National college notes: April 7

Iona 3, at Fairfield 2 (Saturday)

Yes, he is the son of the great Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, but Iona righthander Mariano Rivera Jr. is very much a prospect in his own right. What the younger Rivera shares with his father though is that they both appear to be late bloomers in terms of overall stuff on the mound.

Drafted by the Yankees last spring in the 29th round, the then Iona College sophomore decided to head back to school for his junior season and so far it’s proved to be the right move. Compare his stats from last year to his current line and a couple of the numbers will jump out while keeping in mind that we’re only halfway through 2015. Through eight starts this spring Rivera’s ERA is more than two runs lower then in 2014. Known for having quality raw stuff, Rivera has taken the next step forward in terms of command, already surpassing his strikeout total from 2014 by 12 with 62 over 47 innings pitched this spring with just 13 walks.

Something you wouldn’t know from looking at just box scores is that the 5-foot-11 Rivera has seen a steady climb in velocity and has showed the big numbers on the radar gun throughout 2015. Working mostly in the 89-91 range while touching 92 mph, with reports of 93's and 94's toward the end of the 2014 spring, the Iona righty came out and proved those reports to be true and has taken it a tick higher.

In a quick first inning in Saturday's game against Fairfield, Rivera sat in the 93-95 mph range with his fastball while employing a full and fluid arm action coming through the back. With a near over-the-top delivery, Rivera did a nice job of consistently getting on top of the ball, allowing for command of either side of the plate throughout his seven innings of work. His arm is fast and he’s able to produce premium velocity without much effort, but more importantly, he is able to hold it over the course of a game despite his lean and athletic 5-foot-11, 155-pound build.

Showing a similar velocity range in the second inning and still up to 94 in both the third and fourth, Rivera sat in the 91-93 mph range the rest of the way despite the cold and windy conditions. He dipped below the 91 mark only a time or two and showed nothing below 90 mph with his heater. His fastball gets on hitters quick as he does a nice job of hiding it through the back of his delivery with a small curl at the top before driving to the plate.

Generally true in terms of life, Rivera showed occasional hard life to his arm side on his fastball and lived low in the zone, hardly ever throwing a pitch above the batter’s waist. He only walked one batter, following up a strong start the week prior in which he didn’t issue any free passes, as he showed a strong feel for both his fastball and slider throughout the game.

The Fairfield offense was able to pick up six hits off Rivera, but once runners reached base he buckled down and only once allowed multiple hits in an inning. One reason for the success was Rivera’s slider, a pitch that he showed more than enough confidence in and executed it on a consistent basis.

Not afraid to double up on the low-80s offering, Rivera maintains his arm slot on the pitch that almost looks like a curveball with the amount of depth it shows due to his high release. With tight rotation and downward life, Rivera showed as much command of his breaking ball as he did his fastball. Finding himself with a 3-2 count in the sixth inning, Rivera went back to his slider, freezing a hitter for a backwards K. He didn’t wait long to go back to that pitch, striking out the very next batter with an 81 mph slider on an 0-2 count for another punchout looking. Rivera flashed a changeup only a couple of times as he generally went fastball/slider and didn’t need much else.

Saturday marked his second straight complete game victory, following up a performance of an 11 strikeout, one-hit performance two weeks ago. If he continues this trend of starts, watch for his name as he should continue to climb up teams' draft boards.