP – UAB.

 No. 28 Liberty (39-14, 23-3 Big South) – The Flames dominated the Big South this year and should be a lock for the NCAA tournament regardless of what happens in the Big South tourney. They could make some noise in the regionals, especially with top draft prospect RHP Ashton Perritt (11 saves, 1.73 ERA, 9.0 K/9) closing.

Nation’s Strikeout Leader/Helium Alert: Kyle Freeland – LHP – Evansville – You may have noticed in the BA mock draft that Freeland is now being talked of as a potential No. 4 overall pick to the Cubs. He leads the country with 122 strikeouts and his pitching style and microscopic 0.85 BB/9 remind me of Cliff Lee. He’s a big reason why Evansville (34-19, 15-6 MVC) sits atop the conference.

Jackson State has punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament with a win in the SWAC title game.

Western Carolina (37-20, 20-6 SoCon) finished in 1st in the Southern Conference. Top draft prospect RHP Jeremy Null (2.66 ERA, 94.2 IP, 88 K’s) was named SoCon pitcher of the week.

Hot Streakin: No. 23 Sam Houston State (40-15, 22-8 Southland) won 12 consecutive conference games to edge out Nicholls State for the regular season title. Will this be the year the Bearkats make some noise in the NCAA’s?

Most Wins In The Country: No. 2 Louisiana-Lafayette (49-7, 26-4 Sun Belt) – Plenty to rage about in Lafayette these days. The best team in school history looks primed for an Omaha run.

(Pac-12 Highlights)

Must be a “West Coast thing” because the Pac-12 still has one weekend left of conference play and “doesn’t do a conference tournament”. #Weird

Best In The West: No. 1 Oregon State (41-9, 22-5 Pac-12) – We already covered the busy beavers in the intro but, yes they have now surpassed No. 13 Washington (38-13, 20-7 Pac-12) for the conference lead.

Nation’s ERA Leader: LHP Ben Wetzler is sticking it to the Phillies with a 0.84 ERA, good for best in the nation. He also leads the nation with a .146 opponent batting average.

(SEC Highlights)

Note: SEC Conference tournament gets started today…

SEC East Regular Season Champion: No. 14 Florida (37-19, 21-9 SEC) – The Gators finished with the best conference record in the SEC, an impressive feat after their sluggish start to the season.

SEC West Regular Season Champion: No. 16 Ole Miss (40-16, 19-11 SEC) – The Rebels snuck by No. 8 LSU (40-14, 17-11 SEC) with a series win over Texas A&M to sit atop the West.

Entering The Rankings: No. 27 Arkansas (35-21, 16-14 SEC) – Never too late to hit the rankings which the Razorbacks did this week following a sweep of Missouri.

Nation’s Home Run Leader: A.J. Reed – 1B – Kentucky – The potential late 1st rounder finished off his outstanding season with 23 bombs. He also hit .359/.492/.788 with 70 RBI in just 54 games. He’ll run away with SEC player of the year and is my pick for the Golden Spikes Award too.

RHP Aaron Nola is still a projected top ten pick for LSU and finished the year 2nd in the country with 120 K’s, a 1.42 ERA, and just 60 hits allowed in 101.2 innings.

(Photo By: Cal Poly Athletics)

Hitter Of The Week: Jimmy Allen – 3B – Cal Poly

Like I mentioned earlier, Allen had a big three homer weekend for the Mustangs. He had just two all year entering the series. He also set a Cal Poly career hit record with his 244th hit over the weekend. The Senior third baseman isn’t a hot draft prospect but has a been a steady veteran cog on this dominant squad all season and will likely hear his named called late in the draft.

(Photo By: Ashley Landis)

Pitcher Of The Week: Dillon Peters – LHP – Texas

No-no alert! Dillon Peters, a junior, tossed 7 no-hit innings against Kansas State over the weekend. Relief pitcher Morgan Cooper came on to seal the no-hitter with two perfect innings to close out the game. Peters struck out eight hitters and walked three in his impressive outing. He finished the season with a 6-3 record, 2.27 ERA in 75.1 IP with 68 hits allowed and 50 K’s and could come off the board as early as the 2nd-3rd rounds. In this draft video from MLB.com, he is compared to Rangers lefty Robbie Ross, Jr.

The latest rankings via College Baseball Writers

The latest RPI’s from Boyd’s World

D1 Stat Leaderboard via Boyd’s World

That’s it for this week and this regular season. Stay classy, not crassy, everyone.

Minorioles April HOTSHEET

(To discuss this post, follow this link to OriolesHangout.com where I have a forum thread created)

Welcome back to our first HOTSHEET of the 2014 season. I’m a college student. That means I’ve been swamped with homework assignments, tests, research papers, and final exams for the last month or so. I also met Alshon Jeffery at a bar in Columbia, South Carolina. Interesting April I had.

But, It’s all over. I’ve been set free from my cage to rage and I intend to.

I also now have time to amp up my much needed minor league coverage and start cranking out Orioles HOTSHEET reports, 2014 draft previews on high school and college prospects, and oh yeah, finally get my belated Orioles Top 20 prospect profiles written up. I also wanted to get up a Top 100 list for the entire minors too (like I did last year) and while delayed, I still won’t deny it.

Now, that I’ve informed my ten readers of what’s going down on this site in the near future, let me finish by saying that everything that shows up on here, ends up on OriolesHangout.com too. Therefore, you should become familiar with that website if you haven’t already. I’m kinda the Senior Content Manager over there now.

And I’m not even a Senior in college.

Yet.

On with the HOTSHEET…

Hold up, this is the first HOTSHEET of the year, so let me run down what a HOTSHEET is…

1st Rule of HOTSHEET’S: Always capitalize HOTSHEET

2nd Rule: Don’t forget Rule 1

3rd Rule: I only include those from the Orioles minor leagues whom I consider legitimate major league prospects. So if some 30-year old journeyman is hitting .350 in AA, that’s great and all. But, he’s still in AA for a reason and will not be gracing us with his presence on the HOTSHEET.

What is a HOTSHEET you ask? It is a top ten list of all the hottest hitters and pitchers from the Orioles minor leagues.

Let me rephrase that. It is a top ten list which Oriole hitters and pitchers have been performing the best lately.

What about the worst? We have a thing for those guys too. It’s called the Not Sheet.

Notice how I un-capitalized that. I mention those guys at the end of the column in a very disparaging manner. Not really, I like to be optimistic about all the Orioles farmhands, event he strugglers.

Okay, without further ado, here’s the HOTSHEET for the month of April…

1) Dariel Alvarez – OF – Bowie Baysox (AA)

Age: 25

Top 20 Rank: 11

April Numbers:

G	AVG	AB	H	HR	RBI	2B	3B	BB	SO	OBP	SLG	OPS
27	.366	112	41	5	25	11	0	2	8	.379	.598	.978

Alvarez appears to be the latest Cuban sensation to hit the Orioles minor leagues. He’s off to a sensational start at AA with the only knock I can think of is his the low walk rate. But he’s stroking the ball and has struck out in just 6.8% of his plate appearances, which is kind of amazing. He will likely be promoted to Norfolk midway through the year if this level of production continues.

2) Christian Walker – 1B – Bowie Baysox (AA)

Age: 23

Top 20 rank: 16

April Numbers:

G	AVG	AB	H	HR	RBI	2B	3B	BB	SO	OBP	SLG	OPS
29	.325	120	39	6	24	3	1	8	26	.364	.517	.881

Christian Walker has been lighting it up down at AA which he’ll need to continue as a bat first prospect that’s limited to first base defensively. Despite the strikeout percentage jump, I’m glad to see my favorite Gamecock prospect showing more home run pop this season as well.

3) Hunter Harvey – RHP – Delmarva Shorebirds (Low A)

Age: 19

Top 20 rank: 3

April Numbers:

GS	W	L	ERA	IP	H	HR	BB	K	AVG	GB%	FIP
5	1	1	2.08	26	14	1	13	29	.163	48.3%	3.43

Command issues for the talented young stud have arose at times but its clear that his premium fastball-curveball combo have been #ToMuchToHandle for the majority of the Sally league hitters he has faced, evidenced by his opponent batting average and strikeout rate.

4) Steven Brault – LHP – Delmarva Shorebirds (Low A)

Age: 22

Top 20 Rank: 17

April Numbers:

GS	W	L	ERA	IP	H	HR	BB	K	AVG	GB%	FIP
5	2	2	3.21	28	25	0	8	26	.240	38.8%	2.31

He can sing the national anthem and pitch in the same game. That’s called efficiency. Brault entered the year as a sleeper among Oriole prospect die-hards and the early returns look very promising at Delmarva. He’s a touch old for the level though, so I’d imagine he’ll get bumped up to the Keys relatively soon if he continues to pitch effectively.

5) Glynn Davis – CF – Frederick Keys (High A)

Age: 23

Top 20 Rank: HM

April Numbers:

G	AVG	AB	H	HR	RBI	2B	3B	BB	SO	OBP	SLG	OPS
25	.365	104	35	0	14	6	2	9	25	.421	.462	.883

Davis has been lighting it up down at Frederick and while the lack of power numbers still sticks out, he has shown a much more comfortable approach at the plate and has been making consistent line drive contact. Always good to see the Maryland native’s doing well.

6) Tyler Wilson – RHP – Bowie Baysox (AA)

Age: 23

Top 20 Rank: 20

April Numbers:

GS	W	L	ERA	IP	H	HR	BB	K	AVG	GB%	FIP
6	4	1	3.42	34.2	40	3	6	42	.278	49.5%	2.42

The crafty righthander is off to a great start at Bowie and currently leads the Orioles farmhands in strikeouts. His improved groundball rate sticks out to me as well which suggests that he is commanding the lower half of the strike zone supremely well.

7) Branden Kline – RHP – Frederick Keys (High A)

Age: 22

Top 20 Rank: HM

April Numbers:

GS	W	L	ERA	IP	H	HR	BB	K	AVG	GB%	FIP
6	2	1	2.36	34.1	30	1	9	24	.278	44.8%	2.97

Branden Kline off to an encouraging start with the Keys after his season was cut short in 2013 due to an ankle injury.

8) Mike Wright – AAA – (Norfolk Tides)

Age: 23

Top 20 Rank: 8

April Numbers:

GS	W	L	ERA	IP	H	HR	BB	K	AVG	GB%	FIP
5	0	0	2.86	28.1	28	1	8	22	.259	42.5%	3.16

Wright is quietly putting up solid outings at Norfolk and is just a phone call away from Baltimore now at AAA.

9) Sebastian Vader – RHP – Delmarva Shorebirds (Low A)

Age: 21

Top 20 Rank: HM

April Numbers:

GS	W	L	ERA	IP	H	HR	BB	K	AVG	GB%	FIP
5	3	1	3.06	32.1	28	3	5	26	.228	49%	3.26

“Darth” Vader makes his debut appearance on the HOTSHEET. The early returns from his full season debut look promising, suggesting that the projectable right hander may have seen a bump in stuff since last season. I’ve yet to see him in person so I can’t confirm that speculation.

10) Kevin Gausman – RHP – Norfolk Tides (AAA)

Age: 23

Top 20 Rank: 1

April Numbers:

GS	W	L	ERA	IP	H	HR	BB	K	AVG	GB%	FIP
5	0	1	2.86	21.1	21	1	11	20	.266	48.4%	3.48

Will we be seeing KG in Baltimore soon? The answer is no for now. He’s on the minor league DL due to pneumonia but should be ready to go sometime in next few weeks. He’s been solid, but not exactly dominant either, so there’s no reason to rush him back up to Baltimore just because a segment of the fanbase has it in for Wei-Yin Chen, Miguel Gonzalez, and/or Bud Norris.

The Not Sheet…Uh Oh…

Henry Urrutia – RF – AAA – .220/.250/.293 in 82 at bats – One of the more discouraging stories of the minor league season is Big Hank’s early season struggles at Norfolk. Fresh off winning Orioles minor league hitter of the year, Hank had held high expectations coming into the 2014 season, especially with his 25 pound weight addition in the offseason that hoped to spawn more power production. He has yet to homer, and carries an ugly 4-to-23 BB/K ratio in 82 at bats. AND, he’s now on the DL with an abdominal strain.

Suk-Min Yoon – RHP – AAA – 0-4, 7.96 ERA, .397 AVG – I think Yoon takes the crown for the most discouraging story so far on the minor league front. The Taiwanese import, signed to a three year deal in the offseason, held somewhat high expectations coming to Baltimore. His stay down at Norfolk was supposed to be a “tune-up” as he acclimated to American baseball, but has instead been a series of disastrous stinkbomb outings that will prevent him from pitching in an Orioles uniform anytime soon.

Eduardo Rodriguez – LHP – AA – E-Rod, the Orioles No. 5 prospect according to me, is currently on the DL with a sprained knee. However, prior to the DL landing, he wasn’t exactly dominating, showing inconsistent command of his arsenal while pitching to a 6.75 ERA in three starts.

Michael Ohlman – C – AA – .169/.288/.202 in 89 at bats – Ohlman had a huge breakout year at Frederick in 2013 which catapulted him into the top ten Oriole prospects by most evaluators. His adjustment to AA has been rough so far, which isn’t what we like to see from a prospect whose value is mostly tied in with his bat, considering his questionable defensive skills at catcher.

Parker Bridwell – RHP – A+ – 0-4, 6.60 ERA, .308 AVG – Bridwell has a good fastball and a “loose arm” but continues to show little feel for pitch command. I still think his ultimate destination is the bullpen if he’s to make it to the majors.

Chance Sisco – C – A – .245/.302/.306 in 49 at bats – Sisco, not to be confused with Sisqo, is off to a sluggish start with the Shorebirds and has struck out 17 times already in 49 at bats. He’s currently on the DL.

Conor Bierfeldt – RF – A – .149/.288/.253 in 87 at bats – Bierfeldt has been whiffing at everything under the sun lately and is looking more like an organizational slugger than a legitimate prospect, but I’ll give him more time before completely writing him off.

Becoming A Prospect?

Garabez Rosa – UTL – Bowie Baysox (AA)

Steve Melewski had a great writeup yesterday on Rosa that’s worth a read. He’s been around seemingly forever in the Orioles minor leagues but is still just 24 years old. He’s never hit for a high average and has always had extremely questionable plate discipline…until now? He stroked the ball throughout April (.356/.374/.517, 2 HR) and could be on his way to a breakout season that puts him on the prospect radar as a potential utility infielder in the majors.

Jimmy Yacabonis – RHP – Delmarva Shorebirds (A)

Yacabonis has been shoving down in Delmarva as the Shorebird closer and didn’t allow a single earned run in the month of April. He throws a 91-94 MPH fastball with great life and mixes in a decent slider too. He could move quickly up the ladder if he continues to dominate.

Dylan Bundy Update:

The Orioles top prospect (depending on who you ask) is still on the mend from TJ surgery but is throwing off the mound and should start pitching in extended Spring Training games by Mid-may according to Roch Kubatko.

Johan Santana Update:

The most recent reports on Santana are that he his velocity continues to inch up and that he touched 87 MPH recently. He is expected to start throwing in extended Spring Training games this upcoming week according to Eduardo Encina.

 

Slade’s Weekend College Baseball Roundup (Apr. 25-27)

Another weekend of college baseball in the books as the month of May approaches us.

Virginia has now held a lockdown on the number one spot in the country for the last month. This week’s RPI update from Boyd’s World has a sleek new format to it that I am loving. No surprise that Virginia is number one in the RPI’s too. Did I mention that the Cavs were my pre-season pick to win the title, thus ending the ACC’s absurd 50+ year title drought? If I haven’t, I just did now. You can hold me to it when somehow no ACC teams make it to Omaha in June.

Indiana, Florida, Ole Miss, and Florida State round out the Top 5. Interesting to see the Hoosiers that at No. 2 but they did play a brutal out of conference slate which likely factors in to their high ranking.

On to the highlights…

(ACC Highlights)

Best Weekend Showdown: No. 1 Virginia (37-8, 18-6 ACC) at No. 6 Florida State (30-9, 17-7 ACC) 

The Cavaliers are the nation’s top team for a reason and they didn’t let the other top dog in the ACC thwart their position as they came away with a huge series win at FSU.

Sweeper Of The Week: Duke (28-17, 15-9 ACC) – The Blue Devils have rolled off nine straight with their weekend sweep of Wake Forest. Many considered them a pre-season sleeper and with good reason.

(American Highlights)

Entering The Rankings: No. 30 Central Florida (28-16, 15-3 AAC) – The Knights continued their 1st place roll by sweeping Rutgers and have finally cracked the writers poll, giving the American three teams in the Top 30.

Sweeper Of The Week: No. 8 Louisville (33-11, 8-4 AAC) – A sweep of UConn pushes the Cardinals back into the top ten.

(Big 12 Highlights)

No. 9 Oklahoma State (31-13, 13-5 Big 12) strengthened their 1st place lead with a huge series win at No. 12 Texas.

Hot Streakin: No. 22 TCU (30-13, 10-5 Big 12) – The Horned Frogs have rattled off eight straight, including a weekend sweep of Cal State Northridge, a matchup that make no utter sense at this time of the year.

Stock Down: Kansas State (23-22, 4-11 Big 12)- Remember when the Wildcats hosted a regional? Yea, that was just this past June. After getting swept by West Virginia (who’s won 6 straight), they’re now in 2nd to last place.

Pitcher Of The Week: Jordan Piche – RHP – Kansas – The Senior tossed a one-hit shutout against Baylor with 5 K’s.

(Big West Highlights)

No. 4 Cal Poly (36-7, 12-3 Big West) had their first “down week” in a while if you consider a 2-2 record a down week. Who was responsible for the two losses…

Long Beach State (20-21, 7-5 Big West) – That’s who. Nice home series win for the 49ers who have had an uneven performance overall on the year.

Stock Up: UC Irvine (28-14, 11-1 Big West) – With Cal Poly’s series loss, the Anteaters (great name) have quietly bumped up to 1st in the Big West.

(Mid-Major Highlights)

Riding a 7-game win streak, St. Joseph’s (26-10, 13-4 A-10) is now back in 1st place of the Atlantic 10.

Mercer (34-11, 16-4 A-Sun) still sits atop the A-Sun but watch out for Max Pentecost (7-for-13, HR vs ETSU) and Kennessaw State, who have rolled off 11 wins in a row.

Draft Stock Rising: Aramis Garcia – C – FIU – Garcia is one of the best hitting catchers in the country and now leads the C-USA with his .353 batting average and 7 home runs.

With first-round talent LHP Kyle Freeland (a frequenter of this column and personal favorite) leading the charge, Evansville (28-14, 9-3 MVC) has now moved into 1st place in the Missouri Valley. Here’s a recent article on Freeland’s rise.

Knockout Punch of the Week: 1st place UNLV (28-15, 16-8 MWC) took down New Mexico (who spent all of one week in the Top 30) with a dominant sweep, outscoring the Lobos 39-to-10.

Draft Sleeper: Jake Kelzer – RHP – No. 19 Indiana – The 6’7″ draft-eligible freshmen has drawn praise for his “major-league outpitch curveball” and a fastball that touches 93 MPH. He’s a former swimmer with limited pitching experience.

Re-Entering The Rankings: No. 29 Liberty (35-10, 19-1 Big South) – The Flames make their glorious return after dropping out for a week. Like I’ve said before, watch out for them as an upset team in the tournament.

Sam Houston State (30-14, 13-8 Southland) pulled off a crucial home game sweep of Southeastern Louisiana, knocking the Lions out of 1st place and ruining my older brother’s weekend.

No. 3 Louisiana-Lafayette (“only” took 2-of-3 from Texas State this weekend. But, they continue to look like the mid-major “team of interest” to root for to make a National Title run. And how cannot you not root for a team called the Ragin’ Cajuns?

(Pac-12 Highlights)

No. 13 Washington (29-10, 16-5 Pac-12) remains in 1st after a series win over in-state rival Washington State. Baseball America profiled the Huskies success in their three strikes column.

Best In The West: No. 2 Oregon State (31-8, 14-4 Pac-12) – The Ducks have supplanted Cal Poly has the highest ranked West-Coast team. The Beavers pulled off the biggest sweep of the weekend taking down in-state nemesis No. 10 Oregon.

LHP Ben Wetzler and his 0.73 ERA (2nd best in country) continues to stick it to the Phillies.

Stock Up: USC (24-17, 12-9 Pac-12)- The Trojans have been smokin lately with nine straight wins and a weekend sweep of UCLA.

(SEC Highlights)

Stock Up: No. 14 Florida (30-15, 15-6 SEC) – The Gators are rolling and now have the best record in SEC play after sweeping Missouri.

Pitcher Spotlight: Aaron Rhodes – RHP – Rhodes tosses a on-hit shutout and was named a National Pitcher of The Week.

No. 7 South Carolina (34-11took a big series from SEC West leader Alabama. I was there for Friday’s 9-3 win and then watched the next two games in the comforts of my apartment on ESPN, because we’re kinda that important that ESPN comes to Columbia.

Nation’s Home Run Leader: A.J. Reed – 1B – Kentucky – The nation’s best two-way talent now has 19 bombs and counting on the season. The next closest is Brandon Thomasson with 15 for Tennessee Tech.

(Photo By: Jay Clark – East Carolina)

Hitter Of The Week: Kurt Wertz – OF – Towson

I generally like to keep the focus on which notable draft prospect had the best weekend at the plate when I choose this award. But, I have damn good reason to do otherwise this week because Wertz had an unbelievable weekend; plus he goes to Towson, just down the street from my high school, and where my cousin, Bruce Zimmerman, pitches. Over the weekend he hit 10-for-21 with 4 home runs, 2 doubles, a triple, and 15 RBI’s, garnering National Hitter Of The Week honors. He went undrafted after his Junior season but weekends like this will certainly get him on the radar has a potential Senior sign pick in 2014.

(Photo Courtesy Of: NC State Athletics)

Pitcher Of The Week: Carlos Rodon – LHP – NC State

Carlos Rodon’s “Jeckyll and Hyde act” of a season continues. One week, his fastball dips into the low 90’s at times and proves hittable, with just a plus slider to compliment it. Other weeks, he’s pumping mid 90’s with plus tail, and consistently flashing a wipeout 80-grade slider throughout his outing. This was one of those weeks. I guess he saw Jeff Hoffman’s stellar outing last weekend and decided he had to better it for the scouting contingent on hand this weekend. This was easily his best outing (9 IP, 6 H, ER, 2 BB, 15 K) of the season. Once again, though, Rodon’s pitch count ran into the 130’s which has created some controversy.

The latest rankings via College Baseball Writers

Draft Prospect Stat Roundup from Baseball America

D1 Stat Leaderboard via Boyd’s World

That’s it for this week. Stay classy, not crassy.

Slade’s Weekend College Baseball Roundup (Apr. 18-20)

Easter weekend of college baseball is in the books as we approach the month of May.

It’s about that time that the bracketologists break out their tourney predictions with just month left in the regular season. Here’s how the field is currently shaping up according to Kendall Rogers. Virginia still holds down the fort as the number one team in the country but a surprise team out West is hot their heels if the Cavaliers are to slip up anytime soon.

We also now have an official list of those on the Golden Spikes Award watch list, kind of a “who’s who” of college baseball right now. Potential 1st overall pick and high schooler Brady Aiken is also on the list for some reason. I guess stud high schoolers are eligible for the award too.

The complete 2014 preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List is as follows:

Name, Position, Class, School

– Brady Aiken, LHP, Senior, Cathedral Catholic (Calif.) HS

– Brian Anderson, IF, Junior, Arkansas

– Brett Austin, C, Junior, NC State

– Tyler Beede, RHP, Junior, Vanderbilt

– Aaron Brown, OF/LHP, Junior, Pepperdine

– Nick Burdi, RHP, Junior, Louisville

– Michael Conforto, OF, Junior, Oregon State

– Austin Cousino, OF, Junior, Kentucky

– J.D. Davis, OF/RHP, Junior, Cal State Fullerton

– Tyler Davis, RHP, Junior, Washington

– Chris Ellis, RHP, Junior, Mississippi

– Joey Epperson, OF/IF, RS-Senior, UC Santa Barbara

– Thomas Eshelman, RHP, Sophomore, Cal State Fullerton

– Erick Fedde, RHP, Junior, UNLV

– Brandon Finnegan, LHP, Junior, TCU

– Blake Fox, LHP, Sophomore, Rice

– Kyle Freeland, LHP, Junior, Evansville

– Clinton Freeman, OF, Sophomore, East Tennessee State

– Jeff Gardner, OF, Senior, Louisville

– Aaron Garza, RHP, Junior, Houston

– Casey Gillaspie, IF, Junior, Wichita State

– Grayson Greiner, C, Junior, South Carolina

– Chris Haddeland, RHP, Junior, Linfield

– Ian Happ, IF, Sophomore, Cincinnati

– Seth Harrison, OF, Senior, Louisiana Lafayette

– Matt Imhof, LHP, Junior, Cal Poly

– Michael Katz, IF, Junior, William & Mary

– Nathan Kirby, LHP, Sophomore, Virginia

– Ross Kivett, IF, Senior, Kansas State

– Ryan McBroom, OF, Senior, West Virginia

– Daniel Miles, IF, Junior, Tennessee Tech

– DJ Miller, IF, Senior, Delaware State

– Corey Miller, RHP, Senior, Pepperdine

– Andrew Morales, RHP, Senior, UC Irvine

– Michael Murray, RHP, Sophomore, Florida Gulf Coast

– Aaron Nola, RHP, Junior, LSU

– Mike Papi, OF, Junior, Virginia

– Mark Payton, OF, Senior, Texas

– Max Pentecost, C, Junior, Kennesaw State

– A.J. Reed, LHP/IF, Junior, Kentucky

– Kyle Schwarber, C, Junior, Indiana

– Kade Scivicque, C, Junior, LSU

– Austen Smith, IF, Senior, Alabama

– D.J. Stewart, OF, Sophomore, Florida State

– Ryan Thompson, RHP, Senior, Campbell

– Trent Thornton, RHP, Sophomore, North Carolina

– Sam Travis, IF, Junior, Indiana

– Luke Weaver, RHP, Sophomore, Florida State

– Ben Wetzler, LHP, Senior, Oregon State

– Bradley Zimmer, OF, Junior, San Francisco

On with the weekend highlights…….

(ACC Highlights)

No. 5 Florida State (30-9, 16-5 ACC) remains in 1st in the Atlantic division following a road series win at Wake Forest. Luke Weaver tossed a gem (9 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 7 K) in Game 1 while outfielder DJ Stewart set a new FSU record 58-game streak of reaching base.

No. 1 Virginia (33-7, 16-5 ACC) and No. 19 Miami (28-13, 16-5 ACC) are now tied for 1st place in the Coastal Division.

Stock Way Down: NC State (21-17, 7-14 ACC) continues to struggle, dropping a pair to..(Gasp!)..Boston College. But, top prospect Trea Turner, who’s power tool has been questioned, did hit a pair of home runs in Saturday’s game.

Sweeper Of The Week: Duke (24-17, 12-9 ACC) – The Blue Devils are rolling with a sweep at Virginia Tech and sit in 3rd place in the Coastal Division.

(American Highlights)

Making A Statement: Central Florida (25-16, 12-3 AAC) – The Knights proved they are the team to beat in the American with a huge series win over No. 13 Louisville. UCF is 18-5 in their last 23 games. Baseball America profile.

Control Artist: Aaron Garza – RHP – Houston – Garza headlines the stalwart No. 12 Cougars pitching staff and picked up a win with 6.2 scoreless innings without a walk allowed against South Florida. His 0.5 BB/9 is 5th lowest in college baseball.

(Big 12 Highlights)

Entering The Rankings: No. 29 TCU (26-13, ) – The Horned Frogs secured a big time road series win at No. 10 Texas and return to the polls. Top draft prospect LHP Branden Finnegan tossed a gem (8 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 K) in Friday night’s win and has a chance to go in the mid-1st round.

Stock Up: No. 9 Oklahoma State (29-11, 11-4 Big 12) – With a big sweep of Kansas, the Cowboys now take over 1st place in Big 12 play and have quietly cracked the top ten of the writers poll.

Pitcher Spotlight: RHP Jon Perrin tossed a CG shutout on Friday with 9 K’s against Kansas.

Debut Of The Year: Ross Vance – LHP – West Virginia – In his first ever start for the Mountaineers, Vance only hurled a CG shutout with 14 strikeouts to win Big 12 and National pitcher of the week honors.

(Big West Highlights)

Best In The West: No. 2 Cal Poly (34-5, 11-1 Big West) – This is becoming arguably the best team in school history. The Mustangs knocked off perennial Big West powerhouse No. 19 Cal State Fullerton with a sweep and are now ranked N0. 2 in the country.

Cal Poly closer Reed Reilly, an Orioles unsigned 17th rounder in the 2013 draft, earned national pitcher of the week honors for his stellar work (9 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 16 K) out of the bullpen lately.

Stock Down: No. 25 UC Santa Barbara (24-10, 5-7 Big West) dropped three spots in the poll after losing their weekend series to Long Beach State.

(Mid-Major Highlights)

Saint Louis (23-14, 11-3 A-10) regained the lead in the Atlantic 10 over the weekend after sweeping Richmond and top draft prospect James Norwood threw a two-hit shutout. Here’s video from his recent Apr. 12 outing.

Mercer (31-10, 14-4 A-Sun) regained the lead in the Atlantic Sun as well and top prospect, infielder Chesny Young, went HAM this weekend (8-for-10, 8 RBI), earning national hitter of the week recognition.

Hoosier Daddy? No. 24 Indiana (25-11, 11-1 Big Ten) swept Michigan State to increase their 1st place lead as the Hoosiers attempt to make a late run at hosting a regional if they keep this up.

Draft Stock Rising: Kyle Freeland – LHP – Evansville – In a world without an impressive crop of collegiate lefties emerges this stud from the small school in Indiana. He tossed yet another double digit K outing this weekend and has emerged as a lock for the 1st round. His 87-to-4 strikeout/walk ratio and plus command of a plus fastball remind me of Cliff Lee.

College of Charleston (27-12, 10-2 CAA) paces the pack in the CAA at the moment and swept James Madison over the weekend.

No. 16 Rice (29-13, 16-5 C-USA) emerged with a sweep in a big weekend showdown with UAB. Impressive considering ace Zach Lemond has been shut down as of late.

Hitter Spotlight: John Clay Reeves – C – The Owls junior catcher had a big weekend (5-for-12, HR, 3 RBI) and earned C-USA hitter of the week honors.

MAC Hitter of the Week: Tyler Huntley – C – Central Michigan – The Chippewas (25-15, 12-3 MAC) have the best record in the MAC and Huntley played a big role (.450, HR, 8 RBI) in their series win at NIU.

Entering The Rankings: No. 30 New Mexico (30-11, 14-4 MWC) – The Lobos swept San Jose State and have staked their claim to 1st in the Mountain West.

We now have a three-way tie for 1st in the Southland conference: Southeastern Louisiana (where my brother played), Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and Nicholls State. I think you know who I’m pulling for.

Yes, the Ragin Cajuns (36-5, 16-2 Sun Belt) are still really, really damn good. They ‘only’ won two-of-three with UT-Arlington this weekend but still rank No. 3 in the country.

(Pac-12 Highlights)

Keep On Rollin: No. 11 Washington (27-8, 14-4 Pac-12) – Another week another series win for the Huskies, this time at California.

No. 4 Oregon State (27-7, 11-4 Pac-12) had a bye so LHP Ben Wetzler‘s microscopic 0.68 ERA is still best in the nation.

No. 7 Oregon (31-10, 10-5 Pac-12) has rattled off nine wins a row and swept Washington State over the weekend. The bad news: Young stud LHP Matt Krook has to have Tommy John surgery.

(SEC Highlights)

No. 14 Florida (27-13, 12-6 SEC) sits atop the SEC East while No. 17 Alabama (28-12, 12-6 SEC) sits utop the SEC West.

The Gators swept Georgia and are now No. 1 in the RPI’s.

Other Sweepers: No. 21 Mississippi State (26-15, 10-8 SEC) – The Bulldogs pulled off the road sweep of Missouri to get back over .500 in conference play.

Arkansas (25-16, 9-9 SEC) pulled off a nice series win of No. 15 Vanderbilt at home. The Razorbacks rocked top draft prospect Tyler Beede on Friday for 6 earned runs in a 6-2 win.

SEC Hitter of the Week: Conner Hale – INF – LSU – Batted .587 in the Tigers series win at Ole Miss.

(Photo Courtesy Of: Wichita State Athletics)

Hitter Of The Week: Casey Gillaspie – 1B – Wichita State

I saw Gillaspie play back in late February and came away very impressed with his physicality and power potential as well his disciplined approach at the plate. Those two traits have continued as he is now batting .401/.506/.694 with 10 homers with a sick 31-to-16 BB/K ratio and looks like a potential 1st rounder. Why’s he the hitter of the week? He batted 6-for-12 with two doubles, a homer, 5 RBI, and for the hell of it – two stolen bases – over the weekend versus Southern Illinois. Baseball America has video and a nice writeup on Gillaspie in today’s three strikes column.

HM/ Austin Byler – 3B, Nevada, Caleb Adams – OF, Louisiana-Lafayette

(Photo: ECU Media Relations)

Pitcher Of The Week: Jeff Hoffman – RHP – East Carolina

Some weeks this award is made easy for me. Hoffman tossed a sensational outing that easily helped solidify his draft stock as a top ten talent. He went the distance against Middle Tennesse State, allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out 16! According to Christopher Crawford, “If he pitches the way he did on Thursday against Middle Tennessee State the rest of the year, however, that No. 1 overall pick debate might just be back on.” He ran his fastball up to 97 mph, flashed a plus-plus breaking ball, and showed plus command all night. Here’s a nice story on his rise from undrafted high schooler to likely top ten pick.

HM/ Kyle Freeland – LHP, Evansville, Branden Finnegan – LHP, TCU

The latest rankings via College Baseball Writers

Draft Prospect Stat Roundup from Baseball America

D1 Stat Leaderboard via Boyd’s World

The latest RPI’s via Boyd’s World.