PG College Top 25 | Tracy Smith ASU Feature | Video Vault
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Draft
Watch
Here
is how the players currently ranked among the top 50 of Perfect Game's top 250 draft-eligible prospects have fared so far this season.
Hitters
Rk. |
Player |
Pos. |
School |
Stats |
6 |
Dansby Swanson |
SS |
Vanderbilt |
.372/.488/.620, 11 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR |
16 |
Richie Martin |
SS |
Florida |
.290/.389/.411, 5 2B, 2 HR, 11 SB |
17 |
Alex Bregman |
SS |
Louisiana State |
.333/.408/.629, 12 2B, 7 HR, 17 SB |
20 |
Ian Happ |
OF |
Cincinnati |
.400/.523/.690, 8 2B, 7 HR, 5 SB |
25 |
Christin Stewart |
OF |
Tennessee |
.320/.455/.691, 5 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR |
26 |
D.J. Stewart |
OF |
Florida State |
.295/.519/.590, 4 2B, 9 HR, 30 RBI |
34 |
Chris Shaw |
OF |
Boston College |
.318/.422/.692, 7 2B, 11 HR, 41 RBI |
40 |
Gio Brusa |
OF |
Pacific |
.299/.405/.542, 10 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR |
44 |
Steven Duggar |
OF |
Clemson |
.271/.368/.347 6 2B, 1 HR, 6 SB |
47th-ranked
prospect, Joe McCarthy, out with back injury
Pitchers
Rk. |
Player |
Pos. |
School |
Stats |
3 |
Michael Matuella* |
RHP |
Duke |
1-1, 1.08 ERA, 25 IP, 24:11 |
4 |
Kyle Funkhouser |
RHP |
Louisville |
4-2, 2.22 ERA, 52.2 IP, 54:23 |
5 |
Walker Buehler |
RHP |
Vanderbilt |
3-0, 2.76 ERA, 29.1 IP, 28:8 |
8 |
Carson Fulmer |
RHP |
Vanderbilt |
5-1, 2.25 ERA, 48 IP, 67:23 |
11 |
Cody Ponce |
RHP |
Cal Poly Pomona |
3-0, 0.89 ERA, 20.1 IP, 24:4 |
14 |
Nathan Kirby |
LHP |
Virginia |
4-2, 1.94 ERA, 51 IP, 69:23 |
18 |
Kyle Cody |
RHP |
Kentucky |
2-3, 5.87 ERA, 38.1 IP, 37:8 |
19 |
Jake Lemoine |
RHP |
Houston |
1-1, 4.50 ERA, 24 IP, 15:4 |
21 |
Riley Ferrell |
RHP |
Texas Christian |
0-1, 1.20 ERA, 9 SV, 15 IP, 25:6 |
27 |
James Kaprelian |
RHP |
UCLA |
6-2, 2.09 ERA, 51.2 IP, 64:9 |
29 |
Dillon Tate |
RHP |
UC Santa Barbara |
4-3, 1.34 ERA, 60.2 IP, 67:16 |
31 |
Alex Young |
LHP |
Texas Christian |
6-1, 1.03 ERA, 43.2 IP, 45:9 |
36 |
Brett Lilek |
LHP |
Arizona State |
2-2, 4.33 ERA, 35.1 IP, 31:22 |
38 |
Tyler Ferguson |
RHP |
Vanderbilt |
0-0, 12.79 ERA, 6.1 IP, 8:20 |
43 |
Marc Brakeman |
RHP |
Stanford |
0-1, 3.71 ERA, 17 IP, 13:7 |
*Out for the season
30th-ranked prospect, Jon Duplantier, out
with arm soreness
Freshman/Sophomore Stat Pack
During the course of the season our friends at CollegeSplits.com are going to be providing statistical leaders in the freshmen and sophomore classes in five different offensive categories and four different pitching categories. Each week we will choose one of those categories to share in the weekly PG college baseball national notebook, with home runs and strikeouts being listed this week.
Home Runs
|
Freshmen |
|
|
|
|
Sophomores |
|
|
Rk. |
Name |
School |
HR |
|
Rk. |
Name |
School |
HR |
1 |
K.J. Harrison |
Oregon State |
7 |
|
1 |
Will Craig |
Wake Forest |
11 |
1 |
Kel Johnson |
Georgia Tech |
7 |
|
2 |
Kyle Lewis |
Mercer |
10 |
1 |
Ryan Noda |
Cincinnati |
7 |
|
3 |
Donnie Dewees |
North Florida |
9 |
4 |
Logan Heiser |
UCF |
6 |
|
3 |
Andrew Benintendi |
Arkansas |
9 |
4 |
Drew Ellis |
The Citadel |
6 |
|
5 |
Nate Mondou |
Wake Forest |
8 |
4 |
Brett Cumberland |
California |
6 |
|
5 |
Logan Gray |
Austin Peay State |
8 |
|
|
|
|
|
5 |
Lucas Erceg |
California |
8 |
|
11 tied with 5 |
|
|
|
8 |
Matt Thaiss |
Virginia |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
8 |
Andrew Martinez |
UC Irvine |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
8 |
Bobby Dalbec |
Arizona |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
8 |
Brandon Lowe |
Maryland |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
8 |
David Martinelli |
Dallas Baptist |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
8 |
Hunter Swilling |
Samford |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
8 |
Ky Parrott |
James Madison |
7 |
Strikeouts
|
Freshmen |
|
|
|
|
Sophomores |
|
|
Rk. |
Name |
School |
SO |
|
Rk. |
Name |
School |
SO |
1 |
Alex Lange |
Louisiana State |
61 |
|
1 |
Alec Hansen |
Oklahoma |
64 |
2 |
Eddie Macaluso |
Iona |
57 |
|
2 |
Boomer Biegalski |
Florida State |
62 |
3 |
Brendan McKay |
Louisville |
55 |
|
3 |
Brandon Bailey |
Gonzaga |
60 |
4 |
Michael Baumann |
Jacksonville |
49 |
|
3 |
Mike Shawaryn |
Maryland |
60 |
5 |
Griffin Canning |
UCLA |
48 |
|
5 |
Anthony Kay |
Connecticut |
57 |
6 |
David Peterson |
Oregon |
47 |
|
6 |
Corbin Burnes |
St. Mary's |
56 |
7 |
J.B. Bukauskas |
North Carolina |
46 |
|
6 |
Wil Crowe |
South Carolina |
56 |
7 |
Tanner Houck |
Missouri |
46 |
|
8 |
Alex Cunningham |
Coastal Carolina |
54 |
9 |
Lane De Leon |
Delaware State |
45 |
|
9 |
T.J. Zeuch |
Pittsburgh |
53 |
10 |
Drew Rasmussen |
Oregon State |
43 |
|
9 |
Brady Bramlett |
Mississippi |
53 |
10 |
J.P. Sears |
The Citadel |
43 |
|
|
|
|
|
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.
National
Notes
• No.
5 Louisville leap-frogged No. 6 UCLA in this week's random thanks to
a torrid start to the 2015 season, particularly since ACC play has
begun. The Cardinals have swept four of their five opponents (No. 14
Virginia, Boston College, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech) and took two
of three from No. 9 Miami. They are now 25-7 on the season, and 14-1
in the ACC, with series against Duke, Wake Forest, Clemson, Florida
State and N.C. State coming up.
However,
sweeping Virginia, who may be struggling somewhat this season, put an
exclammation mark on their season, and showcased the players that
have really stood out.
Kyle
Funkhouser delivered seven strong inning in a 8-1 win on Saturday,
the first game of the series, while the Louisville offense touched up
Cavaliers' ace Nathan Kirby for six earned runs. Fresman two-way
standout Brendan McKay moved to 5-0 on Sunday in a 11-4 win on
Sunday, tossing another seven solid frames, while sophomore
lefthander Josh Rogers chipped in with seven shutout innings of his
own in a 4-0 win on Monday.
Sophomore
outfielder Corey Ray was named the ACC Player of the Week after going
6-for-14 (.429) in the series, with a pair of walks, three runs
scored, five driven in, two doubles, two stolen bases and a home run.
That's especially
impressive considering he went 0-for-4 in Monday's game, and he's now
hitting .326/.383/.541 on the year.
• Hitting
an opposite field grand slam to bring your team to within a run in a
pivotal conference series is enough to take note. A home run in your
next at-bat is icing on the cake. Boston College junior outfielder
Chris Shaw took it yet another step further on Sunday and went yard
in three consecutive at-bats to help the Eagles knock off Wake Forest
in game three of the series. After an unusual slow start to 2015, the
lefthanded slugger has caught fire recently and has continued to show
why he is regarded as one of the top power bats in this year's draft
class.
A
strongly built 6-foot-3, 248-pound slugger, Shaw has seen his average
rise to .318 while seeing his name atop of the nation’s leaders in
home runs, already putting 11 balls over the fence this spring. His
41 runs batted in are four shy of his 2014 total, and with one more
home run he will tie the combined total of his first two seasons on
Chestnut Hill.
• Even
in high school Maryland sophomore Michael Shawaryn was a proven
winner and a pitcher that everybody knew would find success at the
next level whether in college or the professional ranks. After a
solid freshman campaign, Shawaryn has done nothing but solidify those
beliefs through 2015, standing with a perfect 7-0 record over his
first eight starts of the spring. Taking over the Friday role for a
nationally ranked program, the New Jersey native has thrived in the
limelight through to this point in the year.
Tied
for the nation’s lead with his seven victories, Shawaryn shows
advanced pitchability just as he always has. He’s also done a very
nice job of maintaining his low-90s velocity over the course of an
outing, something he has improved upon since last spring. With a 2.00
ERA and just 9 walks compared to his 60 strikeouts over 54 innings,
Shawaryn has been a constant for the Terps this spring and will be a
key for their long term success.