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.

 

College Baseball Weekend Roundup (Mar. 7 – Mar. 9)

Where were you this weekend?

I made the treck with family down to Annapolis, the lovely state capitol of Maryland, to watch the Navy baseball tournament. I was there primarily to watch Towson, where my cousin Bruce Zimmermann pitches currently as the Saturday starter. The Tigers beat Pennsylvania 4-2 on Saturday as Cousin Bruce (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) picked up the win.

We have a new number one team in college baseball. Yes, the mighty, mighty, Gamecocks. This has a chance to be a special year for Chad Holbrook and the boys and as a season ticket holder, I’ll be sure to catch most of the home action.

On with the highlights…

(ACC Highlights) 

Conference play began this weekend…

No. 7 NC State (13-2) swept Notre Dame. Carlos Rodon threw a CG on Friday. Here’s Frankie Pilliere’s draft profile on the potential 1st overall pick.

No. 17 Clemson (9-5) also got the brooms out with a sweep of Virginia Tech.

No. 2 Florida State (12-2) dropped Game 2 of a series win over Maryland which was enough damage for the Seminoles to lose their No. 1 ranking. That makes me really happy both as a Maryland and South Carolina fan.

No. 22 Miami (FL) (10-5) is the other weekend sweeper as they took care of business at home with Boston College.

National Pitcher of the Week: Javi Salas only threw a perfect game for the Hurricanes last Tuesday which also earned him ACC pitcher of the week honors. The Senior righty opted to return to school after the Twins made him a 38th round draft choice in 2013.

(American Highlights)

Entering The Rankings: Houston (11-3) debuts at No. 30 after winning two of three games at the Dodgertown Classic, including an impressive win over No. 9 UCLA. The Cougars also leads the nation with their absurd 0.85 Team ERA.

Memphis (12-3) lost two out of three to Central Arkansas but still retains the top conference record.

Seton Hall (9-3) looks like the team to beat in the Big East. They made the tourney last year and their .319 Team AVG is good for 8th in the nation at the moment. Closer Connor Krauss (1.42 ERA, 6.2 IP, 10 K) is the top draft prospect in the Big East.

The Liberty Flames have won five straight to improve to 11-6, including a notable sweep of Kent State.

(Big 12 Highlights)

Kansas (12-3) was finally put to the test this weekend at Stanford. They won Friday night as top draft prospect Wes Benjamin tossed 7 shutout innings, but dropped the next two.

Texas Tech is on a 6-game win streak, bumping up to No. 25 in the polls.

West Virginia (8-4) is also on a 6-game win streaking, sweeping the UCR tournament.

Oklahoma won a home series with Rutgers but the big story was Mac James…

National Hitter Of The Week: Mac James – 1B/C – The junior obliterated the baseball batting .684 (13-19) with 3 doubles, a HR, and 6 RBI.

(Big West Highlights)

Stock Up: UC Santa Barbara (10-2) – The Gauchos are rolling with two wins over Mississippi State and one against Arizona over the weekend. Senior third baseman Joey Epperson leads the Big West with an absurd .490 batting average.

Also Rolling: UC Irvine (12-3) – The Anteaters have rattled off ten wins in a row after sweeping Gonzaga.

Stock Down: Cal State Fullerton (8-5) – The national powerhouse Titans slipped to No. 8 in the polls after dropping a home series to unranked Baylor.

Matt Imhof of No. 12 Cal Poly had a phenomenal outing versus Seattle which we’ll talk about later…

(C-USA Highlights)

Entering The Rankings: No. 29 Florida International – The Panthers are off to a sizzling 15-1 start after sweeping Charlotte over the weekend. Potential Top-3 Round pick Aramis Garcia won C-USA Hitter of the week after bashing three HR’s in the series.

No. 18 Rice (10-6) took the series against Old Dominion. Zach Lemond (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 10 K) dominated on Friday.

Jeff Hoffman Update: The ECU Ace and uber-draft prospect had a brutal outing vs Marshall. 7 walks in 2.1 innings. Ouch.

(Mid-Major Highlights)

St. Louis (8-6), the pre-season A-10 favorite, is on a 5-game win streak.

Player Spotlight: Mike Vigliarolo – 1B – The reigning A-10 Player of the Year hit .588 with 3 doubles, a HR, and 8 RBI’s during the Billikens 4-game sweep of North Dakota.

Mercer (12-5), the A-Sun favorites, squandered an opportunity to make some noise, dropping all three games at Auburn.

Ohio State (8-5) picked up an RBI boosting 5-0 win at Oregon on Saturday thanks to Ryan Riga’s (9 IP, 5 H, BB, 10 K’s) sensational performance.

Cornell (5-2) leads the Ivy League through the first two weeks. Top Ivy League prospect Brent Jones has pitched to a 0.75 ERA over his first two starts, striking out 12. He touches mid 90’s with his fastball.

Canisius (10-3) is on an 8-game win streak. Junior righty Rohn Pierce, who outdueled Carlos Rodon in Week 1, carries a 0.95 ERA and a 26-2 K/BB ratio over 29 innings.

Central Michigan (6-9) picked up an impressive series win at UCF. Senior Pat Kaminska won his 2nd consecutive MAC pitcher of the week award

Streakers: Indiana State (12-1) – The Sycamores have now rolled off 12 consecutive wins.

Fresno State (11-4) leads the Mountain West after a series win over Air Force. Here’s a draft profile on outfielder Jordan Luplow (.328 AVG), a potential 2nd-4th rounder.

Bombsquad: Georgia Southern – The Eagles (14-2) boast the best record in the SoCon and currently lead the country with 23 home runs and co-lead with Kentucky with their .345 Team AVG.

N0. 23 Sam Houston State swept Cal State Northridge to improve to 13-3. Tyler Eppler threw a 3-hit shutout on Friday.

Jake Thompson earned Sun Belt pitcher of the week for his Sunday outing that helped Western Kentucky (10-5) complete the sweep of Illinois.

Pepperdine (12-3) won the Dodgertown Classic and could be ranked soon. Brad Anderson won WCC hitter of the week.

Waves Ace Corey Miller, returned for his Senior year after the Brewers made him a 16th round pick. He has a 1.71 ERA through 31 innings with 32 strikeouts and just 4 walks.

N0-No Alert:

(Pac-12 Highlights)

No-No Alert: Jace Frye – LHP – Oregon State – Frye made national headlines in Game 2 of the No. 4 Beavers’s sweep of Northern Illinois.

Tourney Sweepers: Washington – The Huskies (10-4) won all four games at the Jack Gifford tournament, whoever that is.

USC (8-6) had a rough weekend going 0-fer at the Dodgertown Classic.

No. 15 UCLA (8-7) also lost two of three games at the Dodgertown classic, dropping six spots in the poll.

(SEC Highlights)

No. 1 South Carolina (15-0) is the fourth different number one team already this season. Let’s keep it at four.

Entering The Rankings: Tennessee – The Volunteers (14-1) picked up a legit road series win at Arizona State and debut at No. 26 in the writers poll.

No. 5 Vanderbilt (15-2) has won eight straight and feature what could be one of the best rotations in the country looking at their early season numbers.

Best Offense In The Nation: N0. 21 Kentucky – The Wildcats (13-3) lead the nation in AVG, OBP, and SLG. After dropping Game 1 to Ball State, Armageddon broke out on offense as they outscored Ball State 50-4 the next two games. Two-way stud A.J. Reed is batting .436 with a nation leading 8 home runs.

No. 6 LSU (14-2) swept Purdue. Aaron Nola pitched like a first rounder (8 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 12 K) in Game 1.

Pitcher Of The Week: Matt Imhof – LHP, Cal Poly

Imhof shut down Seattle as he set a school record 15 strikeouts in the process. Final line: 8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 15 K’s. Imhof is a haus at 6’5, 220 pounds. He has a fastball that sits low-90’s, an outpitch breaking ball, and an average changeup. Improving the consistency of his changeup and overall command could make him a potential second round pick in the draft this year. He has mid-rotation workhorse potential.

HM/ Brandon Finnegan – LHP, TCU, Ben Wetzler – LHP, Oregon State, Jace Fry – LHP, Oregon State, Tyler Eppler – RHP, Sam Houston State, Aaron Nola – LHP, LSU

Hitter Of The Week: Michael Conforto – OF, Oregon State

Conforto is considered one of the more polished college bats in this year’s draft class. He had a huge weekend, batting 7-for-11 (.636 AVG), with two doubles, a triple, six RBI’s, a 6-1 BB/K ratio, and a stolen base versus Northern Illinois. He’s the top ranked prospect in the Pac-12 according to Baseball America. The 6’1, 215 pound outfielder is batting .396 on the year with no home runs yet but is considered an above average power hitter. He also has an absurd 21-5 BB/K ratio through 55 at bats, showing the kind of improved plate discipline that could cement his status as a potential late first rounder.

HM/Austin Cousino – OF, Kentucky, Taylor Sparks – 3B, UC Irvine, Aramis Garcia – C, FIU, Brett Austin – C, NC State, Mac James – 1B, Oklahoma,

The lastest rankings via college baseball writers.

D1 Team Leaderboard via Boyd’s World.

I’m out.

Have a great week, everyone. Stay classy, not crassy.